Shailesh Vara

2021-08-04T19:43:52Z

2A00:23C6:7601:AF00:71E3:5E5C:FA31:B6AC: /* Political career */Factual correction. It wasn’t an aborted candidacy - Raab was eliminated from the contest in the ballot rounds. Unsuccessful Is a better term.

{{Short description|British Conservative politician}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2019}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix =
| name = Shailesh Vara
| honorific-suffix = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|MP]]
| image = Official portrait of Mr Shailesh Vara MP crop 2.jpg
| caption = Vara in 2020
| office = [[Minister of State, Northern Ireland|Minister of State for Northern Ireland]]
| term_start = 9 January 2018
| term_end = 15 November 2018
| predecessor = [[Chloe Smith]]
| successor = [[John Penrose]]
| primeminister = [[Theresa May]]
| office1 = [[Department of Work and Pensions|Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions]]
| term_start1 = 8 May 2015
| term_end1 = 17 July 2016
| predecessor1 = ''Position established''
| successor1 = [[Caroline Nokes]]
| primeminister1 ={{ubl|[[David Cameron]]|[[Theresa May]]}}
| office2 = [[Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice|Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Courts and Legal Aid]]
| predecessor2 = [[Helen Grant (politician)|Helen Grant]]
| successor2 = [[Sam Gyimah]]
| primeminister2 = [[David Cameron]]
| term_start2 = 7 October 2013
| term_end2 = 17 July 2016
| office4 ={{ubl|[[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]]|for [[North West Cambridgeshire (UK Parliament constituency)|North West Cambridgeshire]]}}
| parliament4 =
| majority4 = 25,983 (40.3%)
| predecessor4 = [[Brian Mawhinney]]
| successor4 =
| term_start4 = 5 May 2005
| term_end4 =
| birth_name = Shailesh Lakhman Vara
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1960|9|4}}
| birth_place = [[Uganda Protectorate]]
| death_date =
| death_place =
| nationality = British
| spouse =
| party = [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]]
| relations =
| children =
| residence =
| alma_mater = [[Brunel University]]
| occupation =
| profession = [[Solicitor]]
| signature =
| website = [http://www.shaileshvara.com/ www.shaileshvara.com]
| footnotes =
}}

'''Shailesh Lakhman Vara''' (born 4 September 1960) is a Ugandan-British politician. He has served as a member of the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] and [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] (MP) for [[North West Cambridgeshire (UK Parliament constituency)|North West Cambridgeshire]] since the [[2005 United Kingdom general election|2005 general election]], succeeding [[Brian Mawhinney]] as the Conservative MP for the seat. Vara is a former Vice-Chairman of the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]].

In 2006, he was appointed to the shadow ministerial post of [[Shadow Leader of the House of Commons|Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Commons]]. He previously held [[Parliamentary Under Secretary of State]] roles at the [[Ministry of Justice (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Justice]] and [[Department of Work and Pensions]], before being appointed to the [[Northern Ireland Office]] (NIO) under [[Karen Bradley]] in January 2018. Vara resigned as an NIO minister in November 2018 over the Government's proposed [[Brexit]] agreement.

==Early life==
Born in [[Uganda]] to [[Gujarati people|Gujarati]] Indian immigrants, Vara moved to Britain with his family in 1964 when he was four and had a [[Hinduism|Hindu]] upbringing.<ref>[https://www.timesofindia.com/world/uk/15-indian-origin-mps-in-new-uk-parliament/amp_articleshow/72550708.cms ]{{dead link|date=October 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=British Law Minister Shailesh Vara's India visit to carry forward UK-India legal links|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/world-location-news/british-law-minister-shailesh-varas-india-visit-to-carry-forward-uk-india-legal-links|website=www.gov.uk|access-date=20 October 2015|quote=The Minister already has close links to India. A Gujarati speaker, he was awarded the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman by the Indian Government earlier this year. He is also the first person of Gujarati origin to serve as a British Government Minister.}}</ref> Educated at [[Aylesbury Grammar School]] and [[Brunel University]], Vara qualified as a [[solicitor]].

He worked in the City and West End of London, and during 1989–1990, in [[Hong Kong]].<ref>[http://www.legalfutures.co.uk/latest-news/grant-shuffled-pm-names-ex-city-solicitor-new-justice-minister Grant shuffled out as PM names ex-City solicitor as new justice minister], ''Legal Futures'', 7 October 2013</ref> Vara has been a senior legal adviser and business consultant for London First, and is vice-president of the [[Small Business Bureau]].<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2005/oct/10/houseofcommons.uk House of Commons, Class of 2005], ''[[The Guardian]]'', 10 October 2005</ref>

==Political career==
Vara has been involved with the Conservative Party since the late 1980s and has held various posts at local, regional and national levels. As Vice-Chairman of the Party, he had a broad range of responsibilities. These included advising [[Michael Howard]], deputising for the Party chairman, party spokesman with the media and looking after [[Conservative Future]] (which comprises the 10,000 or so people in the party under 30).

Vara was elected Member of Parliament for [[North West Cambridgeshire (UK Parliament constituency)|North West Cambridgeshire]] in May 2005. He had previously contested the [[Birmingham Ladywood (UK Parliament constituency)|Birmingham Ladywood]] seat at the [[1997 United Kingdom general election|1997 general election]], which Labour's [[Clare Short]] won easily, and [[Northampton South (UK Parliament constituency)|Northampton South]] in the [[2001 United Kingdom general election|2001 general election]], which Vara failed to win by only 885 votes.

At the Conservative Party Conference in 2000, he was awarded the accolade of official "rising star" of the Party, with [[Robert Alexander, Baron Alexander of Weedon|Lord Alexander of Weedon]] describing him as a "future Conservative Party leader".<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/news/vote2001/hi/english/newsid_1346000/1346506.stm 'Rising star' hopes for Westminster ascent], ''[[BBC News]]'', 28 May 2001</ref>

In the run-up to the 2001 general election, Vara was a member of the Party's manifesto teams for Law and Order and Legal Affairs.

On 30 June 2016, Vara confirmed his support for [[Michael Gove]] in the impending Conservative leadership contest. Vara said "I have worked very closely with Michael Gove at the [[Ministry of Justice]] and have been very impressed with him. He is a man of conviction with a very sharp intellect. He cares passionately about Britain and I believe he has the necessary qualities to lead our negotiations with the EU."

In the 2019 Conservative leadership election, he initially backed the ultimately unsuccessful candidacy of Dominic Raab.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news/politics/peterborough-mp-shailesh-vara-backs-dominic-raab-as-next-prime-minister-1-8966399 |title=Peterborough MP Shailesh Vara backs Dominic Raab as next Prime Minister |publisher=Peterborough Telegraph |date=2019-06-17 |access-date=2020-10-21}}</ref>

===Breast Cancer Bill===
The ''Breast Cancer Bill'' was Vara's chosen issue after he was one of 20 MPs who were selected at random to introduce a [[private member's bill]] to the House of Commons in 2006.<ref>{{cite web|title=Breast Cancer Bill|url=http://www.shaileshvara.com/breastcancer/|publisher=Shailesh Vara MP|access-date=28 December 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070715021941/http://www.shaileshvara.com/breastcancer/|archive-date=15 July 2007|df=dmy-all}}</ref> He has campaigned to broaden the age of routine breast cancer screening for women from the present 50–70 age group to 45–75 years. The proposal was not supported by the government, which Vara claimed effectively blocked its progress by talking through to the end of the debate.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Vara|first1=Shailesh|title=Government Blocks Breast Cancer Bill|url=http://www.shaileshvara.com/content/government-blocks-varas-breast-cancer-bill|access-date=23 March 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402123937/http://www.shaileshvara.com/content/government-blocks-varas-breast-cancer-bill|archive-date=2 April 2015|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

Vara has given his backing to ''[[Breast Cancer Campaign]]'''s (BCC) award-winning national "wear it pink" day, and showed his support for breast cancer charity [[Breakthrough Breast Cancer]] at a meeting in the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]].<ref>[http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news/latest-news/wear-it-pink-for-cancer-campaign-1-68101 Wear it pink for cancer campaign], ''[[Peterborough Evening Telegraph|Peterborough Telegraph]]'', 24 October 2006</ref>

===Resignation as Northern Ireland Minister===
Early on 15 November 2018, Vara announced his resignation as a Northern Ireland Minister on [[Twitter]], posting his letter of resignation. His resignation followed the previous day's marathon-length cabinet meeting to discuss the draft Brexit withdrawal agreement.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-46219496|title=Brexit deal: NIO Minister of State Shailesh Vara resigns|date=15 November 2018|work=BBC News|last1=McCormack|first1=Jayne}}</ref>

Vara was opposed to [[Brexit]] prior to the [[2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum|referendum on the UK's continued EU membership]] in June 2016.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-eu-referendum-35616946|title=EU vote: Where the cabinet and other MPs stand|date=22 June 2016|work=BBC News}}</ref> However, Vara resigned from his role at the Northern Ireland Office as he did not believe the Government's proposed exit agreement honoured the outcome of the referendum.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.politicshome.com/news/uk/foreign-affairs/brexit/news/99866/read-full-shailesh-varas-resignation-letter-theresa-may | title=READ IN FULL: Shailesh Vara's resignation letter to Theresa May over 'half-way house' Brexit deal| date=15 November 2018}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Vara has a [[Black belt (martial arts)|black belt]] in [[Tae Kwon Do]].<ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/new-model-tories-tory-tribes-416814.html New Model Tories: Tory tribes], ''[[The Independent]]'', ].</ref>
He has appeared in the Oscar winning film The Iron Lady.

==See also==
*[[Conservative Future]]
*[[North West Cambridgeshire (UK Parliament constituency)]]

==References==
{{Reflist|40em}}

==External links==
*[http://www.shaileshvara.com/ Official website]
*{{UK MP links |parliament=mr-shailesh-vara/1496 |publicwhip=Shailesh_Vara |theywork=shailesh_vara}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050607125553/https://www.conservatives.com/tile.do?def=people.person.page&personID=34377 Conservative Party – Shailesh Vara ]
*[http://politics.guardian.co.uk/person/0,9290,-6040,00.html Guardian Unlimited Politics – Ask Aristotle: Shailesh Vara MP]
*[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/election/constituency/0,,200-674,00.html The Times : Election 2005 ]
*[https://www.theguardian.com/g2/story/0,3604,1588476,00.html Guardian – Class of 2005]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070312112412/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/05/03/nelec803.xml Telegraph – Vara Interview ]

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{{s-par|uk}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Brian Mawhinney]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member of Parliament<br>for [[North West Cambridgeshire (UK Parliament constituency)|North West Cambridgeshire]]|years=[[2005 United Kingdom general election|2005]]–present}}
{{s-inc}}
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{{East of England Conservative Party MPs}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Vara, Shailesh}}
[[Category:1960 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Alumni of Brunel University London]]
[[Category:British Hindus]]
[[Category:British politicians of Indian descent]]
[[Category:Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies]]
[[Category:English people of Indian descent]]
[[Category:Gujarati people]]
[[Category:Northern Ireland Office junior ministers]]
[[Category:People educated at Aylesbury Grammar School]]
[[Category:Recipients of Pravasi Bharatiya Samman]]
[[Category:Ugandan emigrants to the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:UK MPs 2005–2010]]
[[Category:UK MPs 2010–2015]]
[[Category:UK MPs 2015–2017]]
[[Category:UK MPs 2017–2019]]
[[Category:UK MPs 2019–present]]
[[Category:British male taekwondo practitioners]]

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Shailesh Vara