This article's subject is standing for re-election to the British House of Commons on 4 July, and has not been an MP since the dissolution of Parliament on 30 May. This article may be out of date during this period. Feel free to improve it (updates without reliable references will be removed) or discuss changes on the talk page.

The Right Honourable Mel Stride
Official portrait, 2019
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
Incumbent
Assumed office 25 October 2022
Prime Minister	Rishi Sunak
Preceded by	Chloe Smith
Chair of the Treasury Select Committee
In office 23 October 2019 – 25 October 2022
Preceded by	Nicky Morgan
Succeeded by	Harriett Baldwin
Leader of the House of Commons Lord President of the Council
In office 23 May 2019 – 24 July 2019
Prime Minister	Theresa May
Preceded by	Andrea Leadsom
Succeeded by	Jacob Rees-Mogg
Financial Secretary to the Treasury Paymaster General
In office 13 June 2017 – 23 May 2019
Prime Minister	Theresa May
Preceded by	Ben Gummer Jane Ellison
Succeeded by	Jesse Norman
Comptroller of the Household
In office 17 July 2016 – 12 June 2017
Prime Minister	Theresa May
Preceded by	Gavin Barwell
Succeeded by	Chris Pincher
Lord Commissioner of the Treasury
In office 13 May 2015 – 17 July 2016
Prime Minister	David Cameron
Preceded by	Harriett Baldwin
Succeeded by	Andrew Griffiths
Member of Parliament for Central Devon
In office 6 May 2010 – 30 May 2024
Preceded by	Constituency created
Majority	17,721 (30.5%)
Personal details
Born	(1961-09-30) 30 September 1961 (age 62) Ealing, London, England
Political party	Conservative
Spouse	Michelle
Children	3
Alma mater	St Edmund Hall, Oxford (BA)
Website	Official website

Melvyn John Stride^[1] (born 30 September 1961)^[2] is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions since October 2022. He previously served in the May Government as Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General from 2017 to 2019 and as Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council from May to July 2019. He also served as Chair of the Treasury Select Committee from 2019 to 2022. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Central Devon from 2010 to 2024.

Early life and career

Melvyn Stride was born in Ealing, London on 30 September 1961.^[3] He was educated at Portsmouth Grammar School, and then read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at St Edmund Hall, Oxford,^[4] where he was elected President of the Oxford Union.

In 1987, Stride set up a business specialising in trade exhibitions, conferences and publishing (Venture Marketing Group) which he and his wife jointly controlled^[5] before selling it to a United States subsidiary.^[6]

Political career

Stride was selected as the prospective Conservative candidate for Central Devon in June 2006 after his name was added to the Conservative A-List in 2006.^[7] He was the first A-Lister to be selected.^[8]

At the 2010 general election, Stride was elected as MP for Central Devon with 51.5% of the vote and a majority of 9,230.^[9]

On 28 October 2011, Stride was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Minister of State for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning, John Hayes.^[10]

At the 2015 general election, Stride was re-elected as MP for Central Devon with an increased vote share of 52.2% and an increased majority of 21,265.^[11] Stride was promoted to the frontbench as Lord Commissioner of the Treasury after the election.

Stride was opposed to Brexit prior to the 2016 referendum.^[12]

He was appointed Comptroller of the Household following the appointment of Theresa May as Prime Minister.

At the snap 2017 general election, Stride was again re-elected, with an increased vote share of 54.1% and a decreased majority of 15,680.^[13] He was again re-elected at the 2019 general election, with an increased vote share of 55.3% and an increased majority of 17,721.^[14]

Ministerial career: 2017–2019

Following the 2017 general election, Stride was appointed Financial Secretary to the Treasury.^[15] In this role in April 2019, Stride was accused by MPs of breaking the Ministerial Code over comments he had made in relation to the Loan Charge.^[16][17]

Stride was appointed Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council on 23 May 2019, following the resignation of Andrea Leadsom.^[18] Stride endorsed Michael Gove to become Leader of the Conservative Party in the 2019 leadership election. Following Boris Johnson's election as party leader and appointment as Prime Minister he was dismissed from his role as Leader of the House of Commons and replaced by Jacob Rees-Mogg.

Backbencher: 2019–2022

On 23 October 2019, Stride was elected Chair of the Treasury Select Committee, replacing Nicky Morgan.^[19] Stride supported Rishi Sunak in the July-September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election, serving as his campaign chief, and lent his support to him again in the October 2022 Conservative Party leadership election.^[20][21]

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions: 2022–present

Upon the appointment of Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister, Stride returned to the frontbench having been appointed Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.^[22]

In September 2023, Stride commented on the state pension system in the United Kingdom. Stride claimed that the triple lock system was not sustainable in the long term. The comments came in response to reports that the government was considering scrapping the mechanism used to uprate the state pension having seen several years of large increases.^[23]

Personal life

Stride is married to Michelle and has three daughters.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mel Stride.

• Official site
• Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Contributions in Parliament at Hansard
• Voting record at Public Whip
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou
• Mel Stride MP Conservative Party profile
• Official channel at YouTube