Christopher Leslie

Christopher Leslie
Born	Christopher Michael Leslie 28 June 1972 Keighley, England
Alma mater	University of Leeds
Spouse	Nicola Murphy
Party	Labour, Change UK
Labour MP who quit and joined Change UK in protest at the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn  Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer  In office 11 May 2015 - 12 September 2015 Succeeded by John McDonnell  Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury  In office 7 October 2013 - 11 May 2015 Preceded by Rachel Reeves  Member of Parliament for Nottingham East In office 6 May 2010 - Present  Member of Parliament for Shipley In office 1 May 1997 - 5 May 2005 Preceded by Michael Bates, Alexander Carlile, Lord Carlile, Paul Channon, Winston Churchill II, Tristan Garel-Jones, Charles Hendry, Alan Howarth, David Howell, Douglas Hurd, Greville Janner, Peter Luff, Nicholas Lyell, Liz Lynne, Michael Portillo, Nicholas Soames, David Steel Succeeded by Susan KramerDanny Alexander, Dave Anderson, Brian Binley, Katy Clark, Robert Goodwill, Nia Griffith, Andrew Gwynne, Greg Hands, John Hemming, Meg Hillier, Adam Holloway, Nick Hurd, David Jones, David Mundell, Mike Penning, John Penrose, Malcolm Rifkind, Ed Vaizey, Theresa Villiers, Charles Walker

Christopher Michael Leslie is a British politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Shipley from 1997 to 2005 and Nottingham East from 2010 to 2019. A former member of the Labour Party, he defected to form Change UK and later became an independent politician.

Born in Keighley, Leslie was educated at Bingley Grammar School and graduated from the University of Leeds with a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Parliamentary Studies and a Master of Arts in Industrial and Labour Studies. After working as an office administrator and political researcher, he was elected to Parliament for Shipley aged 24 at the 1997 general election.

Leslie was a minister in the Department for Constitutional Affairs from 2001 to 2005 but lost his seat at the 2005 general election. He was director of the New Local Government Network think-tank from 2005 until being elected for Nottingham East at the 2010 general election.

Between May and September 2015, Leslie was Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer in the shadow cabinet of acting Labour leader Harriet Harman. In 2018, he lost a motion of no confidence by his constituency party. In February 2019, Leslie left Labour alongside six other MPs in protest at the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn to form The Independent Group, later Change UK. He lost the Nottingham East constituency to the Labour candidate Nadia Whittome in the November 2019 general election.

In July 2020, Leslie was appointed chief executive of the Credit Services Association, the trade association of the UK debt collection and purchase industry.

Early life (1972–1997)

Leslie was born in Keighley, West Riding of Yorkshire, and attended Bingley Grammar School before becoming a student at the University of Leeds, graduating in 1994 with a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Parliamentary Studies. From 1994 to 1996, he was an office administrator and gained a Master of Arts in Industrial and Labour Studies in 1996, afterwards becoming a political research assistant in Bradford. He was elected to Parliament a month before his 25th birthday.

Affiliations

• Director, New Local Government Network (http://www.nlgn.org.uk/public/) - non-profit think tank

Resources

• New Local Government Network, Chris Leslie, accessed 27 November 2008.
• They Work For You, Christopher Leslie former MP, accessed 27 November 2008.
• Ungoed-Thomas, Jon, et al., Times Online website, The Sunday Times, 23 November 2008, accessed 24 November 2008.

Many thanks to our Patrons who cover ~2/3 of our hosting bill. Please join them if you can.