Laura Trott

British politician and Conservative MP

Laura Trott MBE (born 7 December 1984)[1] is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Shadow Education Secretary since November 2024. Before, she was the Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury. Trott was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sevenoaks at the 2019 general election.


Laura Trott

Official portrait, 2023
Shadow Secretary of State for Education
Assumed office
4 November 2024
LeaderKemi Badenoch
Preceded byDamian Hinds
Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
In office
8 July 2024 – 4 November 2024
LeaderRishi Sunak
Preceded byDarren Jones
Succeeded byRichard Fuller
Chief Secretary to the Treasury
In office
13 November 2023 – 5 July 2024
Prime MinisterRishi Sunak
Preceded byJohn Glen
Succeeded byDarren Jones
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Pensions
In office
27 October 2022 – 13 November 2023
Prime MinisterRishi Sunak
Preceded byAlex Burghart
Succeeded byPaul Maynard
Member of Parliament
for Sevenoaks
Assumed office
12 December 2019
Preceded byMichael Fallon
Majority5,440 (10.9%)
Personal details
Born
Laura Trott

(1984-12-07) 7 December 1984 (age 40)
Oxted, Surrey, England
Political partyConservative
Spouse(s)Bahador Mahvelati
Children3
EducationOxted School
Alma materUniversity of Oxford
Websitewww.lauratrott.org.uk Edit this at Wikidata

Trott was Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Work and Pensions until November 2023, when she was named the Chief Secretary to the Treasury in a cabinet reshuffle during the Rishi Sunak ministry. In November 2024, she was named Shadow Education Secretary under the shadow cabinet of Kemi Badenoch.

Early career

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Trott was a Conservative Party Councillor for Frognal and Fitzjohns on Camden London Borough Council between 2010 and 2014.[2][3]

In January 2009, she became a political adviser for the Conservatives, before becoming a special adviser to Prime Minister David Cameron's advisor Francis Maude in May 2010.[4] She was then made a political adviser for Prime Minister Cameron.[5] Trott helped create her party's tax-free childcare policy.[6]

After the 2015 general election, Trott was made director of strategic communication. In 2016, she was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in Cameron's Resignation Honours for her political and public service.[7] After the election of Prime Minister Theresa May, she left government service.

Parliamentary career

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Trott was selected as the Conservative candidate for Sevenoaks in Kent on 10 November 2019.[8] At the 2019 general election, Trott was elected as MP for Sevenoaks with a majority of 20,818 and 60.7% of the vote.[9][10] Trott is the first woman to represent the constituency in its 134 year history.[11]

 
Trott in 2019

In February 2020, Trott presented her Private Member's Bill, which was to stop access to botulinum toxin and filler cosmetic surgery for people under 18.[12] It became law in October 2021.[13]

Trott was a member of the Health and Social Care Select Committee between March 2020 and November 2022.[14]

In July 2022, after the resignations of Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid from the Boris Johnson ministry, Trott resigned as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Department for Transport.[15] Two days later, after Johnson's resignation as Conservative Party leader, she supported Sunak's first campaign to replace him in the July–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election. She also supported his successful campaign to replace Liz Truss in the October 2022 Conservative Party leadership election.[16]

Trott was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Pensions on 27 October 2022.[17]

In November 2023, Trott was promoted to Chief Secretary to the Treasury during Sunak's second cabinet reshuffle.[18][19]

She was sworn in as a member of the Privy Council on 13 December 2023 at Buckingham Palace. This gave her the honorific prefix "The Right Honourable" for life.[20]

After the 2024 general election, Trott was appointed Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury in the Shadow Cabinet of Rishi Sunak.[21]

Trott endorsed the campaign of Kemi Badenoch in the 2024 Conservative Party leadership election.[22] After Badenoch won the election, Trott was became the Shadow Secretary of State for Education in November 2024.

Personal life

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Laura Trott was born on 7 December 1984[23] in Oxted, Surrey.[5] She studied at Oxted School.[24] She then studied history and economics at the University of Oxford.[25][26][27] Trott joined the Conservative Party when she was a teenager and said that former prime minister John Major is an insperation.[28]

Trott is married to Bahador "Bids" Mahvelati.[29][30] They have one daughter and twin sons.[5][31]

References

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  1. Brunskill, Ian (19 March 2020). The Times guide to the House of Commons 2019 : the definitive record of Britain's historic 2019 General Election. p. 325. ISBN 978-0-00-839258-1. OCLC 1129682574.
  2. Youle, Emma (12 June 2013). "Ballerina in bid for Tory Camden Council seat". Ham & High. Archived from the original on 26 September 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  3. "Local election results 6 May 2010". Camden London Borough Council. Archived from the original on 12 November 2023. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  4. Hill, Amelia (15 February 2012). "Can David Cameron be made to understand what women want?". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 8 January 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 Smith, Alan (17 November 2019). "General Election 2019: Conservative Laura Trott looks safe in Sevenoaks". Kent Online. Archived from the original on 17 November 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  6. Siddique, Haroon (31 July 2016). "Donors, aides and remainers dominate secret Cameron honours list". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 8 January 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  7. "Resignation Honours 2016" (PDF). gov.uk. p. 5. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 September 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  8. Maguire, Patrick (10 November 2019). "Tories select Laura Trott in Sevenoaks". New Statesman. Archived from the original on 16 December 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  9. "Sevenoaks". BBC News. Archived from the original on 9 August 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  10. "Statement of persons nominated, notice of poll and situation of polling stations". Sevenoaks District Council. 15 November 2019. Archived from the original on 17 November 2019. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
  11. Duggan, Ciaran (13 December 2019). "General Election 2019: Sevenoaks result". Kent Online. Archived from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  12. "New Bill to restrict under 18s' access to Botox and fillers echoes Nuffield Council concerns". Nuffield Council of Bioethics. 5 February 2020. Archived from the original on 12 November 2023. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  13. Trott, Laura (1 October 2021). "'I Hope Today Marks The Start Of Much Needed Change': Laura Trott MP On New The Botox And Filler Ban For Under-18s". Grazia. Archived from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  14. "Health and Social Care Committee membership agreed". parliament.uk. 2 March 2020. Archived from the original on 3 March 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  15. "Another UK lawmaker resigns from PM Johnson's government". Reuters. 6 July 2022. Archived from the original on 12 November 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  16. Payne, Sebastian (8 July 2022). "Rishi Sunak to stand for leadership of UK Tory party". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 12 November 2023. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
  17. Smith, Sophie (13 November 2023). "Updated: Laura Trott moved to Treasury; Opperman moved to transport". Pensions Age. Archived from the original on 30 November 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  18. "Laura Trott MBE MP". gov.uk. Archived from the original on 12 November 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  19. Austin, Amy (13 November 2023). "Cabinet reshuffle: pensions and housing on ministerial merry go round". FT Adviser. Archived from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  20. "Orders for 13 December 2023" (PDF). Privy Council Office. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 December 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  21. "UK politics live: Lord Cameron resigns as Rishi Sunak announces interim shadow cabinet". BBC News. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  22. Trott, Laura (31 August 2024). "Like Thatcher in 1979, Kemi Badenoch can win power and stand up for Britain". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 3 September 2024.
  23. Brunskill, Ian (19 March 2020). The Times guide to the House of Commons 2019 : the definitive record of Britain's historic 2019 General Election. HarperCollins Publishers Limited. p. 325. ISBN 978-0-00-839258-1. OCLC 1129682574. Archived from the original on 9 November 2021. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  24. "About Laura". Laura Trott. Archived from the original on 27 November 2023. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
  25. Camden, Billy (6 February 2016). "Movers & Shakers: Ben and Michael Dyer, Laura Trott and Brian Lightman". Schools Week. Archived from the original on 6 February 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  26. "Dame Lynne Brindley Speech for Pembroke 40 Years of Women Dinner" (PDF). Pembroke College, Oxford. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 June 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  27. "The Pembrokian, Issue 38, July 2013". The Pembrokian. July 2013. p. 5. Archived from the original on 2 October 2023. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  28. Scotson, Tom (3 October 2023). "Rising stars: Meet the Conservative Party's ambitious young MPs". PoliticsHome. Archived from the original on 15 November 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  29. Trott, Laura (speaker); Ramewal, Pav, Dr (Returning Officer) (13 December 2019). 13 December 2019. Sevenoaks District Council. Event occurs at 2m56s. Archived from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2020. I'd like to thank my family; my friends; my husband Bids here tonight
  30. "Bahador (Bids) Mahvelati". PriceWaterhouseCoopers. Archived from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  31. "Laura Trott". Sevenoaks Conservatives. Archived from the original on 15 January 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2020.

Other websites

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