Last week’s election saw 140 new MPs joining the House of Commons, along with 15 former parliamentarians who have managed to regain a place. 2019 has seen a record number of women entering parliament as well as the most ethnically diverse set of MPs yet elected. Many of the new intake have impressive CVs and some could well find themselves on the front benches of their respective parties before too long. Here is our list of the most promising new MPs from each of the major parties:
Claire Coutinho – East Surrey
Con HOLD – 24,040 majority
Coutinho won the candidacy for the Conservative safe seat of East Surrey when the sitting MP Sam Gyimah defected to the Lib Dems. After quitting KPMG she became a government adviser so that she could, in her words, get Brexit done ‘from the inside’. Coutinho is the daughter of Indian doctors who moved to the UK in the 1970s. The 34-year-old originally studied maths and philosophy at Oxford before joining the emerging markets equity team at Merill Lynch where she spent nearly four years. She has worked in several policy-based jobs including a two-year stint at Iain Duncan-Smith’s think tank the Centre for Social Justice.
Andrew Griffith – Arundel & South Down
Con HOLD – 22,521 majority
Former Sky executive Andrew Griffith was hired by the PM as his chief business adviser after Johnson won the leadership back in July. Griffith, who is not to be confused with the former Tory MP Andrew Griffiths, spent 25 years with the broadcaster before he was brought in to heal Boris’ relationship with the City following his ‘fuck business’ comments. Griffith lent Boris his £9.5 million Westminster townhouse during the Tory leadership campaign earlier this year.
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