Dean Russell (born 8 May 1976) is a British politician and author who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

from the 2019 general election until the 2024 general election. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Enterprise and Markets The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Employment Rights, Competition and Markets is a ministerial position in the Department for Business and Trade in the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government. It is currently held by Justi ...

for 37 days in 2022.

Early life and professional career

Dean Russell was born on 8 May 1976 in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

and attended Park Hall School in

Castle Bromwich Castle Bromwich () is a large suburban village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in the West Midlands, England. It borders the rest of the borough to the south east, Sutton Coldfield to the east and north east, Shard E ...

. He later graduated with a BSc in Physics and Business Studies and an

MPhil A Master of Philosophy (MPhil or PhM; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. The name of the degree is most often abbreviated MPhil (or, at times, as PhM in other countries). MPhil are awarded to postgraduate students after completing at least ...

in Physics and Material Science at the former

polytechnic A polytechnic is an educational institution that primarily focuses on vocational education, applied sciences, and career pathways. They are sometimes referred to as ''institutes of technology'', ''vocational institutes'', or ''universities of app ...

De Montfort University De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) is a public university in the city of Leicester, England. It was established in accordance with the Further and Higher Education Act 1992, Further and Higher Education Act in 1992 as a degree awarding body ...

. He then worked in marketing with Bluewave.

Political career

At the 2015 general election, Russell stood in

Luton North Luton North is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Sarah Owen, of the Labour Party. Constituency profile Luton North was created in 1983, primarily from the former seat of Luton West. It c ...

, coming second with 29.9% of the vote behind the incumbent Labour MP

Kelvin Hopkins Kelvin Peter Hopkins (born 22 August 1941) is a British politician. He was first elected as the Labour Member of Parliament for Luton North in 1997. Hopkins was suspended by the Labour Party in 2017 after allegations of sexual misconduct wer ...

. He stood in Luton South at the snap 2017 general election, coming second with 32.3% of the vote behind the incumbent Labour MP

Gavin Shuker Gavin Shuker (born 10 October 1981) is a British former politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Luton South from 2010 to 2019. Shuker was a Labour and Co-operative Party MP before defecting to form Change UK. He then left C ...

. Russell was elected to Parliament as MP for

at the 2019 general election with 45.5% of the vote and a majority of 4,433. Since being elected, Russell has become a member of the Health & Social Care Select Committee and the

Joint Committee on Human Rights The Joint Committee on Human Rights is a joint committee of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the committee is to consider human rights issues in the United Kingdom. Membership , the members of the committee are as follows: Se ...

. In October 2021, the

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hung ...

Sir

Lindsay Hoyle Sir Lindsay Harvey Hoyle (born 10 June 1957) is a British politician who has served as Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom), Speaker of the House of Commons since 2019 and as Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliamen ...

appointed Russell as the Chair of the Speaker's Advisory Committee on Works of Art. In November 2021, he was appointed as Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. In June 2021, Russell presented the Tips Bill to Parliament. This bill would prohibit employers retaining tips and gratuities intended for staff and make provision about the division of tips and gratuities between staff. The bill was withdrawn before its

Second Reading A reading of a bill is a stage of debate on the bill held by a general body of a legislature. In the Westminster system, developed in the United Kingdom, there are generally three readings of a bill as it passes through the stages of becoming ...

. In June 2022, after the Business Minister,

Paul Scully Paul Stuart Scully (born 29 April 1968) is a former British politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sutton and Cheam from 2015 to 2024. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as Minister for London from February 20 ...

, reassured Russell in Parliament that the UK Government would still support his bill, Russell presented the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Bill to Parliament. The bill was immediately granted a second reading in the House of Commons on 15 July 2022. Between 2019 and 2021, Russell sat on the public committee during the

committee stage An act of Parliament in the United Kingdom is primary legislation passed by the UK Parliament in Westminster, London. An act of Parliament can be enforced in all four of the UK constituent countries (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ire ...

of the Telecommunications (Security) Bill on its passage through 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 ...

. The Telecommunications (Security) Act 2021 was given royal assent on 17 November 2021. On two separate occasions (March 2021 and January 2023) Russell has introduced a First-Aid (Mental Health) 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 ...

to make mental health first-aid part of first-aid training requirements in workplaces. In the

2024 UK General Election The 2024 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 4 July 2024 to elect all 650 members of the House of Commons. The opposition Labour Party, led by Keir Starmer, won a landslide victory over the governing Conservative Party unde ...

, Russell was defeated by Labour's

Matt Turmaine Matthew Robert Turmaine (born 1969) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Watford since the 2024 general election. He was previously the Watford Borough Councillor for Holywell ward from 2012 unti ...

by 4,723 votes.

Personal life

He married Michelle in 2004 with whom he has a daughter. In Prime Ministers Questions in January 2024, Russell shared how he had experienced a heart attack at the age of 47. He claims he recognised the symptoms due to his experience campaigning for the

British Heart Foundation The British Heart Foundation (BHF) is a cardiovascular research charity in the United Kingdom. It funds medical research related to heart and circulatory diseases and their risk factors, and runs influencing work aimed at shaping public policy ...

in 2009.

Bibliography

Russell has written five books.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Dean 1976 births Living people UK MPs 2019–2024 Fellows of the Royal Society of Arts