Edward Vaizey
Edward Henry Butler Vaizey (born
June 5,
1968) is a British Conservative commentator, politician and columnist. He was elected
Conservative Member of Parliament for the constituency of
Wantage on May 2005, with 22,394 votes. His majority was 8,017 over the Liberal Democrat candidate, Andrew Crawford. This represented 43% of the voters and a 1.9% swing from the Lib Dems to the Tories.
Vaizey is the son of the late
Lord Vaizey of Greenwich, a
life peer, and his wife
Marina Vaizey, a well-known art historian. Vaizey spent part of his childhood growing up in
Berkshire. He was educated at
St Paul's School and
Merton College, Oxford, where he rose to the rank of Librarian (Vice President) of the
Oxford Union and took a
2.1 in History. After leaving
Oxford, Vaizey worked for the Conservative politicians
Kenneth Clarke and
Michael Howard as an adviser on employment and education issues. He trained and practised as a barrister for several years, specialising in family law and child care cases. He was a partner at
Consolidated Communications, a
Public Relations agency.
He has been a regular commentator on the Conservative Party in the press. He has written regular comment pieces for
The Guardian since
1998, and contributes articles to the
Sunday Times news review. He has also written for
The Times and the
Daily Telegraph and written editorials for the
Evening Standard. Vaizey is also a regular broadcaster, appearing on
Fi Glover's and
Edwina Currie's shows on
BBC Radio Five Live, as a regular panellist on
five's
The Wright Stuff and
BBC Radio 4's
Despatch Box, and occasionally as a presenter of
People and Politics on the BBC
World Service.
Vaizey first stood for Parliament at the
1997 UK general election, when he was the candidate for
Bristol East. In the
2001 UK general election, he acted as an election aide to
Iain Duncan Smith. He stood in the
2002 local elections in the safe
Labour ward of Harrow Road in the
City of Westminster.
In 2002 he was selected by
Wantage Conservative Association as its candidate for the 2005 election, to succeed the sitting MP,
Robert Jackson, who subsequently defected to Labour. Vaizey won a two-thirds majority on the final ballot of members. He is seen as a moderniser in the Conservative Party, contributing in both policy and image terms. He was a speechwriter for Michael Howard, leader of the Conservative Party until December 2005, and the editor of the
Blue Books series, which looked at new approaches to Conservative policy in areas such as health and transport. He was one of Michael Howard's inner circle of advisers and a member of a group of young Tories sometimes disparagingly referred to as the '
Notting Hill set', along with
David Cameron - elected leader of the party in December 2005 -
George Osborne,
Michael Gove,
Nicholas Boles and
Rachel Whetstone.
A Blue Tomorrow - New Visions for Modern Conservatives (2001) (ed. with Michael Gove and Nicholas Boles). ISBN 1842750275
Blue Book on Health: Conservative Visions for Health Policy (2002) ISBN 1842750437
Blue Book on Transport: Conservative Visions for Transport Policy (ed with Michael McManus) (2002) ISBN 1842750445
Blue Book on Education (ed with Michael McManus) (2003)
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Edward Vaizey MP official site
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Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Ed Vaizey MP*
TheyWorkForYou.com - Edward Vaizey MP*
The Public Whip - Edward Vaizey MP voting record
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Edward Vaizey's webcast
