Laura Trott | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Official portrait, 2023 | |
| Shadow Secretary of State for Education | |
| Assumed office 4 November 2024 | |
| Leader | Kemi Badenoch |
| Preceded by | Damian Hinds |
| Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury | |
| In office 8 July 2024 – 4 November 2024 | |
| Leader | Rishi Sunak |
| Preceded by | Darren Jones |
| Succeeded by | Richard Fuller |
| Chief Secretary to the Treasury | |
| In office 13 November 2023 – 5 July 2024 | |
| Prime Minister | Rishi Sunak |
| Preceded by | John Glen |
| Succeeded by | Darren Jones |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Pensions | |
| In office 27 October 2022 – 13 November 2023 | |
| Prime Minister | Rishi Sunak |
| Preceded by | Alex Burghart |
| Succeeded by | Paul Maynard |
| Member of Parliament forSevenoaks | |
| Assumed office 12 December 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Michael Fallon |
| Majority | 5,440 (10.9%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Laura Trott (1984-12-07)7 December 1984 (age 41) Oxted, Surrey, England |
| Party | Conservative |
| Spouse | Bahador Mahvelati |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | Oxted School |
| Alma mater | Pembroke College, Oxford (BA) |
| Website | www |
Laura Trott (born 7 December 1984) is a British politician currently serving asShadow Education Secretary since November 2024. She previously served asShadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury from July to November 2024. A member of theConservative Party, she has been theMember of Parliament (MP) forSevenoaks since 2019. She is considered a centre right politician.
Born inOxted, Trott attendedOxted School and later studied history and economics at theUniversity of Oxford. She worked as aspecial adviser between 2009 and 2016, before becoming a partner atPortland Communications. Trott joined the Conservative Party in her teens, and was a councillor for the party onCamden London Borough Council between 2010 and 2014. She was elected to theHouse of Commons at the2019 general election for Sevenoaks, becoming the first woman to represent the constituency. She was later appointed aParliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to theDepartment for Transport, before resigning during theJuly 2022 government crisis.
Trott endorsedRishi Sunak in his unsuccessful bid for party leader in theJuly–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election. She later endorsed his successful bid in theOctober 2022 Conservative Party leadership election, and was appointed to the government frontbench as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Pensions inSunak's government after he becamePrime Minister in the same month. In theNovember 2023 cabinet reshuffle, she was promoted to thecabinet asChief Secretary to the Treasury. After the defeat of the Conservative Party in the2024 general election, Trott became Shadow Chief Secretary of the Treasury inSunak's shadow cabinet.
Laura Trott was born on 7 December 1984[1][2] inOxted.[3] She attendedOxted School[4] before studying history and economics at theUniversity of Oxford as an undergraduate student ofPembroke College, Oxford.[1][5][6][7] Trott joined theConservative Party in her teens and has cited former prime ministerJohn Major as an early influence to join politics.[8]
After university, Trott was employed as strategy consultant atBooz & Company.[9] Trott is an ambassador for theSutton Trust, an educational charity.[10]
Trott served as aConservative PartyCouncillor forFrognal and Fitzjohns onCamden London Borough Council between 2010 and 2014.[11][12]
In January 2009, she became apolitical adviser for the Conservatives, before becoming a special adviser to thenMinister for the Cabinet OfficeFrancis Maude in May 2010 with the remit of political policy and media, and was then promoted to chief of staff.[3][13] She was subsequently appointed as a political adviser in theNumber 10 Policy Unit, responsible for education andfamily policy under then Prime MinisterDavid Cameron.[3] Trott was credited for formulating the party's tax-free childcare policy.[14][1]
After the2015 general election, Trott was promoted to director of strategic communication.[9] In 2016, she was appointed aMember of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in Cameron'sResignation Honours for her political and public service.[15] After the election of Prime MinisterTheresa May, she left government service and became a partner at the political consultancy and public relations firmPortland Communications in September 2017.[9]
Trott was selected as the Conservative candidate forSevenoaks inKent on 10 November 2019.[16] It is aSafe Conservative seat, having elected a member of the party since 1924, and was previously represented by formerSecretary of State for DefenceMichael Fallon.[16][17] At the2019 general election, Trott was elected as MP for Sevenoaks with a majority of 20,818 and 60.7% of the vote.[18][19] Trott is the first woman to represent the constituency.[17]
She was a policy fellow at the Centre for Science and Policy at theUniversity of Cambridge between 2020 and 2021.[20]
On 5 February 2020 Trott presented herPrivate Member's Bill, which aimed to restrict access tobotulinum toxin and filler cosmetic procedures for under 18s.[21] It became law in October 2021.[22]
Trott was a member of theHealth and Social Care Select Committee between March 2020 and November 2022.[23] She was also on the steering committee of the China Research Group during the same period.[24] Trott co-wrote a policy paper advocating for the establishment of "accelerator zones" with fellow Conservative MPBim Afolami in February 2021 for the think tankSocial Market Foundation. The zones would have relaxation of visa rules, tax incentives, and policy fellowship programmes.[25]
On 6 July 2022, in the wake of the resignations of ChancellorRishi Sunak and Health SecretarySajid Javid from thesecond Johnson ministry following theChris Pincher scandal, Trott resigned asParliamentary Private Secretary to theDepartment for Transport, citing "trust in politics is – and must always be – of the utmost importance, but sadly in recent months this has been lost".[26] Two days later, following Johnson's resignation as Conservative Party leader, she endorsed Sunak's failed bid to succeed him in theJuly–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election, and also endorsed his successful bid to succeedLiz Truss in theOctober 2022 Conservative Party leadership election.[27]
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Trott was appointedParliamentary Under-Secretary of State at theDepartment for Work and Pensions on 27 October 2022.[28] During her tenure, the department published the first official data on the gender pensions gap. She also supported the Pensions (Extension of Automatic Enrolment) Act 2023 which enabled the government to reduce the minimum age of enrolment from 22 to 18.[29][30]
On 13 November 2023, Trott was promoted toChief Secretary to the Treasury during Sunak'ssecond cabinet reshuffle.[28][29]
She was sworn in as a member of thePrivy Council on 13 December 2023 atBuckingham Palace following her appointment, entitling her to thehonorific prefix "The Right Honourable" for life.[31]
At the2024 general election, Trott was re-elected to Parliament as MP for Sevenoaks with a decreased vote share of 36.7% and a decreased majority of 5,440.[32] Following the general election, Trott was appointedShadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury in theShadow Cabinet of Rishi Sunak.[33] Trott endorsed the campaign ofKemi Badenoch in the2024 Conservative Party leadership election.[34]
Trott is married to Bahador "Bids" Mahvelati, a former partner at professional services firmPriceWaterhouseCoopers who in 2025 joinedEvelyn Partners as its Chief Operating Officer.[35][36] They have one daughter and twin sons.[3][10]
I'd like to thank my family; my friends; my husband Bids here tonight
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forSevenoaks 2019–present | Incumbent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Chief Secretary to the Treasury 2023–2024 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury 2024 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Shadow Secretary of State for Education 2024–present | Incumbent |
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| Also attended meetings | ||
| Departures | ||
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