Paul Bristow

Paul Bristow (born 27 March 1979)[2] is a British Conservative Party politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Peterborough since the 2019 United Kingdom general election. Prior to his parliamentary career, he worked as a public relations consultant and was the chairman of the lobbying trade body, the Association of Professional Political Consultants. Bristow was also a councillor on Hammersmith and Fulham London Borough Council between 2006 and 2010.

Paul Bristow
MP
Official portrait, 2020
Member of Parliament
for Peterborough
Assumed office
12 December 2019
Preceded byLisa Forbes
Majority2,580 (5.4%)
Personal details
Born (1979-03-27) 27 March 1979
York, England
Political partyConservative
Spouse(s)
Sara Petela
​
(m. 2019)​
[1]
Children2
Websitewww.paulbristow.org.uk

Early life

Bristow was born in 1979 in York, North Yorkshire.[3] His parents were both nurses.[4][5] His father Alan was also a Conservative Party district councillor.[6] Bristow grew up in Whittlesey where he had moved when he was five years old and attended Sir Harry Smith Community College.[4] Bristow credits his school history teacher for fostering his interest in politics and reports joining the Conservative Party at the age of 16.[7] He studied politics at university and previously worked as a parliamentary aide for former Conservative MP Richard Spring.[8]

Political career

In 2006, Bristow was elected to Hammersmith and Fulham Council as a councillor for Fulham Reach ward.[9] He stood down from the council to contest the Labour-held seat of Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland at the 2010 general election, finishing in second place with 35.6% of the vote.[10]

After returning to Peterborough, Bristow contested the 2019 Peterborough by-election, finishing in third place behind Labour's Lisa Forbes and Brexit Party candidate Mike Greene.[11] At the 2019 general election, he contested the Peterborough constituency again, winning it from Forbes with a majority of 2,580 votes.[12] Before his parliamentary career, Bristow had been the chairman of the lobbying trade body, the Association of Professional Political Consultants, between 2017 and 2019.[13] He was also the director of the healthcare public relations consultancy PB Consulting which he had founded in 2010. He resigned his directorship in January 2020.[14]

Following his election to Parliament, Bristow became a member of the Health and Social Care Committee, serving from 2020 to 2022.[15] He is currently Parliamentary Private Secretary to Nadine Dorries, the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

In April 2021, The Observer reported that Bristow claimed rental expenses of £10,500 between April and November 2020 for his constituency accommodation while renting out three residential properties in London.[16] Responding to the article, he stated that he had "followed both the letter and the spirit of the rules".[17]

In November 2021, Bristow wrote an article in The Times calling for MPs to be banned from involvement in consultant lobbying.[18]

Personal life

Bristow is a supporter of York City F.C.[19] He is married and has two daughters.[20] His wife Sara (née Petela) is a public relations consultant and has been the managing director of Healthcomms Consulting since January 2020 and Politicomms Consulting since November 2020.[21][22] Healthcomms Consulting specialises in healthcare and health technology and was founded by Bristow in 2010 under its previous name, PB Consulting. He resigned his directorship in January 2020, handing control to his wife.[14] His sister-in-law Emma is also a director of a public relations consultancy, GK Strategy.[21]

In August 2021, Bristow was given a 28-day driving ban after speeding on the A1. He requested the ban to avoid "any suggestion of hypocrisy" when campaigning about "speeding on residential streets" in Peterborough.[23]

References
  1. @SaraLPetela (24 October 2021). "Two years after getting married – four postponements later – we finally had our wedding. And it was pretty perfect. @paulbristow79" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. Brunskill, Ian (19 March 2020). The Times guide to the House of Commons 2019 : the definitive record of Britain's historic 2019 General Election. p. 300. ISBN 978-0-00-839258-1. OCLC 1129682574.
  3. "Middlesbrough South & East Cleveland". UKPollingReport. Anthony Wells. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  4. Leishman, Fiona (28 November 2019). "Meet Paul Bristow Peterborough's Conservative candidate". Cambridgeshire Live. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  5. Edwards, Mark (19 April 2020). "Peterborough MP Paul Bristow pays tribute after death of his father". Peterborough Telegraph. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  6. Elworthy, John. "Mixed fortunes for the Bristows as son Paul loses out in Peterborough by election a month after dad Alan wins seat on Fenland Council". Cambs Times. Archant Community Media ltd. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  7. "Interview: Paul Bristow, Peterborough MP". The Moment. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  8. "Bristow, Paul". Politics.co.uk. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  9. "2006 Council". LBHF. 4 December 2015. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  10. "Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland (Constituency) 2010 results – General election results – UK Parliament". electionresults.parliament.uk. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  11. Leishman, Fiona (7 June 2019). "Peterborough by-election 2019 result: City elects Labour candidate Lisa Forbes". Cambridgeshire Live. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  12. "Peterborough (Constituency) 2019 results – General election results – UK Parliament". electionresults.parliament.uk. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  13. Ramsay, Adam; Molloy, Caroline; Cave, Tamasin (21 December 2019). "Revealed: A fifth of new Tory MPs have worked as lobbyist". openDemocracy. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  14. Johnston, John (5 November 2020). "Exclusive: A Tory MP Questioned Health Ministers On Topics Linked To His Family's Lobbying Firm". PoliticsHome. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  15. "Parliamentary career for Paul Bristow". UK Parliament. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  16. Jayanetti, Chaminda (11 April 2021). "Tory MPs claim almost £3m in housing rent on expenses". The Observer. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  17. Lamy, Joel (13 April 2021). "Peterborough MP angered by article on housing expenses". Peterborough Telegraph.
  18. Bristow, Paul (11 November 2021). "Let's ban MPs from consultant lobbying". The Times.(subscription required)
  19. Lamy, Joel (16 January 2020). "Peterborough MP Paul Bristow calls for 'new future' for city hospital in maiden speech". Peterborough Telegraph. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  20. Lamy, Joel (20 December 2019). "New Peterborough MP Paul Bristow on Brexit, Boris and baby joy". Peterborough Telegraph.
  21. "The Register of Members' Financial Interests As at 1 November 2021". UK Parliament. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  22. "The Leadership Team". Healthcomms Consulting. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  23. "Peterborough: Speeding MP off roads after asking for a ban". BBC News. 17 August 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2021.


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