Andrew Rosindell
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Andrew Richard Rosindell MP (; born 17 March 1966) is a British Conservative Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Romford since 2001. He has been the international director of the European Foundation, chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Flags and Heraldry Committee and the UK's All-Party Parliamentary Group on the
British Overseas Territories The British Overseas Territories (BOTs) or alternatively referred to as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs) are the fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom that, ...
. Rosindell holds socially conservative and Eurosceptic political views; he campaigned for
Brexit Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...
and was one of the 28 original Conservative MPs who rebelled against Theresa May's Brexit withdrawal agreement in 2019.


Early life and career

Andrew Rosindell was born on 17 March 1966 in Romford,
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, as the son of a school dinner lady. Rosindell attended Marshalls Park School. He joined the Conservative Party at the age of 14. He was chairman of the Young Conservatives from 1993 to 1994, chairman of the International Young Democrat Union from 1998 to 2002, and from 1997 to 2001, he was director of the European Foundation think tank. Before becoming an MP, he was a local councillor in Romford on Havering Council, winning the Chase Cross and Havering-atte-Bower ward from the Liberal Democrats in 1990 with a 25% swing. In 1998, he held the council seat and took an 88% share of the vote.


Parliamentary career

At the 1992 general election, Rosindell stood as the Conservative candidate in Glasgow Provan, coming third with 7.8% of the vote behind the incumbent Labour MP Jimmy Wray and the Liberal Democrat candidate. Rosindell stood in Thurrock at the 1997 general election, coming second with 26.8% of the vote behind the incumbent Labour MP Andrew MacKinlay. Rosindell was elected to the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...
at the 2001 general election as MP for Romford with 53% of the vote and a majority of 5,977. Former Conservative
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Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...
visited the constituency during the campaign, in which Rosindell also canvassed with his Staffordshire Bull Terrier Spike, who wore a
union flag The Union Jack or Union Flag is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. The Union Jack was also used as the official flag of several British colonies and dominions before they adopted their own national flags. It is sometimes a ...
waistcoat. This was a tactic Rosindell had employed previously, such as his campaign in Glasgow Provan in 1992. At the 2005 election, Rosindell was re-elected as MP for Romford with an increased vote share of 59.1% and an increased majority of 11,589. At the beginning of the MPs' expenses scandal, in June 2009, ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'' reported that Rosindell "claimed more than £125,000 in second home expenses for a flat in London, while designating his childhood home 17 miles away – where his mother lived – as his main address", and between "2006 and 2008 claimed the maximum £400 a month for food". In March 2010, the
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reported that Rosindell had breached Parliamentary rules by accepting subsidised overseas trips to Gibraltar and subsequently raising multiple Gibraltar-related issues in Parliament without disclosing the trips in the Register of Members' Interests. Rosindell was again re-elected at the 2010 general election, with a decreased vote share of 56% and an increased majority of 16,954. In September 2010, Rosindell sponsored the first Erotica event to be held in the Houses of Parliament. Rosindell maintained that he was promoting the hosts, a Romford-based business, as was his duty as the constituency MP. In June 2012, Rosindell was criticised for expressing "huge admiration" for former Chilean President
Augusto Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean military officer and politician who was the dictator of Military dictatorship of Chile, Chile from 1973 to 1990. From 1973 to 1981, he was the leader ...
. The comments were condemned by Labour Leader Ed Miliband and neighbouring Labour MP Jon Cruddas, who stated in an interview with the ''Romford Recorder'' that "Augusto Pinochet assumed power in a coup d'état and overthrew a democratically elected government. According to various reports and investigations thousands of people were killed in this process, and tens of thousands were interned and tortured by his regime". Rosindell made the comments whilst defending a local colleague who had been criticised for apparently endorsing Pinochet, and stated that Pinochet had overthrown a "far worse" communist regime and that "we should be grateful" for the assistance Pinochet's Chile provided to the British forces retaking the
Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; ), commonly referred to as The Falklands, is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and from Cape Dub ...
. In February 2015, Rosindell cast doubt on the ability of Rachel Reeves (then Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions) to handle that ministerial responsibility in a potential post-
election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...
Labour cabinet, as she would be taking maternity leave soon after the election and would then have a young child to care for following her return to the post in September. He was criticised for the remarks by Labour MPs, whilst Conservative leader and Prime Minister David Cameron described his comments as "outrageous". At the 2015 general election, Rosindell was again re-elected, with a decreased vote share of 51% and a decreased majority of 13,859. Since the start of 2016, Rosindell has been a member of the Advisory Board of the UK-based 'Polar Regions' think-tank ''Polar Research and Policy Initiative''. Rosindell was again re-elected at the snap 2017 general election, with an increased vote share of 59.4% and a decreased majority of 13,778. In June 2018, Rosindell co-sponsored a Bill with Lord Empey to use Libyan funds frozen under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, to compensate victims of IRA terrorism supported by the Gaddafi regime. On 4 July 2018, Rosindell announced his bid to become the Conservative candidate for
Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom. The current ...
at the 2020 mayoral election. He failed to make the final shortlist. In January 2019, ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' discovered that Rosindell's
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account was a member of a group supporting far-right activist
Tommy Robinson Stephen Christopher Yaxley-Lennon (' Yaxley; born 27 November 1982), better known as Tommy Robinson, is a British anti-Islam sentiment, anti-Islam campaigner and one of the UK's most prominent far-right activists. Robinson has been active in ...
. The group was specifically concerned with supporting Robinson after he was jailed for contempt of court. Rosindell said that he had been added to the group without his knowledge; however, according to ''The Times'', it would be necessary for a Facebook user to confirm acceptance before being added to a group. At the 2019 general election, Rosindell was again re-elected, with an increased vote share of 64.6% and an increased majority of 17,893. On 21 October 2020, Rosindell was removed as trade envoy to
Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...
, a position to which he had been appointed to by Theresa May in 2018, because of his highly critical views against Boris Johnson's three-tier lockdown plan to tackle the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic in the UK. In November 2021, during an interview on the BBC's '' Newsnight'', Rosindell said he was cautious about the idea of MPs being banned from having second jobs. He said MPs are "human beings who have families and responsibilities" but that the first duty of MPs "must be to Parliament, to our constituency and to the work we do for our country." ''
Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American political digital newspaper company founded by American banker and media executive Robert Allbritton in 2007. It covers politics and policy in the Unit ...
'' reported in December 2022 that Rosindell was among a small group of about ten backbench MPs who have made a large number of overseas visits while in office. Rosindell's travel record included 16 trips to Gibraltar and 29 trips to other countries, valued at around £45,247. Rosindell was again re-elected at the 2024 general election, with a decreased vote share of 34.8% and a decreased majority of 1,463. In Kemi Badenoch's first shadow cabinet, Rosindell was appointed Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs.


Political views

Rosindell's political views are socially conservative and Thatcherite: he is a Eurosceptic, who supports the re-introduction of the
death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...
and the detention of
asylum seekers An asylum seeker is a person who leaves their country of residence, enters another country, and makes in that other country a formal application for the right of asylum according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 14. A pers ...
. A 2002 BBC profile called him "a right-wing populist". He is also a member of the right-wing group The Freedom Association and is a supporter of the Blue Collar Conservatives. He was a member of the Monday Club, a Conservative-aligned organisation on the right of the party, until he was compelled to resign in 2001 by the party's then-leader Iain Duncan Smith. Following an interim report on the connections between
colonialism Colonialism is the control of another territory, natural resources and people by a foreign group. Colonizers control the political and tribal power of the colonised territory. While frequently an Imperialism, imperialist project, colonialism c ...
and properties now in the care of the National Trust, including links with historic slavery, Rosindell was among the signatories of a letter to '' The Telegraph'' in November 2020 from the " Common Sense Group" of Conservative Parliamentarians. The letter accused the National Trust of being "coloured by cultural Marxist dogma, colloquially known as the ' woke agenda'". He is the Hon. President and Patron of the Royalists.


LGBT issues

Rosindell has consistently voted against bills furthering
LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, Gay men, gay, Bisexuality, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the Capital punishmen ...
, including equalising the
age of consent The age of consent is the age at which a person is considered to be legally competent to consent to Human sexual activity, sexual acts. Consequently, an adult who engages in sexual activity with a person younger than the age of consent is un ...
,
civil partnerships A civil union (also known as a Civil partnership in the United Kingdom, civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, primarily created to provide legal recognition for Same-sex relationship, same-sex couples. Civi ...
and scrapping Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988, which banned teachers from "promoting homosexuality" or "teaching ... the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship". He has said, "I do not believe that politicians should interfere with and attempt to redefine ancient customs, traditions and ceremonies, most of which are based on religious foundations and have been in existence through the ages." In 2013, Rosindell opposed the legalisation of
same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...
, stating: "Where would it end? You could finish up at a stage where the monarchy in this country is in a same-sex marriage and that would have constitutional implications."


Euroscepticism and border control

In 2012, Rosindell unsuccessfully attempted to introduce the United Kingdom Borders Bill, a private member's bill aiming to create a dedicated entry queue for citizens of countries where the British
Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...
is head of state, as well as introducing pictures of the Queen and more royal symbols at UK borders. He reiterated calls for preferential treatment of "Her Majesty's subjects" visiting Britain in 2015, whilst also calling for the immigration system to favour Commonwealth citizens, as opposed to those from the EU. This measure was then adopted by Chancellor Philip Hammond in his October 2018 budget. Rosindell has spoken in favour of a federal UK and in 2014 proposed a bill calling for a separate English Parliament, whilst declaring himself opposed to the idea of imposing English votes for English laws restrictions on the Westminster Parliament. In September 2015, Rosindell presented a
Ten Minute Rule The Ten Minute Rule, also known as Standing Order No. 23, is a procedure in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom for the introduction of Private members' bills in the Parliament of the United Kingdom, private member's bills in addition to ...
Bill to Parliament entitled the United Kingdom Borders (Control and Sovereignty) Bill. In his speech presenting the Bill, he argued that Britain must take back control of its borders from the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
, stating that "A nation that does not retain sovereignty over its national borders will ultimately be powerless to determine its own destiny". The speech also advocated a policy of controlled immigration, arguing that public services were unable to keep up with the number of people entering the country every year. In an early day motion of 3 November 2016, as a celebration of the Brexit vote and Britain withdrawing from the European Union, Rosindell argued for a return to the broadcasting of " God Save the Queen" at the end of
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...
transmissions each day. The practice was dropped in 1997 (ostensibly due to BBC One adopting 24-hour broadcasting by simulcasting BBC News 24 overnight, rendering closedown obsolete). That evening,
BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...
's ''Newsnight'' programme ended its nightly broadcast with host Kirsty Wark saying that they were "incredibly happy to oblige" Rosindell's request, before ending with a clip of the Sex Pistols performing the punk song of the same name (an anti-monarchist song), much to Rosindell's discontent. In 2017, Rosindell said: "The humiliation of having a pink European Union passport will now soon be over and the United Kingdom nationals can once again feel pride and self-confidence in their own nationality when travelling, just as the Swiss and Americans can do. National identity matters and there is no better way of demonstrating this today than by bringing back this much-loved national symbol when travelling overseas."


Foreign affairs

In July 2010, Rosindell was appointed by the Chairman of the Conservative Party, Sayeeda Warsi, onto the board of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy. Since 2015, Rosindell has served on the
Foreign Affairs Select Committee The Foreign Affairs Select Committee is one of many select committees of the British House of Commons, which scrutinises the expenditure, administration and policy of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office The Foreign, Commonwea ...
. Rosindell proposed in 2012 that
Crown Dependencies The Crown Dependencies are three dependent territory, offshore island territories in the British Islands that are self-governing possessions of the The Crown, British Crown: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, both lo ...
and
British Overseas Territories The British Overseas Territories (BOTs) or alternatively referred to as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs) are the fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom that, ...
should be represented in the UK parliament, like dependencies of Australia, Denmark, France and the Netherlands have been. During the police action surrounding the 2017 Catalan independence referendum, Rosindell spoke out in his capacity as the vice-chairman of the APPG on
Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...
to say the UK should have sent a 'much stronger' message about condemning the Spanish government's reaction, saying the violence "brought shame on Spain and shame on the European Union". In March 2025, Rosindell called on the
Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...
to "take their rightful place in the family of the
Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an International organization, international association of member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, 56 member states, the vast majo ...
" during a debate on Saint Patrick's Day.


Animal welfare

In 2012, Rosindell became chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Zoos and Aquariums Group. Rosindell joined Philip Davies and Christopher Chope in repeatedly blocking a backbench bill banning the use of wild animals in circuses from progressing through Parliament, finally blocking it by lodging an objection in March 2015. Rosindell had earlier argued the circus is a "Great British institution…
hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...
deserves to be defended against the propaganda and exaggerations". The bill had the support of the Coalition government, the Labour opposition and public opinion.


Flags and heraldry

Rosindell is well known for his interest in flags, being described by ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' in 2011 as a "flag fanatic". He is a member of the Flag Institute, an educational organisation that offers advice and guidance about flags and their usage. On 5 February 2008, Rosindell became founding chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Flag Group (APPFG), and proposed a Union Flag Bill under the Ten Minute Rule. The APPFG changed its name to the Flags & Heraldry Committee in April 2010. In April 2021 Rosindell joined other Conservative Party members in calling for the
Union Flag The Union Jack or Union Flag is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. The Union Jack was also used as the official flag of several British colonies and dominions before they adopted their own national flags. It is sometimes a ...
to be flown outside UK schools.


Sexual assault allegation

In May 2022, Rosindell was arrested by the Metropolitan Police on suspicion of indecent assault, sexual assault, rape, abuse of position of trust, and misconduct in public office. He had been under investigation since January 2020 for events occurring between 2002 and 2009, when he was a whip and shadow minister. He persistently denied any wrongdoing. In February 2024, the Metropolitan Police concluded that the evidence held did not meet the threshold for prosecution and that no further action would be taken. A spokesperson for Rosindell stated that "He has been working constantly for Romford throughout the past 21 months and will continue to speak up for the people of his beloved home town as their local MP."


References


External links


Andrew Rosindell official site
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rosindell, Andrew 1966 births British activists British monarchists Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Councillors in the London Borough of Havering Living people People from Romford UK MPs 2001–2005 UK MPs 2005–2010 UK MPs 2010–2015 UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs 2017–2019 UK MPs 2019–2024 International Young Democrat Union chairs People educated at Marshalls Park School Members of the Freedom Association British Eurosceptics UK MPs 2024–present