David Drew (politician)

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David Drew
Official portrait, 2017
Shadow Minister for Farming and Rural Affairs
In office
3 July 2017 – 12 December 2019
LeaderJeremy Corbyn
Preceded byMary Glindon
Succeeded byDaniel Zeichner
Member of Parliament
for Stroud
In office
8 June 2017 – 6 November 2019
Preceded byNeil Carmichael
Succeeded bySiobhan Baillie
In office
1 May 1997 – 12 April 2010
Preceded byRoger Knapman
Succeeded byNeil Carmichael
Personal details
Born (1952-04-13) 13 April 1952 (age 71)
Gloucestershire, England
Political partyLabour Co-op
Other political
affiliations		Socialist Campaign Group (1997–2010, 2017–19)
Spouse
Anne Baker
​
(m. 1990)​
Children4
Residence(s)Stonehouse, Gloucestershire
Alma materUniversity of Nottingham (BA)
University of Birmingham (PGCE)
University of the West of England (MA, MEd)
Occupation
  • Politician
  • teacher

David Elliott Drew (born 13 April 1952) is a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Stroud from 1997 to 2010 and 2017 to 2019. A member of the Labour and Co-operative parties, he was Shadow Minister for Farming and Rural Affairs from 2017 to 2019.

Early life and career[edit]

Drew was born in Gloucestershire, the son of an accountant, and educated at Kingsfield School, Kingswood. He was awarded a Bachelor of Arts in economics at the University of Nottingham in 1974, and qualified as a teacher after receiving his Postgraduate Certificate in Education from the University of Birmingham in 1976. Drew gained a Master of Arts in historical studies from Bristol Polytechnic in 1988, and was awarded a Master of Education from the University of the West of England in 1994.[1]

Drew began his teaching career at Princethorpe College, Rugby in 1976 and moved to St Michael's School, Stevenage in 1978. He returned to Gloucestershire in 1982, teaching at Maidenhill School, Stonehouse, before working at Dene Magna Community School, Mitcheldean. Drew was a member of the National Association of Schoolmasters/Union of Women Teachers throughout his teaching career, serving as a branch secretary from 1984 to 1986. He became a senior lecturer in education at the University of West England in 1986, where he worked until his election to Parliament. Drew remains a member of the University and College Union and has been a member of UNISON since 1990.

Political career[edit]

Drew briefly served on Stevenage Borough Council for a year in 1981. He was a Member of Stroud District Council from 1987 to 1995 and Gloucestershire County Council from 1992 to 1997. He was also elected to Stonehouse Town Council in 1987 and served as Stroud Constituency Labour Party secretary in 1992.

Drew unsuccessfully contested Stroud at the 1992 general election, but defeated incumbent Conservative Roger Knapman at the 1997 general election. He increased his majority in 2001 and narrowly held the seat with a majority of 350 votes in 2005. Drew was defeated by Conservative Neil Carmichael at the 2010 general election.[2]

Drew in 2009

Drew made his maiden speech on 17 June 1997.[3] He was a member of the Agriculture Committee, later the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, from 1999 to 2010.

Drew returned to Stroud District Council at the 2011 local elections, elected to represent Farmhill and Paganhill ward.[4] He unsuccessfully contested Stroud once again in 2015, but won the seat from Carmichael at the 2017 general election with a majority of 687 votes.[5] Shortly after re-election, he was appointed to his first front bench role in July 2017, as Shadow Minister for Farming and Rural Affairs.[6][7]

He lost his seat to Conservative Siobhan Baillie at the 2019 general election,[8] when he also faced a challenge from Green Party candidate Molly Scott Cato.[9] Drew defeated Scott Cato to win a seat on Gloucestershire County Council in 2021, and narrowly missed-out on election to Stroud District Council.[10][11]

Political views[edit]

A member of the Socialist Campaign Group, Drew was considered a backbench rebel having voted against the Iraq War and government anti-terror legislation.[12] He nominated John McDonnell in the 2007 Labour leadership election.[13][14]

Drew has been a staunch Eurosceptic, and welcomed an endorsement by Stroud's UKIP candidate at the 2010 general election.[15] However, Drew gave a speech against Prime Minister Theresa May's deal to leave the EU in 2019, saying he feared Brexit would "become one of the biggest domestic policy disasters this country has known."[16]

Personal life[edit]

Drew married second wife Anne Baker in 1990, and has two daughters and two sons. He resides in Stonehouse, Gloucestershire and is a vegetarian.[17]

He was appointed Chairman of Forest Green Rovers F.C. in May 2010, and later became Vice-Chairman.[18] Drew resigned his role upon re-election to Parliament in 2017.[19]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Drew, David Elliott". Who's Who. Vol. 2018 (February 2018 online ed.). A & C Black. Retrieved 14 February 2018. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  2. ^ "Election 2010 | Constituency | Stroud". BBC News. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  3. ^ Department of the Official Report (Hansard), House of Commons, Westminster (17 June 1997). "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 17 Jun 1997 (pt 21)". Publications.parliament.uk. Archived from the original on 15 September 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 May 2011. Retrieved 6 May 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ^ "'I should retire more often!' - David Drew reclaims Stroud for Labour in dramatic election night". Stroud News and Journal. Archived from the original on 16 August 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  6. ^ "David Drew MP to oversee waste and recycling for Labour - letsrecycle.com". letsrecycle.com. Archived from the original on 12 December 2018. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  7. ^ "Reshuffle 2: The Maintenance of the Malcontents". New Socialist. 8 July 2017. Archived from the original on 11 April 2019. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  8. ^ "Stroud parliamentary constituency - Election 2019". BBC News. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  9. ^ Boobyer, Leigh (13 December 2019). "Political rivals boo at Green Party candidate during speech". GloucestershireLive.
  10. ^ Airey, Matty (8 May 2021). "COMEBACK KID: Ex-MP David Drew wins county council seat in Stroud". Stroud News and Journal. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  11. ^ Loveridge, Ashley (7 May 2021). "Former Stroud MP David Drew is back in politics". Stroud Times. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  12. ^ "REBEL HELL LABOUR Tony Blair has a projected majority of just 66 but 34 of his MPs with a rebel streak could spell defeat in the Commons. Will the Labour malcontents finally curb his ambitions?". The Herald. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  13. ^ "The State of the New PLP". New Socialist. 14 June 2017. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  14. ^ "Who's backing John McDonnell?". The Guardian. 16 May 2007. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 3 October 2014. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  15. ^ Stevenson, Alex (20 April 2010). "Drew fights on in 'strange' Stroud". politics.co.uk. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  16. ^ "David Drew's speech to Parliament". David Drew MP. Archived from the original on 7 November 2019. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  17. ^ Chipperfield, Daniel (3 July 2017). "Stroud MP and vegetarian David Drew promoted to DEFRA minister post". GloucestershireLive. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  18. ^ v Tranmere Rovers (H). "Staff And Board Of Directors / About Forest Green Rovers / Home - Forest Green Rovers Football Club". Forestgreenroversfc.com. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  19. ^ "Newly elected Stroud MP David Drew steps down as vice-chairman of Forest Green Rovers". Stroud News and Journal. Archived from the original on 12 June 2017. Retrieved 14 June 2017.

External links[edit]

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Stroud
1997 – 2010 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Stroud
2017 - 2019 		Succeeded by
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