David Henry Rutley (born 7 March 1961) is a British politician who has served as the
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
Macclesfield
Macclesfield is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Bollin in the east of the county, on the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its east ...
since
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
. A member of the
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
, has been
since October 2022.
Early life and career
David Henry Rutley was born in
Gravesham
Gravesham ( ) is a local government district with borough status in north-west Kent, England. Its administrative centre and largest town is Gravesend, which was known as ''Gravesham'' in ancient times.
Gravesham was formed on 1 April 1974 by ...
,
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 ...
in March 1961. He was educated at the comprehensive
Priory School, Lewes
Priory School is a British co-educational secondary school for 11- to 16-year-olds located on Mountfield Road in the East Sussex town of Lewes.
History
Priory School was originally formed in 1969 when the Lewes County Grammar School for Girls ...
before going on to study at the
London School of Economics
, mottoeng = To understand the causes of things
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £240.8 million (2021)
, budget = £391.1 millio ...
and
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA p ...
. He spent most of his career in business and worked as a senior executive in major companies including
Asda
Asda Stores Ltd. () (often styled as ASDA) is a British supermarket chain. It is headquartered in Leeds, England. The company was founded in 1949 when the Asquith family merged their retail business with the Associated Dairies company of York ...
(where he ran home shopping and e-commerce),
PepsiCo International,
Halifax General Insurance and
Barclays
Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services.
Barclays traces ...
.
A one time advisor to cabinet minister
William Waldegrave in the early 1990s, Rutley worked as a special adviser from 1994 to 1996 in
John Major
Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament ...
's Conservative government at the
Treasury
A treasury is either
*A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry.
*A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be state or royal property, church treasure or in p ...
,
Cabinet Office
The Cabinet Office is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for supporting the prime minister and Cabinet. It is composed of various units that support Cabinet committees and which co-ordinate the delivery of government objecti ...
and
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister ...
. During this time, Rutley helped shape the Budget and initiate the first ever White Paper for rural England.
Political career
Rutley stood unsuccessfully as the Conservative parliamentary candidate for
St Albans
St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...
at the
1997 general election.
He was first elected to Parliament at the
2010 general election for the Conservative-held seat of
Macclesfield
Macclesfield is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Bollin in the east of the county, on the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its east ...
.
In July 2010, Rutley was elected to the
Treasury Select Committee
The House of Commons Treasury Committee (often referred to as the Treasury Select 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 the expenditure, administr ...
and served on the committee until his appointment in November 2010 as Parliamentary Private Secretary to
Damian Green
Damian Howard Green (born 17 January 1956) is a British politician who served as First Secretary of State and Minister for the Cabinet Office from June to December 2017 in the Second May government. A member of the Conservative Party, he has b ...
,
Minister of State for Immigration
The minister of state for immigration is a minister of state in the Home Office of the Government of the United Kingdom.
From June 2017 to July 2019 and since October 2022, the minister has attended Cabinet of the United Kingdom, cabinet meetings. ...
.
When Green left office in the 2014 reshuffle, Rutley became PPS to
David Lidington
Sir David Roy Lidington (born 30 June 1956) is a British politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Aylesbury from 1992 until 2019. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister fo ...
at the Foreign Office. He has served as the Co-Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Mountaineering, the Chairman of the British-Danish APPG, secretary of both the APPG national parks and the APPG for Mountain Rescue, and an officer for the APPG on management. He has also been a member of other APPGs, including those on: China, Pharmaceuticals and Financial Education for Young People.
Rutley was opposed to
Brexit
Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or ...
prior to the
2016 EU membership referendum.
In June 2017, Rutley was appointed a
Lord Commissioner of the Treasury
In the United Kingdom there are at least six Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a commission for the ancient office of Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second Lord of the ...
, making him a government
whip
A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...
.
From September 2018 to June 2019, Rutley was appointed
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (or just Parliamentary Secretary, particularly in departments not led by a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), Secretary of State) is the lowest of three tiers of Minister (government), government minist ...
at the
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for environmental protection, food production and standards, agriculture, fisheries and rural communities in the United K ...
, in addition to his role as a whip. This followed an interim appointment as Parliamentary Under-Secretary in the same department from 22 May 2018, during
Thérèse Coffey
Thérèse Anne Coffey (born 18 November 1971) is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs since October 2022. A member of the Conservative Party, she previously served as Deputy Prime Mini ...
's recovery from illness.
On 17 September 2021, Rutley was appointed
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (or just Parliamentary Secretary, particularly in departments not led by a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), Secretary of State) is the lowest of three tiers of Minister (government), government minist ...
at the
Department for Work and Pensions
, type = Department
, seal =
, logo = Department for Work and Pensions logo.svg
, logo_width = 166px
, formed =
, preceding1 =
, jurisdiction = Government of the United Kingdom
, headquarters = Caxton House7th Floor6–12 Tothill Stree ...
during the second
cabinet reshuffle
A cabinet reshuffle or shuffle occurs when a head of government rotates or changes the composition of ministers in their cabinet, or when the Head of State changes the head of government and a number of ministers. They are more common in parli ...
of the
second Johnson ministry
The second Johnson ministry began on 16 December 2019, three days after Boris Johnson's audience with Queen Elizabeth II where she invited him to form a new administration following the 2019 general election, in which the Conservative Party ...
.
Personal life
Rutley is married to his wife, Rachel, a physiotherapist, with whom he has 4 children. Rutley is a member of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...
(LDS Church). Rutley served as an LDS Church
missionary
A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...
in the North of England from 1979 to 1981.
Outside politics, he is a keen mountaineer and has climbed in mountain ranges throughout the world. He also enjoys fishing, and
bird watching
Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...
.
Although not a player, he is the honorary vice-president of the Ash Tree
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
Club,
Prestbury, which is in his constituency.
References
External links
David Rutley MP official website
Conservative Party biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rutley, David
1961 births
Living people
Alumni of the London School of Economics
Harvard Business School alumni
UK MPs 2010–2015
UK MPs 2015–2017
UK MPs 2017–2019
UK MPs 2019–present
Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
English Latter Day Saints
English Mormon missionaries
Mormon missionaries in England
20th-century Mormon missionaries
People educated at Priory School, Lewes
Free Enterprise Group