Andrew Sawford (born 15 March 1976) is a British politician who served as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) for

Corby Corby is a town in North Northamptonshire, England, located north-east of Northampton. From 1974 to 2021, the town served as the administrative headquarters of the Borough of Corby. At the 2011 Census, the built-up area had a population of 5 ...

from 2012 to 2015. A member of the

Labour and Co-operative Labour and Co-operative Party (often abbreviated Labour Co-op; cy, Llafur a'r Blaid Gydweithredol) is a description used by candidates in United Kingdom elections who stand on behalf of both the Labour Party and the Co-operative Party. Candidat ...

parties, he was a Shadow Minister for

Communities and Local Government The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), formerly the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for housing, communities, local government i ...

from 2013 to 2015.

Early life and career

Sawford was born in Desborough, Northamptonshire on 15 March 1976 to

Phil Phil may refer to: * Phil (given name), a shortened version of masculine and feminine names * Phill, a given name also spelled "Phil" * Phil, Kentucky, United States * ''Phil'' (film), a 2019 film * -phil-, a lexical fragment, used as a root te ...

and Rosemary Sawford. He was educated at a

comprehensive school A comprehensive school typically describes a secondary school for pupils aged approximately 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is res ...

. He went on to study history at

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

and graduated in 1997. Following university, Sawford worked in Parliament for the then-Corby MP

Phil Hope Philip Ian Hope (born 19 April 1955) is a former British Labour and Co-operative politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Corby from 1997 until 2010, when he lost his seat to the Conservatives. He held several ministerial roles d ...

. He was a councillor and Cabinet Member on

Dartford Borough Council Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in E ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

from 1999 to 2003 representing Littlebrook Ward. Sawford also worked for the

Local Government Association The Local Government Association (LGA) is the national membership body for local authorities. Its core membership is made up of 339 English councils and the 22 Welsh councils through the Welsh Local Government Association. The LGA is p ...

(LGA). From 2003 to 2007 he was director of Connect Public Affairs advising local authorities and organisations such as the

National Association of Local Councils The National Association of Local Councils (NALC) is a membership organisation and the only national body representing the interests of local (parish and town) councils. NALC works in partnership with county associations to support, promote and ...

(NALC) and the Association of Police Authorities (APA). He was from 2008 to 2012 chief executive of the

Local Government Information Unit The Local Government information Unit (LGiU) is a local government membership body, thinktank and registered charity. Established in 1983 as a membership organisation for UK local authorities, the LGiU states that its mission is to strengthen loca ...

(LGiU), a London-based thinktank and registered charity.

Parliamentary career

In October 2011, Sawford was selected to contest the marginal

constituency for Labour at the next general election. Following the resignation of incumbent

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 ...

Louise Mensch Louise Daphne Mensch ('' née'' Bagshawe; born 28 June 1971) is a British blogger, novelist, and former Conservative Member of Parliament. In the 1990s she became known as a writer of chick lit novels under her maiden name Louise Bagshawe. She ...

in 2012, he won Corby at the subsequent by-election which became the first Labour by-election gain since

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

. Sawford sat on the

Communities and Local Government Committee The Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee (formerly the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee) is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the committee is to examine ...

from 2012 to 2013. He was appointed as a Shadow Minister for Communities and Local Government, responsible for local government, in October 2013. He proposed a bill under the

Ten Minute Rule The Ten Minute Rule, also known as Standing Order No. 23, is a procedure in the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the introduction of Private Member's Bills in addition to the 20 per session normally permissible. It is one of the ways in whi ...

that would allow the public sector to bid against private sector providers for control over rail franchises. Sawford also proposed a Private Member's Bill on zero hours contracts. Sawford was defeated by Conservative Tom Purseglove at the 2015 general election, who won with a similar vote margin to Mensch's result in 2010.

Post-parliamentary career

After Parliament, Sawford became chief executive of Connect Communications, and later led a management buy-out to take ownership of the business. In June 2019 it was announced that Connect had acquired Stratagem, a Belfast-based public affairs agency. He also serves on the board of the

Public Relations and Communications Association The Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) is a trade association for the public relations sector in the United Kingdom. The association lobbies on behalf of its member companies and also provides a forum for sharing information. ...

, and is a governor of the

Kettering Buccleuch Academy Kettering Buccleuch Academy is a mixed all-through school and sixth form located in Kettering in the English county of Northamptonshire. The school educates pupils from the age of 4 to 18. The school was formed in 2009 from the merger of Avo ...

Personal life

His father,

Phil Sawford Philip Andrew Sawford (born 26 June 1950) is a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Kettering from 1997 to 2005. A member of the Labour Party, he was Leader of Kettering Borough Council from 1991 to 1997. Early life ...

, served as Labour MP for

Kettering Kettering is a market and industrial town in North Northamptonshire, England. It is located north of London and north-east of Northampton, west of the River Ise, a tributary of the River Nene. The name means "the place (or territory) of Ket ...

, a neighbouring constituency to Corby, from 1997 to 2005.

References

External links

Andy Sawford: Labour and Co-operative MP for Corby and East Northamptonshire
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sawford, Andy Living people People from Desborough Alumni of Grey College, Durham Labour Co-operative MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 2010–2015 1976 births Councillors in Kent People from Kettering