Ruth Rosamond Edwards (née Davis, 11 May 1984) is a British politician who served as the
Member of Parliament (MP) for
Rushcliffe
Rushcliffe is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in south Nottinghamshire, England. Its council is based in West Bridgford. The borough also includes the towns of Bingh ...
after the
2019 general election until the
2024 election.
A member of the
Conservative Party, she worked in cybersecurity policy prior to her political career.
Early life and career
Edwards was born in Bristol as the daughter of Christopher Charles Davis and Nelly Davis. She was privately educated at
Clifton High School, Bristol
Clifton High School is a Mixed-sex education, co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, private school in Clifton, Bristol, England. Clifton High School was founded as an Single-sex education, all-girls' school in 1877 for girls ag ...
, before studying theology at the
London School of Theology
The London School of Theology (LST), formerly London Bible College, is a British interdenominational evangelicalism, evangelical theological college based in Northwood, London, Northwood within the London Borough of Hillingdon.
History
Durin ...
, where she gained a First Class BA in Theology. She went on to complete a master's MSc degree in International Development and Security at the
University of Bristol
The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...
, achieving a Distinction.
After graduation, she worked as a parliamentary researcher for then Shadow Minister for Home Affairs and Counter Terrorism
Crispin Blunt
Crispin Jeremy Rupert Blunt (born 15 July 1960) is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Reigate from 1997 to 2024. Formerly a member of the Conservative Party, he was the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State f ...
. She then worked as a strategy consultant for
Deloitte
Deloitte is a multinational professional services network based in London, United Kingdom. It is the largest professional services network in the world by revenue and number of employees, and is one of the Big Four accounting firms, along wi ...
from 2010 to 2012.
Edwards subsequently worked as a specialist for the
Home Affairs Select Committee
The Home Affairs Select Committee is a departmental select committee of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
Remit
The Home Affairs Committee is one of the House of Commons Select ...
from 2012 to 2013. She then completed a crime and justice research fellowship at the think tank
Policy Exchange
Policy Exchange is a British conservative think tank based in London. In 2007 it was described in ''The Daily Telegraph'' as "the largest, but also the most influential think tank on the right". Policy Exchange is a registered charity; it most ...
in 2013. She left Policy Exchange to become Head of Cyber, Justice and Emergency Services at the trade association TechUK, where she worked from 2013 to 2015. After this, Edwards worked as the head of commercial strategy and public policy for the telecommunications company
BT from 2015 to 2019.
Parliamentary career
Edwards stood as the Conservative candidate for the
Liberal Democrat
Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party, Democratic Liberal Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties have usually followed liberalism as ideology, although they can vary widely from very progr ...
-held
Ceredigion
Ceredigion (), historically Cardiganshire (, ), is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the West Wales, west of Wales. It borders Gwynedd across the River Dyfi, Dyfi estuary to the north, Powys to the east, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire t ...
seat at the
2017 general election, where she came fourth.
In 2019 Edwards was selected as the candidate for the seat of
Rushcliffe
Rushcliffe is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in south Nottinghamshire, England. Its council is based in West Bridgford. The borough also includes the towns of Bingh ...
on 16 October 2019.
The seat had previously been represented by
Father of the House
Father of the House is a title that has been traditionally bestowed, unofficially, on certain members of some legislatures, most notably the House of Commons in the United Kingdom. In some legislatures the title refers to the longest continuously ...
, and former
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The chancellor of the exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and the head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, t ...
Kenneth Clarke
Kenneth Harry Clarke, Baron Clarke of Nottingham (born 2 July 1940) is a British politician who served as Home Secretary from 1992 to 1993 and Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1993 to 1997. A member of the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative ...
since 1970, who announced his retirement on 27 June. Edwards was elected with a majority of 7,643 in the 2019 general election. She was a member of the
Home Affairs Select Committee
The Home Affairs Select Committee is a departmental select committee of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
Remit
The Home Affairs Committee is one of the House of Commons Select ...
from March 2020 to November 2021.
Edwards was the
Parliamentary Private Secretary to the
Secretary of State for Scotland
The secretary of state for Scotland (; ), also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Scotland Office. The incum ...
Alister Jack
Alister William Jack, Baron Jack of Courance (born 7 July 1963) is a Scottish politician who served as Secretary of State for Scotland from 2019 to 2024. A member of the Scottish Conservatives, he served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for ...
between February 2020 and July 2022. She resigned from the role in July 2022 in protest against Prime Minister
Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...
's handling of the
Chris Pincher scandal. She accused him of leading a government which "turned a blind eye to allegations of sexual assault within its own ranks."
In 2020 Edwards voted not to call on the Government to develop and implement a plan to eliminate the substantial majority of transport emissions by 2030. Ruth Edwards has generally voted against measures to prevent climate change.
In 2023, Edwards served as a junior
Government Whip
A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline (that members of the party vote according to the party platform rather than their constituents, individual conscience or donors) in a legislature.
Whips a ...
in the
Department for Work and Pensions
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for welfare spending, welfare, pensions and child maintenance ...
, before moving to serve as the junior whip in
Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is a ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for environmental protection, food production and standards, agriculture, fisheries and r ...
, and the
Department for Health and Social Care.
Outside of her parliamentary role, she was also an adviser to the HR payroll software company
MHR, for which Mongoose Bridges, a company that she co-owns with her husband, received £5,000 a month between May 2021 and December 2021.
Edwards endorsed
Rishi Sunak
Rishi Sunak (born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2022 to 2024. Following his defeat to Keir Starmer's La ...
during the
July–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election
The July–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election was triggered by Boris Johnson's announcement on 7 July 2022 that he would resign as Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister of ...
. She lost her bid for re-election in the
2024 election.
Personal life
She married Owen Edwards in July 2019. They met during her 2017 general election campaign, when he was the chairman of
Ceredigion
Ceredigion (), historically Cardiganshire (, ), is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the West Wales, west of Wales. It borders Gwynedd across the River Dyfi, Dyfi estuary to the north, Powys to the east, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire t ...
's
Conservative Association
A Conservative Association (CA) is a local organisation composed of Conservative Party members in the United Kingdom. Every association varies in membership size but all correspond to a parliamentary constituency in England, Wales, Scotland and N ...
.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Ruth
1984 births
21st-century English women politicians
21st-century English politicians
Alumni of the London School of Theology
Alumni of the University of Bristol
BT Group people
Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies
Living people
Politicians from Bristol
UK MPs 2019–2024