Andrew Sawford (born 15 March 1976) is a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for

Corby Corby is a town and civil parish in the North Northamptonshire district of Northamptonshire, England, northeast of Northampton. In 2021 it had a population of 68,164. From 1974 to 2021, it was the administrative headquarters of the Borough of ...

from 2012 to 2015. A member of the

Labour and Co-operative Labour and Co-operative Party (often abbreviated to Labour Co-op; ) is a description used by candidates in United Kingdom elections who stand on behalf of both the Labour Party and the Co-operative Party. Candidates contest elections under an e ...

parties, he was a Shadow Minister for

Communities and Local Government The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for housing, communities, and local government in England. It was established in May 2006 ...

from 2013 to 2015.

Early life and career

Sawford was born in Desborough, Northamptonshire on 15 March 1976 to

Phil Phil may refer to: * Phil (given name), a shortened version of masculine and feminine names * Phill, a given name also spelled "Phil" * Phil, Kentucky, United States * Phil (film), ''Phil'' (film), a 2019 film * -phil-, a lexical fragment, used as ...

and Rosemary Sawford. He was educated at a

comprehensive school A comprehensive school is a secondary school for pupils aged 11–16 or 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is restricted on the basis ...

. He went on to study history at

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

and graduated in 1997. Following university, Sawford worked in Parliament for the then-Corby MP

Phil Hope Philip Ian Hope (born 19 April 1955) is a former British Labour and Co-operative politician who was the member of parliament (MP) for Corby from 1997 until 2010, when he lost his seat to the Conservatives. He held several ministerial roles dur ...

. He was a councillor and Cabinet Member on Dartford Borough Council in

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

from 1999 to 2003 representing Littlebrook Ward. Sawford also worked for the

Local Government Association The Local Government Association (LGA) is the national membership body for local government in England, local authorities in England and Wales. Its core membership is made up of 317 English councils and the 22 Welsh councils through the ...

(LGA). From 2003 to 2007, Sawford was director of Connect Public Affairs advising local authorities and organisations such as the

National Association of Local Councils The National Association of Local Councils (NALC) is a membership organisation representing the interests of local (parish and town) councils in England. NALC works in partnership with county associations and the Society of Local Council Clerks ...

(NALC) and the Association of Police Authorities (APA). He was from 2008 to 2012 chief executive of the Local Government Information Unit (LGiU), a London-based thinktank and registered charity.

Parliamentary career

In October 2011, Sawford was selected to contest the marginal

constituency for Labour at the next general election. Following the resignation of incumbent

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Louise Mensch Louise Daphne Mensch (''née'' Bagshawe; born 28 June 1971) is a British blogger, novelist, and former Conservative Member of Parliament. In the 1990s she became known as a writer of chick lit novels under her maiden name Louise Bagshawe. She ...

in 2012, he won Corby at the subsequent by-election which became the first Labour by-election gain since

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

. Sawford sat on the Communities and Local Government Committee from 2012 to 2013. He was appointed as a Shadow Minister for Communities and Local Government, responsible for local government, in October 2013. He proposed a bill under the

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 ...

that would allow the public sector to bid against private sector providers for control over rail franchises. Sawford also proposed a Private Member's Bill on zero hours contracts. Sawford was defeated by Conservative

Tom Pursglove Thomas Christopher John Pursglove (born 5 November 1988) is a British Conservative Party politician who served as Minister of State for Legal Migration and the Border from December 2023 to July 2024. A member of the Conservative Party, he was t ...

at the 2015 general election, who won with a similar vote margin to Mensch's result in 2010.

Post-parliamentary career

After Parliament, Sawford became chief executive of Connect Communications, and later led a management buy-out to take ownership of the business. In June 2019 it was announced that Connect had acquired Stratagem, a Belfast-based public affairs agency. He also serves on the board of the

Public Relations and Communications Association The Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) is a trade association for the public relations sector in the United Kingdom. The association lobbies on behalf of its member companies and also provides a forum for sharing information. ...

, and is a governor of the Kettering Buccleuch Academy.

Personal life

His father,

Phil Sawford Philip Andrew Sawford (born 26 June 1950) is a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Kettering from 1997 to 2005. A member of the Labour Party, he was Leader of Kettering Borough Council from 1991 to 1997. Early lif ...

, served as Labour MP for

Kettering Kettering is a market town, market and industrial town, industrial town in the North Northamptonshire district of Northamptonshire, England, west of Cambridge, England, Cambridge, southwest of Peterborough, southeast of Leicester and north- ...

, a neighbouring constituency to Corby, from 1997 to 2005.

References

External links

Andy Sawford: Labour and Co-operative MP for Corby and East Northamptonshire
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sawford, Andy Living people People from Desborough Alumni of Grey College, Durham Labour Co-operative MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 2010–2015 1976 births Councillors in Kent People from Kettering