Douglas Carswell

Biography:

Douglas Carswell was re-elected MP for Clacton on May 7th 2015 with 19642 votes, taking 44.4% of the vote.

Formerly a member of the Conservative Party, Douglas was elected Member of Parliament for Harwich and Clacton in May 2005. In August 2014 he changed his political allegiance to UKIP and announced his resignation as an MP, thereby necessitating a by-election in which he stood and was returned as a UKIP MP.

Prior to his election in 2005, he had a proper job and real world experience before politics, working in business and investment management. Born in 1971, Douglas grew up in Africa where his parents worked as doctors amongst some of the world’s poorest people. Douglas went to St Andrew’s School, Turi, in Kenya and then Charterhouse in the UK. He read history at the University of East Anglia and at King’s College, London.

Douglas first stood for Parliament in 2001 against Tony Blair, as the Conservative candidate for Sedgefield managing to cut Blair’s majority by over 7,500 votes.

Married to Clementine, Douglas is keen on swimming, running and riding. He makes jam, and recently took up gardening, sharing an organic vegetable patch with various slugs and snails.

Douglas co-wrote “Direct Democracy; an agenda for a new model party”, which the Spectator magazine described as “One of the founding texts for the new, revitalised Toryism… written by some of the brightest young Conservative thinkers”.

He more recently co-authored, along with Daniel Hannan MEP, The Plan: 12-months to renew Britain, which Frederick Forsyth has described as being “the road we should go down”.

Other papers for the Institute of Economic Affairs called for a new legal right to empower parents. A paper for the Adam Smith Institute called for the abolition of the Council Tax and for VAT to be converted into a local sales tax, to make local authorities self-financing.

Achieving Britain’s independence is one of Douglas’ overriding political interests.

Douglas serves on the House of Commons Schools and Families Select Committee.

Constituency: Clacton

Constituency Address: Douglas Carswell MP
105 Station Road
Clacton-on-Sea
Essex
CO15 1TW

Constituency Tel: 01255 475384

Date of Birth: 3 May 1971

Email: carswelld@parliament.uk

Party: Conservative

Personal Website: http://www.douglascarswell.com; http://www.talkcarswell.com/

Westminster Address: House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA

Westminster Tel: 020 7219 8397

Twitter: @DouglasCarswell