Previous Parliamentary and Government WOrk

Since first being elected as the Member of Parliament for South Northamptonshire in 2010, I have worked on a wide range of policy areas, including nearly six years in Government roles.

Business Secretary

I served as Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in Boris Johnson’s first cabinet, from his election as the new Leader of the Conservative Party in July 2019, through the General Election that year and until February 2020.

I am very proud of the work my Ministerial team and I did in that time to refocus the Department’s priorities toward the huge opportunities for our economy our global leadership on the green revolution brings, as well as making the UK the best place to start and grow a business.

You can read some of the highlights of my work below:

Leader of the House

Following the 2017 General Election, I was appointed to the role of Lord President of the House of Commons and Leader of the House of Commons. Acting as the Government’s representative in the House of Commons and Parliament’s representative in Cabinet, I worked to ensure the passage of legislation - including Brexit - as well as chairing the Queen’s meetings of the Privy Council.

During my time as Leader, I established the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme to provide confidential resolution of bullying and harassment complaints in Parliament, and to ensure that everyone - MPs, Peers, their teams and House staff - are treated with dignity and respect.

I also passed legislation for the Restoration and Renewal of Parliament, and chairs an Inter Ministerial Group focussing on early years policy to improve support in the period from conception to age two.

Environment Secretary

I served as Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in Theresa May’s first Cabinet from July 2016. In that time, we began building an entirely new farming subsidy regime to replace the Common Agricultural Policy in the wake of the decision by the UK to leave the EU.

We also worked on several important reforms, including legislation to ban modern ivory sales, the first ever national litter strategy, and launching our 25 year plan for the environment.

Energy Minister

Following the 2015 General Election, I was promoted to Minister of State at the Department for Energy and Climate Change, where my team and I worked to tackle the UK’s energy trilemma - the need to keep the lights on, keep bills down and decarbonise at the same time.

City Minister

In April 2014 I was delighted to join the government as Economic Secretary to the Treasury. It was an incredible first ministerial experience, and my work included the introduction of basic fee-free bank accounts and recovering UK money from the Icelandic government following our bail out of the Landsbanki estate at the height of the financial crisis.

Treasury Select Committee

I was elected to serve on the Treasury Select Committee in July 2010, where we held inquiries and took evidence on a range of issues in our efforts to hold to account the government, public bodies and key players in the financial services industry.

Highlights of our work during my time on the Committee were preventing cheques being phased out, investigating the LIBOR rigging scandal and supporting the government’s response to the eurozone crisis.

My ‘Three Bees’ - Babies, Banks & Brussels

My backbench work from 2010 until I entered government in 2014 focussed on three key priorities: giving every baby the best start for life, increasing competition and consumer choice in the banking sector, and seeking reform of the European Union. Together, these became known in my team as my ‘three bs’: Babies, Banks and Brussels.

The 1,001 Critical Days

In my first years in Parliament, I founded the All Party Parliamentary Group on Conception to Age Two and founded the 1,001 Critical Days campaign, launching a cross-party manifesto which formed the basis of all my work in Parliament to give every baby the best start for life. You can read more about this work here.

Bank Reform

My first campaign in Parliament focussed on reform of the banking sector to increase competition, primarily through the introduction of bank account number portability - allowing consumers to switch banks while keeping their account number and sort code, and therefore they direct debits and standing orders, the same.

Reform of the EU - the Fresh Start Project and Brexit

A key area of my work following my arrival in Parliament in 2010 was to pursue meaningful reform of the European Union to benefit member states - and to make the European project both more sustainable in the long term and also more attractive for the UK’s continued membership.

As well as founding the All Party Parliamentary Group on European Reform, I worked with Conservative colleagues to create the ‘Fresh Start Project’, making the case for reform across the EU’s institutions.