Andrew Edmund Armstrong Selous (; born 27 April 1962) is a British politician who has served as the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

(MP) for South West Bedfordshire since the 2001 general election. A member of the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

, he served as

Minister of State for Prisons The Minister of State for Prisons, Parole and Probation is a mid-level ministerial office in the Ministry of Justice. It has, at times, been seen as the deputy to the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor. Responsibilities The mi ...

from 2014 to 2016 in the government of Prime Minister David Cameron. Since 2020, Selous has served as

Second Church Estates Commissioner The Church Commissioners is a body which administers the property assets of the Church of England. It was established in 1948 and combined the assets of Queen Anne's Bounty, a fund dating from 1704 for the relief of poor clergy, and of the Eccle ...

Early life

Selous was born in

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropolitan borough, it me ...

to Gerald and Mary Selous (''née'' Casey). He was educated at

West Downs School West Downs School, Romsey Road, Winchester, Hampshire, was an English independent preparatory school, which was established in 1897 and closed in 1988. History Founding The school was founded by Lionel Helbert (1870–1919), with help from h ...

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

and the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...

, receiving a

BSc A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

in Industry and Trade in 1984. In 1981, Selous joined the

Honourable Artillery Company The Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) is a reserve regiment in the British Army. Incorporated by royal charter in 1537 by King Henry VIII, it is the oldest regiment in the British Army and is considered the second-oldest military unit in the w ...

. He served as a soldier until receiving a commission in the

Royal Regiment of Fusiliers The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers (often referred to as the Royal Fusiliers or, simply, the Fusiliers) is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division. Currently, the regiment has two battalions: the 1st battalion, part o ...

in October 1989. Selous was then transferred to the London Regiment in April 1993. He moved to the Regular Army Reserve of Officers in January 1996, thereby ending his active service. From 1988 until 1994, he was a director of his family firm CNS Electronics (now CNS Farnell). Then, from 1991 until 2001, he was an

underwriter Underwriting (UW) services are provided by some large financial institutions, such as banks, insurance companies and investment houses, whereby they guarantee payment in case of damage or financial loss and accept the financial risk for liabilit ...

at Great Lakes Reinsurance (UK) PLC.

Parliamentary career

Selous was first elected to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

in 2001, and had previously contested the Sunderland North seat in 1997. He is a director and prominent member of the

Conservative Christian Fellowship The Conservative Christian Fellowship (CCF) is an organisation working within the British Conservative Party. Established in 1990 by Tim Montgomerie and David Burrowes, while they were students at Exeter University, the organisation supports ...

. In 2006, Selous was promoted to Shadow Minister for Work and Pensions. In the Coalition government, he was the Parliamentary Private Secretary to

Iain Duncan Smith Sir George Iain Duncan Smith (born George Ian Duncan Smith; 9 April 1954), often referred to by his initials IDS, is a British politician who served as Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from 2001 to 2003. He was ...

, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, from 28 May 2010 to 16 July 2014. On 16 July 2014, he was appointed as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Ministry of Justice with responsibility for Prisons and Probation and retained this role following the 2015 general election. However he was asked to step down from the government by

Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Lady May (; née Brasier; born 1 October 1956) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served in David Cameron's cabi ...

after she became Prime Minister in July 2016. He attracted criticism in 2014 for reportedly stating at a Centre for Social Justice fringe meeting that "disabled people work harder because they're grateful to have a job". Selous subsequently said that he had simply been trying to convey the message that disabled people were valued by employers, and his observation that disabled people often work harder was supported by a spokesperson for Disability Rights UK. Selous chairs the All Party Parliamentary Group on Strengthening Couple Relationships, and argues that cross-party efforts to prevent family breakdown can relieve pressure on the care system. He was opposed to the

Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 (c. 30) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which introduced same-sex marriage in England and Wales. Background Civil partnerships were introduced in the United Kingdom in 2004, allowin ...

, arguing that it was directly contrary to what Jesus said. He was appointed Second Church Estates Commissioner, responsible for representing the Church Commissioners in Parliament and in the

General Synod The General Synod is the title of the governing body of some church organizations. Anglican Communion The General Synod of the Church of England, which was established in 1970 replacing the Church Assembly, is the legislative body of the Church of ...

of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

, on 10 January 2020.

References

External links

Andrew Selous MP
Official site *
Andrew Selous: Electoral history and profile
The Guardian
Andrew Selous MP
BBC Democracy Live, 5 June 2010 *

News items

Concerns over housing growth
BBC News, 6 November 2003
Swiss assisted suicide 'may be illegal'
BBC News, 16 April 2003
MP challenges Guides' age policy
BBC News, 25 January 2002 {{DEFAULTSORT:Selous, Andrew 1962 births Living people Military personnel from London People educated at Eton College Alumni of the London School of Economics Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Honourable Artillery Company soldiers Royal Regiment of Fusiliers officers UK MPs 2001–2005 UK MPs 2005–2010 UK MPs 2010–2015 UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs 2017–2019 UK MPs 2019–present Church Estates Commissioners