James Cartlidge

James Roger Cartlidge (Born 30 April 1974) is a British Conservative Party politician. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for South Suffolk since May 2015.

Early life

James Cartlidge was born on 30 April 1974. He graduated from the University of Manchester.

Business career

Cartlidge's professional background is as an entrepreneur, having founded Share to Buy ltd, a shared ownership property portal, mortgage broker and host of the ‘London Home Show’, the capital’s biggest event for first time buyers.

Political career

Cartlidge stood for parliament in Lewisham Deptford in the 2005 general election finishing third with 12.4% of the vote. He was also an elected member of Babergh District Council before his election to the House of Commons in May 2015.

Cartlidge fractionally more than doubled majority in the South Suffolk constituency to 17,545 more votes than the next candidate's 10,001 votes, his first election seeing a change in the party of the candidate who finished as runner-up, to the Labour Party and gaining 2,996 votes more than the veteran MP for the seat Tim Yeo who retired before Cartlidge's election, having been de-selected.^[1][2]

Cartlidge has championed South Suffolk produce and one of his first political acts was to bring a barrel of beer from Suffolk into the House of Commons, which he drank with his new parliamentary colleagues.^[3] He also held a South Suffolk Food Day in the House of Commons which featured businesses such as Jimmy’s Farm, Suffolk Food Hall and Gifford’s Hall Vineyard. The then Secretary of State for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, The Rt Hon Elizabeth Truss MP attended the event and spoke to the producers about their businesses.

Cartlidge has worked to improve mobile phone signal in the constituency and launched a campaign in Boxford for greater efforts to provide mobile telephone signal in 'not-spots'. ^[4] He has taken a train journey from Sudbury to Marks Tey with Rail Executives from Abellio Greater Anglia, Network Rail and the Department for Transport to highlight issues for people travelling by train in the constituency.^{[5] [6]}

Cartlidge was elected to the Public Accounts Commission in November 2015 and the Work and Pensions Committee in October 2016. ^[7]

Cartlidge was opposed to Brexit prior to the 2016 referendum.^[8]

Personal life

Cartlidge is married to Emily, with whom he has four children. His father-in-law is his fellow Conservative MP, Gerald Howarth, the Member of Parliament for Aldershot.^[9]

References