Grant Shapps first re-elected as the Conservative MP for Welwyn Hatfield in 2005, being reelected in 2019 with a majority of 10,955.
The Hertfordshire constituency of Welwyn Hatfield is centred around the towns of Welwyn Garden City and Hatfield, alongside the villages of Brookmans Park and Welham Green. This is an economically active area, which alongside a commuter population into London, also includes a range of industries and commercial outlets. The supermarket chain Tesco now has its head office in this seat in Welwyn Garden City. Compared to many other Hertfordshire seats, owner occupancy is relatively low here, and a high proportion of residents live in social housing.
Although the Conservatives polled just over half the vote in 2019, this is a long standing marginal seat which was held by the Labour Party when it was in government between 1997 and 2005, and again between 1974 and 1979.
Shapps was appointed Secretary of State for Transport in the Cabinet in 2019.
Shapps has previously served in the Cabinet, and was Chairman of the Conservative Party under David Cameron between 2012 and 2015. He has also held a number of junior Ministerial roles including as Minister of State for Housing and Local Government, and Minister of State for International Development.
Shapps supported Boris Johnson in the 2019 Conservative Party leadership election.
Born in 1968, Shapps was educated in Hertfordshire, attending Watford Grammar School.
After studying Business at Manchester Polytechnic he set up his own printing company, PrintHouse Corporation Ltd, at the age of twenty one. According to the Register of Members Interest, he remains a shareholder of the firm.
Married with three children, Shapps was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1999.
He was involved in a serious car crash when he was twenty years old, and was in a coma for nearly a week.
Shapps is keen on aviation and has his own private pilots licence. His cousin, Mick Jones, is the guitarist of the rock band, ‘The Clash’.
Email: shappsg@parliament.uk
Personal Website: www.shapps.com
Twitter: @grantshapps
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/grant.shapps?fref=ts
