Andrew Lewer

Andrew Lewer MEP

Andrew Lewer (born 18 July 1971 in Burnley, Lancashire^[1]) is a Member of the European Parliament for the East Midlands region for the Conservative Party. He was elected in 2014.^[2]

A former Ashbourne resident Andrew now lives in Hopton, Derbyshire and attended Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School in Ashbourne before going on to university to read history, first at Newcastle then at Downing College, Cambridge. Andrew worked in publishing in Ashbourne for a time and was first elected to local government for the Conservative Party at Derbyshire Dales District Council in 2003 for Ashbourne South Ward and then for Derbyshire County Council in 2005 for Ashbourne Division, being elected as Group Leader (in opposition), in 2007. In 2009, the Conservatives took control of Derbyshire County Council, for the first time in 28 years, making Andrew the youngest county council leader at the time. During this term in office, despite a majority of just one seat, and, for a time being in 'no overall control', not a single vote was lost in Council meetings. During these four years he was chairman of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site committee, the founding Chairman of the Health and Wellbeing Board and a founding director of the Local Enterprise Partnership for Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire - D2N2. In the 2013 local government elections control of Derbyshire County Council returned to Labour.^[3] Andrew was elected to the European Parliament representing the East Midlands in May 2014. He was awarded the MBE for his services to local government after Leading Derbyshire County Council from 2009 to 2013.^[4]

Andrew, who was the Deputy Leader of the Local Government Association (LGA) for a time and Deputy Chairman of the Culture Tourism and Sport Board (2011–14), is now a Vice President of the LGA (2014-).^[5]

Andrew was appointed to the Regional Development Committee and the Culture Committee as spokesperson for the European Conservative and Reformists Group in 2014.^[6] and the Chairman of the ECR Policy Group on Subsidiarity and Localism ^[7] and he is the Vice-Chairman of New Direction, the Foundation for European Reform.^[8] He is also a Director of the Derbyshire Historic Buildings Trust and a governor of Derby University.^[9]

On education he has been critical of federalist plans to introduce the teaching of the ethos of the EU and benefits of being a member state in schools.^[10] As a member of both the ECR Policy Group on Religious Freedom ^[11] and the European Parliament Inter Group on Religious Freedom ^[12] he has highlighted the plight of Iranian Christians.^[13][14]

References