Political Career
He stood against Labour's Ken Livingstone in Brent East at the 1992 General Election, but lost by 5,971 votes. He was elected to the House of Commons for the Kent seat of Ashford at the 1997 General Election following the retirement of the Tory MP Keith Speed. Green held the seat with a majority of 5,345 and has remained the constituency's MP. He made his maiden speech on 20 May 1997.
In Parliament he was a member of the Culture, Media and Sport select committee from 1997 until his appointment to the frontbench by William Hague in 1998 as a spokesman on education and employment. He spoke on the environment from 1999, and was promoted to the Shadow Cabinet by Iain Duncan Smith in 2001 as the Shadow Secretary of State for Education and Skills. In 2003, Michael Howard gave him the position of Shadow Secretary of State for Transport. In September 2004, he left the front bench altogether of his own accord and joined the home affairs select committee, and has been a member of the treasury committee since the 2005 General Election. He returned to the frontbench under the leadership of David Cameron in 2005 as a spokesman on home affairs and shadow minister for immigration.
Green is Chairman of Parliamentary Mainstream, a Vice-President of the Tory Reform Group and is a Vice-Chairman of the John Smith Memorial Trust.
Read more about this topic: Damian Green
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