Selaine Rachel Saxby ( ; born 25 November 1970) is a British Conservative Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for

North Devon North Devon is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Devon, England. Its council is based just outside Barnstaple, the district's largest town. The district also includes the towns of Ilfracombe, Lynton and Lynmouth and Sout ...

from

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

to 2024. She was also a councillor on North Devon Council.

Early life and career

Selaine Saxby was born on 25 November 1970 in

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

to Kenneth and Pamela Saxby. Her father is a former headteacher. She attended Eastbourne Sixth Form College, before studying mathematics and management at

Magdalene College, Cambridge Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary ...

, where she gained a BA first class honours degree in maths and management studies in 1992. She founded the independent

sports bra A sports bra is a bra that provides support to the breasts during physical exercise. Sturdier than typical bras, they minimize breast movement and alleviate discomfort. Many women wear sports bras to reduce pain and physical discomfort ca ...

retailer Lessbounce Ltd. in 2000, and ran the business until 2016, when it went into

liquidation Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a Company (law), company is brought to an end. The assets and property of the business are redistributed. When a firm has been liquidated, it is sometimes referred to as :wikt:wind up#Noun, w ...

. During this period, she was one of the signatories to a letter of support from small business owners endorsing the Conservatives at the 2015 general election. Saxby also founded Pink Aerobics, which organised

aerobics Aerobics is a form of physical exercise that combines rhythmic aerobic exercise with stretching and strength training routines with the goal of improving all elements of fitness (Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, Muscle, muscular strength, and ...

events to raise money for breast cancer charities; it raised over £500,000. She was the chief of staff for

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

Ben Howlett Ben Howlett may refer to: * Ben Howlett (footballer), Australian rules footballer * Ben Howlett (politician), British politician * Ben Howlett (basketball), American college basketball coach {{hndis, Howlett, Ben ...

between 2015 and 2017. From 2017 to 2018, she was a business support consultant. In May 2019, Saxby was elected to represent Instow ward on North Devon Council.

Parliamentary career

Saxby stood as the Conservative Party candidate in

Llanelli ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Carmarthenshire and the Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is on the estuary of the River Loughor and is the largest town in the Principal areas of Wales, ...

at the 2015 general election, coming fourth with 14.3% of the vote behind the incumbent Labour MP

Nia Griffith Dame Nia Rhiannon Griffith (born 4 December 1956) is a Welsh politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Llanelli since 2005. A member of the Labour Party, she has served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales and ...

, the

Plaid Cymru Plaid Cymru ( ; , ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, and often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left, Welsh nationalist list of political parties in Wales, political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from th ...

candidate, and the

UKIP The UK Independence Party (UKIP, ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), member ...

. In November 2019, Saxby was selected as the Conservative candidate for

. At the 2019 general election, she was elected to parliament with 56.5% of the vote and a majority of 14,813. She was a member of the

Work and Pensions Select Committee The Work and Pensions Select Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the committee is to examine the expenditure, administration, and policy of the Department for Work and Pen ...

from March 2020 until her unseating. In October 2020, following a vote in parliament against a Labour Party

Opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * ''The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Comedy ...

Day Motion to extend free school meals over holidays, Saxby was criticised for stating in a

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

post that she hoped if local businesses were able to offer free food, then they would not be seeking further government help. She later deleted her Facebook post, stating her comments had been taken "out of context". She said in a statement that she regretted any offence that "may have been caused", and also criticised "a small but hostile element" on social media who she said had been "aggressive and personally abusive" towards her and her staff. On 13 June 2022, Saxby was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to Simon Clarke, the

chief secretary to the Treasury The Chief Secretary to the Treasury is a senior ministerial office in the government of the United Kingdom and is the second most senior ministerial office in HM Treasury, after the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The office holder is always a full ...

. She resigned from the role on 6 July 2022, in connection with the resignations of

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 ...

and

Sajid Javid Sir Sajid Javid (; born 5 December 1969) is a British former politician who served as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care from June 2021 to July 2022, having previously served as Home Secretary from 2018 to 2019 and Chancellor of the ...

over 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 The Chris Pincher scandal was a political controversy in the United Kingdom related to allegations of sexual assault and misconduct by the former Conservative Party Deputy Chief Whip, Chris Pincher. In early July 2022, allegations of Pincher's ...

. In the

October 2022 Conservative Party leadership election The October 2022 Conservative Party leadership election was triggered by Liz Truss's announcement that she would resign as Leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, amid an economic and political crisis. In t ...

, Saxby supported Rishi Sunak. In February 2023, Saxby was re-selected as the Conservative candidate for North Devon at the

2024 general election This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2024 United Nations Security Council election * 2024 national electoral calendar * 2024 local electo ...

. While campaigning in May 2024, she was bitten on the leg by a dog when doorknocking. In the

2024 United Kingdom 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 of the United Kingdom, House of Commons. The opposition Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, led by Keir Starmer, won a lan ...

she was unseated by

Ian Roome Ian Roome () is a British Liberal Democrat politician who was elected as the Member of Parliament for North Devon in the 2024 United Kingdom general election. He previously served for two terms as Mayor of Barnstaple. Early life and career Roo ...

from the Liberal Democrats.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saxby, Selaine 1970 births Living people Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge UK councillors 2019–2023 UK MPs 2019–2024 Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies 21st-century British women politicians British businesspeople in retailing Schoolteachers from Devon Conservative Party (UK) councillors Councillors in Devon Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for constituencies in Devon Politicians from Coventry Schoolteachers from the West Midlands 21st-century English women 21st-century English politicians Women councillors in England