Sara Britcliffe

Sara Alice Britcliffe (born 21 February 1995) is a British Conservative Party politician, who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hyndburn since the general election of 2019.[1][2] At the age of 24, she was the youngest Conservative MP elected in the election, and the first to represent the constituency since 1992. She is also a councillor on the Hyndburn Borough Council.

Sara Britcliffe

MP
Britcliffe in 2019
Member of Parliament
for Hyndburn
Assumed office
12 December 2019
Preceded byGraham Jones
Majority2,951 (7.0%)
Personal details
Born (1995-02-21) 21 February 1995
NationalityBritish
Political partyConservative
Alma materUniversity of Manchester
Websitewww.sarabritcliffe.org.uk

Early life

Britcliffe attended St Christopher's Church of England High School, Accrington.[3] Her father, Peter, is the councillor for Oswaldtwistle ward on the Lancashire County Council.[4] She has two older brothers. Her mother Gabrielle Kroger died in 2004 when she was nine years old.[5] She studied modern languages at the University of Manchester.[6]

Britcliffe served in the ceremonial role of mayoress between 2017 and 2018, alongside her father, who was the mayor on the Hyndburn Borough Council. He stood down from the council in 2018.[7][8] She was elected as a councillor for the ward of St. Andrews (previously represented by her father) in the 2018 Hyndburn Borough Council Election.[9] Prior to her political career, she managed a sandwich shop in Oswaldtwistle.[6]

Parliamentary career

Britcliffe was selected as the Conservative candidate for the constituency of Hyndburn on 6 November 2019.[6] Her father had previously contested the seat in the general elections of 1997 and 2001.[10] She was elected as MP for the constituency in the general election of 2019, with a majority of 2,951 (7.0%).[11] The seat had been represented by Labour Party MPs since the general election of 1992. Its last Conservative MP was Ken Hargreaves who held the seat from 1983 to 1992.[12] At the age of 24, she was the youngest Conservative MP elected in the election.[13]

On 23 December 2019, it was reported that, at a private party, Britcliffe had worn a T-shirt bearing the printed face of the previous Labour MP for Hyndburn Graham Jones. She was criticised for this, and responded by stating that it was part of a bet by two of her Labour supporting friends, and apologised to Jones' partner for any offence caused.[14]

Her first overseas trip was to Pakistan, as part of an all-party delegation in February 2020.[15] Britcliffe has been a member of the Women and Equalities Committee since March 2020.[16] She is also a member of the parliamentary council of the centre-right think tank the Northern Policy Foundation and the Northern Research Group.[17][18] On 28 April, Britcliffe became the first MP to deliver her maiden speech from outside the House of Commons, after parliament adopted a system in which members could contribute to debates virtually, during the COVID-19 pandemic.[19] On 29 January 2021, she became a Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) in the Department for Education.[20]

References
  1. "Members Sworn". Hansard. 18 December 2019. Archived from the original on 19 December 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  2. Britcliffe, Sara [@SarBritcliffeMP] (21 February 2020). "25 today! In this time zone anyway" (Tweet). Retrieved 21 February 2020 – via Twitter.
  3. "General Election Hustings". St Christopher's Church of England. 3 December 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  4. Jacobs, Bill (17 December 2019). "New Hyndburn MP Sara, 24, promises 'youthful' view". Lancashire Telegraph. Archived from the original on 29 December 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  5. "'Moving' farewell to leader's ex-partner". Lancs Live. 9 December 2004. Archived from the original on 30 December 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  6. Jacobs, Bill (6 November 2019). "Conservatives choose Sara Britcliffe to fight Hyndburn election". Lancashire Telegraph. Archived from the original on 29 December 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  7. "Hyndburn's Youngest Mayoress Reflects on First Six Months". Acorn News. Archived from the original on 29 December 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  8. Jacobs, Bill (20 April 2018). "Hyndburn faces a less colourful election with three of its major political figures missing from the campaign trail". Lancashire Telegraph. Archived from the original on 30 December 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  9. Marko, Nic (4 May 2018). "Hyndburn elections 2018: Full round-up and results". Lancashire Telegraph. Archived from the original on 29 December 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  10. Bond, Daniel (16 December 2019). "Class of 2019: Meet the new MPs". Politics Home. Archived from the original on 17 December 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  11. "Hyndburn". BBC News. Archived from the original on 30 December 2019. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  12. Grieve, Jonathan (13 December 2019). "Historic night as swing to Tories sees Sara Britcliffe turn Hyndburn blue". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  13. "Fresh Tory faces make their way to Westminster". The Times. 16 December 2019. Archived from the original on 29 December 2019. Retrieved 30 December 2019.(subscription required)
  14. Jacobs, Bill (23 December 2019). "New Tory MP Britcliffe criticised for wearing T-shirt showing candidate she beat". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  15. "British MPs meet Sarwar, assure raising voice over Kashmir". The News International. 22 February 2020. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  16. "Women and Equalities Committee membership agreed". parliament.uk. 2 March 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  17. Black, Michael (25 June 2020). "Conservative think tank set up in bid to boost the North". The Telegraph and Argus. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  18. "'Red Wall' Tories form group to campaign for northern England". BBC News. 10 October 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  19. "MP makes history as she delivers first maiden speech from outside the Commons". Express & Star. 28 April 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  20. Jacobs, Bill (29 January 2021). "Hyndburn MP Sara Britcliffe gets her foot on the government ladder". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Graham Jones		 Member of Parliament for Hyndburn
2019–present		 Incumbent
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