Matthew Offord

Matthew Offord FRGS MP
Member of Parliament for Hendon
Incumbent
Assumed office 7 May 2010
Preceded by	Andrew Dismore
Majority	3724 (7.5%)
Personal details
Born	(1969-09-03) 3 September 1969 Alton, Hampshire, England
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Claire Michelle Rowles
Residence	Hendon
Alma mater	Nottingham Trent University Lancaster University King's College London
Occupation	Political Analyst at the BBC
Committees	AWEPA Governing Council
Website	http://www.matthewofford.co.uk

Matthew James Offord FRGS (born 3 September 1969) is a British Conservative Party politician and the Member of Parliament for Hendon in North London. He is also a member of the AWEPA Governing Council.

Early life and education

Offord was state-educated at Amery Hill School, Alton, Hampshire, and studied at Nottingham Trent University where he first became involved in the Conservative Party. After graduation, he gained a master's degree from Lancaster University and was awarded a PhD at King's College London in 2011. Offord is a keen sailor on the Welsh Harp Reservoir and competed in the 2009 Fastnet Race. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and undertook a 2,000 km exploration of the Libyan Desert in 2005.

Politics

Offord stood unsuccessfully at the 2001 general election for the safe Labour seat of Barnsley East and Mexborough where he failed to defeat the sitting MP, Jeff Ennis. He was elected to serve the Hendon ward on the London Borough of Barnet's Council in 2002 and became chairman of the Hendon Conservative Association and deputy leader of the Council while working for the BBC as a political analyst. He became MP for Hendon at the 2010 general election, winning the seat from Labour's Andrew Dismore with a 4.1% swing to give a slender majority of 106.

In 2013 Offord claimed "there is a clear trend of attacking religion at the moment" as he proposed an amendment to the Local Government Act to allow prayers to take place at council meetings, which had been outlawed by a High Court decision. He also described same-sex marriage as an "attack on religion".

In 2015, Offord successfully retained retained his seat in Hendon, increasing the 2010 Conservative majority of 106 votes to 3,724.

External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Andrew Dismore	Member of Parliament for Hendon 2010 – present	Incumbent