Michelle Donelan

Michelle Donelan MP
Member of Parliament for Chippenham
Incumbent
Assumed office 8 May 2015
Preceded by	Duncan Hames
Majority	10,076 (18.2%)
Personal details
Born	8 April 1984 Cheshire, United Kingdom
Political party	Conservative
Alma mater	University of York
Religion	Christianity
Website	Official website

Michelle Emma May Elizabeth Donelan^[1] (born 1984) is a British Conservative Party politician. She was elected at the general election in May 2015 as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Chippenham constituency in Wiltshire, which includes the market towns of Bradford on Avon, Chippenham, Corsham and Melksham, and the surrounding rural areas.

Life

Originally from Cheshire, where her parents live at Whitley, Donelan came to attention when she spoke at a Conservative Party Conference aged fifteen. She studied for a degree in history and politics at the University of York and then stood for parliament at the 2010 general election in the safe Labour seat of Wentworth and Dearne, taking 7,396 votes (17.6%) to Labour MP John Healey's 21,316 (50.6%). She was then selected as the prospective parliamentary candidate for Chippenham in February 2013.^[2]

Before the election of 2015 she was a Trustee of Help Victims of Domestic Violence, a charitable organisation based in Chippenham, and a member of the Steering Group of Wiltshire Carers, and in 2013 bought her first house in Chippenham town centre.^[3] Shortly before the result of her first election success was announced, she was reported to be "excited by the challenge ahead".^[4] She defeated incumbent Liberal Democrat member Duncan Hames by 26,354 votes (47.6%) to 16,278 (29.4%).^[5] Outside politics, her career was in marketing.^[2]

In July 2015, Donelan was elected (by fellow MPs) onto the Education Select Committee, where she became part of the Sub-Committee on Education, Skills and the Economy in November 2015.

Donelan was opposed to Brexit prior to the 2016 referendum.^[6]

References

1. The London Gazette: no. 61230. p. 9126. 18 May 2015.
2. 'Tories select Michelle Donelan as prospective parliamentary candidate for Chippenham' in Bath Evening Chronicle dated 4 March 2013
3. Donelan, Michelle at conservatives.com/OurTeam, accessed 8 May 2015
4. Tristan Cork, 'Conservative Michelle Donelan excited to be new Chippenham MP' in Western Daily Press dated 8 May 2015 online
5. Chippenham constituency result at bbc.co.uk, accessed 8 May 2015
6. Goodenough, Tom (16 February 2016). "Which Tory MPs back Brexit, who doesn't and who is still on the fence?". The Spectator. Retrieved 11 October 2016.

External links

• About Michelle at michelledonelan.co.uk