Sir Mel Stride | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Official portrait, 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 4 November 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Leader | Kemi Badenoch | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Jeremy Hunt | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 8 July 2024 – 4 November 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Leader | Rishi Sunak | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Liz Kendall | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Helen Whately | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Chair of theTreasury Select Committee | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 23 October 2019 – 25 October 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Nicky Morgan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Harriett Baldwin | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Member of Parliament forCentral Devon | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 6 May 2010 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Constituency created | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Majority | 61 (0.1%) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1961-09-30)30 September 1961 (age 64) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | Conservative | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | Michelle King Hughes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Education | Portsmouth Grammar School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | St Edmund Hall, Oxford (BA) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | Official website | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sir Melvyn John Stride[1] (born 30 September 1961)[2] is a British politician who has served asShadow Chancellor of the Exchequer inKemi Badenoch's Shadow Cabinet since November 2024.[3] A member of theConservative Party, he has been theMember of Parliament (MP) forCentral Devon since2010.
He previously served in theMay Government asFinancial Secretary to the Treasury andPaymaster General from 2017 to 2019 and asLeader of the House of Commons andLord President of the Council from May to July 2019. From 2019 to 2022 he sat as abackbencher, serving as Chair of theTreasury Select Committee. From October 2022 to July 2024, during the government ofRishi Sunak, Stride served asSecretary of State for Work and Pensions. Following the Conservative Party's defeat in the2024 general election, Stride was appointed Sunak'sShadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. On Sunak's departure he launched his bid to becomeLeader of the Conservative Party, but was eliminated on the secondballot of MPs. FollowingKemi Badenoch's victory in the2024 leadership election she appointed Stride asShadow Chancellor.
Melvyn Stride was born inEaling, inLondon, on 30 September 1961.[4] He was educated atPortsmouth Grammar School, aprivateday school in the city ofPortsmouth on England'sSouth Coast, and then studiedPhilosophy, Politics and Economics atSt Edmund Hall, at theUniversity of Oxford,[5] where he was elected president of theOxford Union.[6]
In 1987, Stride set up a business jointly controlled with his wife, Venture Marketing Group, specialising in trade exhibitions, conferences and publishing,[7] which was expanded to the United States. The US company was sold,[8] and Stride resigned as director of the company in 2007.[9] He was a director of several companies, resigning from the last of them in December 2020.[9]
Stride was selected as the prospective Conservative candidate for Central Devon in June 2006 after his name was added to the newConservative A-List in 2006;[10] he was the first A-Lister to be selected.[11]
At the2010 general election, Stride was elected as MP forCentral Devon with 51.5% of the vote and a majority of 9,230.[12]
On 28 October 2011, Stride was appointedParliamentary Private Secretary to the Minister of State for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning,John Hayes.[13]
At the2015 general election, Stride was re-elected as MP for Central Devon with an increased vote share of 52.2% and an increased majority of 21,265.[14] Stride was promoted to the frontbench as Lord Commissioner of the Treasury after the election. Stride was opposed toBrexit prior to the2016 referendum.[15]
Stride was appointedComptroller of the Household following the appointment ofTheresa May asPrime Minister.[6]
At the snap2017 general election, Stride was again re-elected, with an increased vote share of 54.1% and a decreased majority of 15,680.[16] He was again re-elected at the2019 general election, with an increased vote share of 55.3% and an increased majority of 17,721.[17] At the2024 general election, Stride was again re-elected, with a decreased vote share of 31.5% and a decreased majority of 61.[18]
Following the 2017 general election, Stride was appointedFinancial Secretary to the Treasury.[19] In this role in April 2019, Stride was accused by MPs of breaking theMinisterial Code over comments he had made in relation to the Loan Charge.[20][21] Stride was appointedLeader of the House of Commons andLord President of the Council on 23 May 2019, following the resignation ofAndrea Leadsom.[22] Stride endorsedMichael Gove to becomeLeader of the Conservative Party in the2019 leadership election. FollowingBoris Johnson's election as party leader and appointment as Prime Minister he was dismissed from his role as Leader of the House of Commons and replaced byJacob Rees-Mogg.[23]
 | Mel Stride (@MelJStride) tweeted: |
Disappointed that @RishiSunak did not prevail but will be uniting behind @trussliz to tackle the massive challenges we face. The cost of living crisis, inflation, war in Ukraine, NHS backlogs, illegal migration. There is much to do and now is the time for the party to unite.
Sep 5, 2022[24]
On 23 October 2019, Stride was elected Chair of theTreasury Select Committee, replacingNicky Morgan.[25] Stride supportedRishi Sunak in theJuly–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election, serving as his campaign chief, and lent his support to him again in theOctober 2022 Conservative Party leadership election.[26][27]
Upon the appointment of Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister, Stride returned to the frontbench having been appointedSecretary of State for Work and Pensions.[28] In September 2023, Stride commented on the state pension system in the United Kingdom. Stride said that the triple lock system was not sustainable in the long term. The comments came in response to reports that the government was considering scrapping the mechanism used to uprate the state pension having seen several years of large increases.[29][needs update]
Stride became well known for his frequent media appearances during the2024 general election campaign, making more appearances on morning television programs than any other Conservative minister.[30]
The Conservative Party suffered alandslide defeat at the2024 general election and Stride's constituency became one of the country's most marginal, with his majority falling to just 61 votes.[31] Following the election and the subsequent formation of theStarmer ministry, Stride was appointedShadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions inRishi Sunak's caretaker Shadow Cabinet. On 26 July 2024, Stride announced he was running in the2024 leadership election to be the newConservative Party leader.[32][33] During the first MPs' ballot, Stride achieved the second lowest number of votes of the six candidates, at 16.[34] He came last of the remaining five candidates in the second ballot, remaining at 16 votes, and was eliminated;[35]Kemi Badenoch ultimately won.
On 4 November 2024, Stride was appointedShadow Chancellor of the Exchequer inBadenoch's shadow cabinet.[36]
In June 2025, Stride apologized for theSeptember 2022 mini-budget implemented by Prime MinisterLiz Truss, stating that the Tories would "never again" risk the UK's economic stability by making "promises we cannot afford".[37]
During his time as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, Stride deputised for theLeader of the Opposition during Deputy PMQs, facingAngela Rayner on 25 June 2025 whilst thePrime Minister was at the2025 The Hague NATO summit.[38]
At his autumn 2025 conference speech, Stride describedReform UK as a “populist alternative that is totally detached from reality” and blamed the incumbent Labour government for increasing borrowing, raising taxes, and increasing debt.[39]
In 2005, atWestminster, Stride married Michelle King Hughes[6][40] (born 1975)[41] and has three daughters.[42] On 11 April 2025, Stride was knighted inRishi Sunak'sResignation Honours List.[43]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Mel Stride | 16,831 | 31.5 | −23.8 | |
| Labour | Ollie Pearson | 16,770 | 31.4 | +6.6 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Mark Wooding | 8,232 | 15.4 | +0.4 | |
| Reform UK | Jeffrey Leeks | 7,784 | 14.6 | N/A | |
| Green | Gill Westcott | 3,338 | 6.2 | +1.3 | |
| Independent | Arthur Price | 477 | 0.9 | N/A | |
| Majority | 61 | 0.1 | −30.4 | ||
| Turnout | 53,432 | 70.9 | −6.3 | ||
| Registered electors | 75,385 | ||||
| Conservativehold | Swing | −15.2 | |||
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Knight Bachelor[43]The Loan Charge Inquiry has concluded that the way the Financial Secretary to the Treasury has handled the Loan Charge, including demonstrably seeking to mislead over convictions that he knew are not related to loan arrangements, constitutes a breach of the Ministerial Code.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| New constituency | Member of Parliament forCentral Devon 2010–present | Incumbent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Comptroller of the Household 2016–2017 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Paymaster General 2017–2019 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Financial Secretary to the Treasury 2017–2019 | |
| Preceded by | Leader of the House of Commons 2019 | Succeeded by |
| Lord President of the Council 2019 | ||
| Preceded by | Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 2022–2024 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 2024 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer 2024–present | Incumbent |
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