Andrew Simon Feldman, Baron Feldman of Elstree, (born 25 February 1966) is a British barrister, businessman and
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
fundraiser and politician.
''
The Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nikk ...
'' described Feldman as "
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...
's oldest political friend" since their days together at
Brasenose College, Oxford
Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the mi ...
. Feldman was responsible for fundraising David Cameron's successful
Tory leadership campaign in 2005.
He was created a
life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...
by David Cameron in 2010, and then
Chairman of the Conservative Party
The chairman of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom is responsible for party administration and overseeing the Conservative Campaign Headquarters, formerly Conservative Central Office.
When the Conservatives are in government, the off ...
, first as co-chairman alongside
Sayeeda Warsi
Sayeeda Hussain Warsi, Baroness Warsi, (; born 28 March 1971) is a British lawyer, politician, and member of the House of Lords who served as co-Chairwoman of the Conservative Party from 2010 to 2012. She served in the Cameron–Clegg coalit ...
and then
Grant Shapps
Grant Shapps (born 14 September 1968) is a British politician who is serving as Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy since October 2022. He previously served as Secretary of State for Transport in the Premiership of Bo ...
between 2010 and 2015, then on his own as sole chairman from May 2015. His tenure ended after David Cameron's administration ended in July 2016.
Early life and family
He was born into a Jewish family in London, the eldest son of Malcolm R Feldman (b. 1939) and his wife Marcia J, ''
née
A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
'' Summers (b. 1944). His paternal grandmother was of Austrian descent.
He married Gabrielle Gourgey in 1999; they have two sons and one daughter. They live in a townhouse in
Holland Park
Holland Park is an area of Kensington, on the western edge of Central London, that contains a street and public park of the same name. It has no official boundaries but is roughly bounded by Kensington High Street to the south, Holland Road ...
, just round the corner from David Cameron's pre-Downing Street family home in
Notting Hill
Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a cosmopolitan and multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting Hill Carnival and Portobello Road M ...
.
Feldman was educated at
The Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School
Haberdashers' Boys' School (also known as Haberdashers', Habs, or Habs Boys), until September 2021 known as Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School, is a public school for pupils age 4 to 18 in Elstree, Hertfordshire, England. The school is a mem ...
, an
independent school
An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...
in
Elstree
Elstree is a large village in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire, England. It is about northwest of central London on the former A5 road, that follows the course of Watling Street. In 2011, its population was 5,110. It forms part of the ...
in
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...
, followed by
Brasenose College
Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the m ...
at the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
, where he was awarded a first-class degree in
jurisprudence
Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning a ...
. He went on to the
Inns of Court School of Law
The City Law School is one of the five schools of City, University of London. In 2001, the Inns of Court School of Law became part of City, and is now known as the City Law School. Until 1997, the ICSL had a monopoly on the provision of the Bar ...
.
Whilst at Oxford, he played for the Brasenose College tennis team, where he became friends with Cameron and
Guy Spier
Guy Spier (born February 4, 1966) is a Zurich-based investor. He is the author of ''The Education of a Value Investor''. Spier is the manager of the Aquamarine Fund with $350 million in assets. He is well known for bidding US$650,100 with Mohni ...
. Feldman and Cameron together helped organise the college's May Ball in their second year. Feldman was chairman of the Ball committee, while Cameron booked the entertainment. Feldman has since remained a close confidant of Cameron, who gave him his own office in
Downing Street
Downing Street is a street in Westminster in London that houses the official residences and offices of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Situated off Whitehall, it is long, and a few minutes' walk ...
.
Business career
Feldman worked as a
management consultant
Management consulting is the practice of providing consulting services to organizations to improve their performance or in any way to assist in achieving organizational objectives. Organizations may draw upon the services of management consultants ...
at
Bain & Co
Bain & Company is an American management consulting company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. The firm provides advice to public, private, and non-profit organizations. One of the Big Three management consultancies, Bain & Company was fou ...
before being
called to the bar
The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...
in 1991 and working as a commercial barrister at One Essex Court until 1995.
He subsequently worked for the family fashion firm, Jayroma (London) Ltd, serving as Managing Director and later Chief Executive.
He has donated to the Conservative Party through his company Jayroma the following amounts: £8,500 in 2008, £30,000 in 2009, £17,200 in 2010, £13,000 in 2011, £8,690 in 2012.
David Cameron leadership campaign
With the encouragement and financial backing from
Philip Harris, Baron Harris of Peckham
Philip Charles Harris, Baron Harris of Peckham (born 15 September 1942), is an English businessman and politician. A prominent Conservative Party donor, Harris is a member of the House of Lords.
He is the sponsor of a large multi-academy tru ...
, Feldman ran the operations and
fundraising
Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...
for David Cameron's
2005 leadership bid for the Conservative party.
Feldman himself gave £10,000 to Cameron's campaign from his family clothing company Jayroma and secured tens of thousands more from other business backers.
Chief Executive of the Conservative Party
In July 2008 David Cameron promoted Feldman to Chief Executive of the
Conservative Campaign Headquarters
The Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ), formerly known as Conservative Central Office (CCO), is the headquarters of the British Conservative Party, housing its central staff and committee members, including campaign coordinators and manag ...
, a key role in preparing the Tories for the
2010 general election.
In October 2008, Feldman was embroiled in the
"Yachtgate" scandal with
George Osborne
George Gideon Oliver Osborne (born Gideon Oliver Osborne; 23 May 1971) is a former British politician and newspaper editor who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2010 to 2016 and as First Secretary of State from 2015 to 2016 in the ...
. Both he and Shadow Chancellor Osborne were guests on billionaire
Oleg Deripaska's yacht off
Corfu
Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The isl ...
when Osborne was accused of soliciting a £50,000 donation to the party, which would have been a violation of the law against political donations by foreign citizens. This was when Feldman was Cameron's chief fundraiser. Both denied they had discussed soliciting donations from Deripaska, contrary to the claim made at the time by
Nathaniel Philip Rothschild
, nickname =
{{Plainlist,
* Nat
* Nate
, footnotes =
Nathaniel is an English variant of the biblical Greek name Nathanael.
People with the name Nathaniel
* Nathaniel Archibald (1952–2018), American basketball player
* Nate A ...
who organised the party event.
In March 2016, Feldman was questioned by journalist
Michael Crick about election expenses that may have broken the law.
Chairman of the Conservative Party
After the
Conservatives entered government with the Liberal Democrats on 11 May 2010, Cameron appointed Feldman as the co-chairman of the party, with
Sayeeda Warsi
Sayeeda Hussain Warsi, Baroness Warsi, (; born 28 March 1971) is a British lawyer, politician, and member of the House of Lords who served as co-Chairwoman of the Conservative Party from 2010 to 2012. She served in the Cameron–Clegg coalit ...
.
[ His being given an office in Downing Street is a privilege never bestowed before on a party chairman.] One of his jobs was to strengthen the voluntary party and increase membership.
On 17 December 2010, Feldman was created a life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...
as Baron Feldman of Elstree, of Elstree
Elstree is a large village in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire, England. It is about northwest of central London on the former A5 road, that follows the course of Watling Street. In 2011, its population was 5,110. It forms part of the ...
in the County of Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...
; he was introduced in the House of Lords, where he sits as a Conservative, on 20 December 2010.
In 2012, Feldman helped Cameron prepare for the Leveson Inquiry by roleplaying the lead counsel of the inquiry Robert Jay
Sir Robert Maurice Jay (born 20 September 1959), styled The Hon. Mr Justice Jay, is a judge of the High Court of Justice of the Courts of England and Wales. He was counsel to the Leveson Inquiry.
Early life
Jay was born on 20 September 1959. H ...
QC.
Feldman was severely criticised by one of his Conservative councillors, Catherine Faulks, for failing to vote for her in the 2011 by-election for the Norland ward in Kensington and Chelsea Borough Council
Kensington and Chelsea London Borough Council is the local authority for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. Kensington and Chel ...
. Feldman claimed at the time that he was prohibited from voting as a member of the House of Lords, although this was a misunderstanding.
In May 2013, Feldman was widely attributed with making a claim that Conservative parliamentary rebellions on both a referendum on European Union membership and same sex marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...
were due to Conservative Associations being "all mad, swivel-eyed loons", a claim that he has denied. The alleged words were claimed to have been said on the evening of Wednesday 15 May during a Conservative Friends of Pakistan event held in St James's
St James's is a central district in the City of Westminster, London, forming part of the West End. In the 17th century the area developed as a residential location for the British aristocracy, and around the 19th century was the focus of the de ...
, central London.
References
External links
Lord Feldman of Elstree
biography, www.parliament.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Feldman, Andrew
1966 births
Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford
Chairmen of the Conservative Party (UK)
Conservative Party (UK) life peers
Conservative Party (UK) officials
English Jews
Jewish British politicians
Living people
People educated at Haberdashers' Boys' School
People from Elstree
Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Life peers created by Elizabeth II