About Andrew Mitchell

Andrew Mitchell MP is Member of Parliament for Sutton Coldfield and Secretary of State for International Development.

Andrew is 55, married with two daughters. He was educated at Rugby School and Cambridge University, where he studied history and was elected as President of the Cambridge Union in 1978. Andrew served in the Army (Royal Tank Regiment) before joining Lazard where he worked with British companies seeking large-scale overseas contracts.

He was the Member of Parliament for Gedling from 1987 to 1997. During this period he held office as a Government Whip and as Minister for Social Security. He also served as a Vice-Chairman of the Conservative Party from 1992 to 1993.

In 2001 he was re-elected to Parliament as MP for Sutton Coldfield. In November 2003, he was appointed Shadow Minister for Economic Affairs. From September 2004 until the end of the Parliamentary term, he was Shadow Minister for Home Affairs. Following the General Election in May 2005 Andrew joined the Shadow Cabinet and was appointed Shadow Secretary of State for International Development. Following the 2010 General Election Andrew was appointed Secretary of State for International Development. An experienced and highly effective MP and Government Minister, Andrew is committed to serving the people of Sutton Coldfield.

Andrew is currently campaigning on a number of important local issues in Sutton Coldfield including issues affecting our local environment and the general well-being of the Sutton Coldfield community. He is very active in addressing issues of local development where he feels they adversely affect the Town. He actively supports a number of local charities including Breastfriends, Norman Laud Association, Sutton Coldfield Branch of the RNLI, Parkinson’s Disease Society, Sutton Coldfield Sea Cadets, Greenacres, and Sutton Coldfield Guiding.

Since becoming Sutton Coldfield’s MP he is particularly pleased to have achieved the reinstatement of the Sutton Coldfield Civic Service and established the Sutton Coldfield Inter-Schools Debating Competition.

As Sutton Coldfield’s MP, Andrew deals with hundreds of letters and emails from constituents every week. He has a dedicated staff of 5 people to assist him with this work. The issues raised are wide ranging and can fall within the responsibility of Government Departments or Birmingham City Council as well as a number of the agencies that now administer specific matters such as immigration, benefits and the environment. In addition he holds regular Advice Sessions where constituents can see him to discuss political issues or matters of personal concern.

Andrew has a home in Sutton Coldfield and spends as much time as possible regularly visiting local schools, businesses and voluntary organisations.