Andrew Rosindell

Andrew Rosindell MP
Member of Parliament for Romford
Incumbent
Assumed office 7 June 2001
Preceded by	Eileen Gordon
Majority	16,954 (36.5%)
Personal details
Born	(1966-03-17) 17 March 1966 (age 46) Romford, London, England
Nationality	English
Political party	Conservative
Profession	Journalist, PR Consultant

Andrew Richard Rosindell (born 17 March 1966) is an English Conservative politician. He is the Member of Parliament for the Romford constituency in Greater London. He is also the international director of the European Foundation,^[1] chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Flags & Heraldry Committee,^[2] and member of the Flag Institute.

Early life

He was born in Romford and attended Rise Park and then Marshalls Park School on Pettits Lane. Before entering politics on a full-time basis, he was a freelance journalist and public relations consultant.

He was chairman of the Young Conservatives from 1993 to 1994. He was chairman of the International Young Democrat Union from 1998 to 2002. From 1997-2001, 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. In 1998 he took an 81% share of the vote, a record for a Conservative in a London borough.

Parliamentary career

After unsuccessful attempts to win seats in Glasgow and Thurrock, Rosindell finally reached Parliament in the 2001 general election, defeating the former teacher and Labour MP, Eileen Gordon. Rosindell won 18,931 votes (53% share) – a swing of 9.2% from Labour to Conservative. It was one of the few seats the Conservatives managed to regain after the Labour landslide at the 1997 election. During the election he campaigned with his Staffordshire Bull Terrier Spike, who wore a union flag waistcoat.^[3]

At the 2005 election Rosindell increased his majority to 11,589, winning 21,560 votes on a 59.1% share. This was the second highest Conservative share of the vote anywhere in the UK.^[4] During the election campaign a clash between Labour and Conservative activists distributing leaflets at Romford railway station resulted in the police being called.^[5]

Blogger Paul Staines has said Rosindell is "becoming a left-wing hate figure", as well as calling him a future Mayor of London.^[6] He has also been called a "local champion who defied the trend in 2001 winning Romford from Labour. He is 'Mr Romford' in tune with his voters and viewed as a local son and 'our MP'".^[7]

Rosindell's political views are firmly right-wing: he is a Eurosceptic and supports the re-introduction of the death penalty and the detention of asylum seekers.^[8] He is a member of the Freedom Association, and was a member of the Monday Club, until he was compelled to resign in 2001 by the then Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith.

Rosindell was elected a vice-chairman of the Conservative Party in 2004, and in December 2005, he became an Opposition Whip. In July 2007, he was appointed as a Shadow Minister for Home Affairs. On 5 February 2008 Rosindell became founding chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Flag Group (APPFG)^[9][10] on which day he also introduced The Union Flag Bill ^[11] (under the Ten Minute Rule, SO No 23). In April 2010 the APPFG changed its name to the Flags & Heraldry Committee.

At the 2010 election Rosindell increased his majority to 16,594, winning 26,031 votes on a 56.0% share. He has since been elected onto the Foreign Affairs Select Committee as well as taking the Chairmanship of various all-party parliamentary group's. In July 2010 Rosindell was appointed by the Chairman of the Conservative Party, Sayeeda Warsi, onto the board of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy.

In September 2010 Rosindell again courted controversy when he 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 is his constituency duty.^[12]

On June 23, 2011, Rosindell opposed the ban on animals in circuses, saying that "these animals are born in captivity and know no different". The ban was introduced by fellow MPs without the need for a vote.

Notes

External links

• Andrew Rosindell - official site
• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Andrew Rosindell
• Conservative Party - Andrew Rosindell MP biography
• Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Andrew Rosindell MP
• TheyWorkForYou.com - Andrew Rosindell MP
• The Public Whip - Andrew Rosindell MP voting record
• BBC News - Andrew Rosindell profile 15 March, 2005
• Andrew Rosindell on Twitter