Political Career
Shapps stood for parliament during the 1997 election as the Conservative candidate for North Southwark and Bermondsey, and for the Welwyn Hatfield constituency for the 2001 election, both unsuccessfully.
Shapps was reselected to fight Welwyn Hatfield in 2002 and continued his local campaigning over the next four years, he stood again in the 2005 election and was elected as the Conservative MP for Welwyn Hatfield, defeating the Labour MP and Minister for Public Health, Melanie Johnson. He received 22,172 votes (49.6%) recording the second highest swing in the 2005 election of 8.2% from Labour to Conservative, a majority of 5,946 (13.3%). At the 2010 election he received a further 11.1% Labour to Conservative swing registering a majority of 17,423.
Shapps publicly backed David Cameron's bid for the leadership of the Conservative Party, seconding Cameron's nomination papers. Upon Cameron's election as party leader Shapps was appointed vice chairman of the Conservative Party with responsibility for campaigning. He has been tipped as a possible future leader by Daily Mail writer Quentin Letts.
Shapps was a member of the Public Administration Select Committee between May 2005 and February 2007.
Read more about this topic: Grant Shapps
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