| Andrew Griffiths MP | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament for Burton |
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 6 May 2010 |
|
| Preceded by | Janet Dean |
| Majority | 6,304 (12.7%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 19 October 1970 Dudley, West Midlands, England |
| Nationality | English |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Website | Andrew Griffiths MP |
Andrew James Griffiths (born 19 October 1970) is an English politician. He is the Conservative Member of Parliament for Burton.[1]
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Griffiths grew up in Sedgley and attended Bramford Primary School and High Arcal School. His father, Bob Griffiths, served as Mayor of Dudley in 1982. Upon finishing his education in 1987, Griffiths joined the family engineering business in the West Midlands, manufacturing plant equipment for the construction industry. Later, he worked for the Leeds Permanent Building Society (later to become the Halifax) where he became a manager specialising in property and financial services.
Griffiths first entered politics at a local level when standing as a council candidate for Cosely on three separate occasions, losing them all.
In 1999, Andrew went to work for the West Midlands MEP team in the European Parliament in Brussels, before being appointed Adviser on farming and working for the European Agricultural Spokesman Neil Parish MEP.
Griffiths first contested the safe Labour seat of Dudley North at the 2001 general election, coming in 6,800 votes behind victor Ross Cranston. In 2004, Griffiths unsuccessfully stood as a Conservative candidate at the European Elections.
After the European Elections, Griffiths moved to Westminster to work for the Shadow Cabinet, as Chief of Staff to the Rt. Hon. Theresa May MP, where he worked on environment, transport and later family policy. During this time, Griffiths also helped set up Women 2 Win, a campaign to get more Conservative women elected to Parliament. In 2006, Griffiths moved to work for the Culture, Media and Sport team, working as Chief of Staff to Hugo Swire MP. The next year, he focused on community cohesion and local government matters as Chief of Staff to Eric Pickles MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, and remained Pickles' Chief of Staff when he became the Party Chairman.
Griffiths was elected at the 2010 General Election for Burton, regaining the seat for the Conservatives for the first time since 1997 when it was held by Ivan Lawrence from 1974.
Andrew now serves as Secretary of the APPG for the Misuse of Drugs and Alcohol, Additional General Secretary of the APPG for Kashmir, and Vice Chairman of the APPG for Home Education.
He is Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Beer and a member of the Political and Constitutional Reform Select Committee.
Having stood in Dudley North in 2001, Andrew - currently chief of staff to Eric Pickles - was selected in November 2006 for Burton. Griffiths was a member of the A-List.[2]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Janet Dean |
Member of Parliament for Burton 2010–present |
Incumbent |