Oliver Colvile

Oliver Colvile MP
Member of Parliament for Plymouth Sutton & Devonport
Incumbent
Assumed office 6 May 2010
Preceded by	Linda Gilroy
Majority	1,149 (2.62%)
Personal details
Born	(1959-08-26) 26 August 1959 (age 52) [1]
Nationality	British
Political party	Conservative
Relations	Charles Colvile
Profession	Politician
Religion	Church of England
Website	olivercolvile.org

Oliver Newton Colvile^[2] (born 26 August 1959) is the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Plymouth Sutton & Devonport. He won the seat from the Labour candidate Linda Gilroy at the May 2010 general election.^[3]

Background

Educated at Stowe School, Colvile comes from a Naval family, his father having served as an officer in the Royal Navy for over thirty years, his grandfather being the First Lieutenant of Plymouth’s Naval barracks, whilst his uncle was a Royal Marines officer who served at Stonehouse. He has lived for the last ten years in the old Royal Naval Hospital, the Millfields, in Plymouth.^[4]

Political career

Colvile has stated that his interest in politics took hold at school when he became fascinated by how an idea could become law or a policy to protect civil liberties, enhance people’s freedom and enjoyment of life. He joined the Conservative Party’s professional staff when he was just 21, working for some well-known Ministers and high-profile backbench MPs. It gave him great experience at the sharp end of political life and was later entrusted with masterminding and devising community campaigns which saw the Conservatives successfully return to Parliament a number of its candidates in the most marginal seats.^[5]

In the 2010 General Election he won his Plymouth seat with a majority of 1149 and 34.3% of the votes cast, ousting the sitting Labour MP with a swing of 6.9% calculated after allowing for significant boundary changes.

Since 26 July 2010, Colvile has served on the House of Commons Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee.

Controversy

Colvile was criticised when it was revealed in October 2011 that he received hospitality of £694.80 from Japan Tobacco, owners of the Benson & Hedges and Silk Cut brands, paying for a trip for him to see Test Match cricket at the Oval in the summer. This came shortly after he voted in favour of relaxing the smoking ban. ^[6]

Other interests

Following a spell at an internationally-renowned agency advising on business development, since 1996 Oliver Colvile has run a communications business specialising in handling community consultation for major regeneration projects. He is a member of the Federation of Small Businesses and the Institute of Directors, and is also a Director of the Enterprise Forum.^[5]

Colvile is a keen cricket fan and member of the Addis Army, which supports the England national side.^[7] He is also a member of the Lansdowne club and the MCC.

References