Andy Slaughter MP | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2024 | |||||||||||||
| Chair of theJustice Select Committee | |||||||||||||
| Assumed office 11 September 2024 | |||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Sir Bob Neill | ||||||||||||
| Member of Parliament forHammersmith and Chiswick Ealing, Acton and Shepherd's Bush (2005–2010) Hammersmith (2010–2024) | |||||||||||||
| Assumed office 5 May 2005 | |||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Clive Soley | ||||||||||||
| Majority | 15,290 (33.2%) | ||||||||||||
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| Personal details | |||||||||||||
| Born | Andrew Francis Slaughter (1960-09-29)29 September 1960 (age 64) Hammersmith,London, England | ||||||||||||
| Political party | Labour | ||||||||||||
| Alma mater | University of Exeter (LLB) | ||||||||||||
| Website | andyslaughter | ||||||||||||
Andrew Francis Slaughter (born 29 September 1960) is a BritishLabour Party politician who is currently serving asMember of Parliament (MP) forHammersmith and Chiswick, and before that,Hammersmith andEaling, Acton and Shepherd's Bush, since2005. Prior to his election to Parliament, he had served as Leader of theLondon Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Council.
In the2024 general election, Slaughter stood in the new seat ofHammersmith and Chiswick.[1]
Slaughter was born on 29 September 1960. He studied at theUniversity of Exeter,College of Law, and theInns of Court School of Law.[2]
Slaughter wascalled to the bar atMiddle Temple in 1993, thereby qualifying to practice as abarrister. He was a barrister with Bridewell Chambers from 1993 to 2006, before joining Lamb Chambers in 2006.[2]
He stood at theUxbridge by-election in July 1997, following the unexpected death seven days after the1997 general election of incumbent SirMichael Shersby. The seat, which had a small Conservative majority, was held for the Conservatives byJohn Randall.
At the2005 general election, Slaughter was elected as the member of parliament for Ealing, Acton and Shepherd's Bush in London, retaining the seat for Labour following the retirement of his predecessor,Clive Soley.
Slaughter is currently a member of the Justice Select Committee. He was a member of theCommunities and Local Government Select Committee in 2009–10 and in 2010 of theLondon Regional Select Committee and Joint Committee on Human Rights. Previously he was member of theRegulatory Reform Select Committee (2005–07) andChildren, Schools and Families Select Committee (2007–09).[citation needed]
Slaughter's interests include the Middle East and particularly Palestine. He is Secretary of the Britain-PalestineAll-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) and Vice-Chair of Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East. His interests are reflected in the other APPGs of which he is a member, including Democracy and Human Rights in the Gulf, Fire Safety and Rescue, Gypsies, Travellers and Roma, Heathrow, and Legal Aid.[citation needed]
He has spoken in theHouse of Commons on fire safety, housing, legal aid, local government, education and climate change issues.[citation needed]
Slaughter has campaigned againstHeathrow expansion. He also played a part in successful local campaigns against the planned demolition of social housing by the Conservative Council in his constituency and the planned demolition of Charing Cross Hospital.[citation needed]
The Ealing, Acton and Shepherd's Bush constituency underwent a boundary change for the2010 general election, and on 30 November 2006, the new HammersmithConstituency Labour Party selected Slaughter as the Labour candidate for the newHammersmith seat which he won in the 2010 general election with an increased majority.
He was appointedParliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) toStephen Ladyman MP, Minister of State for theDepartment for Transport and served from November 2005 to June 2007. In June 2007, he was appointed PPS toLord Malloch-Brown,Minister of State at theForeign and Commonwealth Office, and also served as PPS toLord Digby Jones, Minister of State at theForeign and Commonwealth Office andDepartment for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, and between July 2007 and October 2008.
On 27 January 2009, he resigned his PPS role as he opposed the Government's plans for a third runway atHeathrow Airport.[3]
In October 2010, Slaughter was invited to join the Labour frontbench asShadowJustice Minister[4] with responsibility for courts and tribunals, criminal law, freedom of information, the legal profession, civil justice reform and Legal Aid.[citation needed] Slaughter served as the lead shadow minister opposing theLegal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 and the Justice and Security Act 2012. He resigned in June 2016, citing concerns over Jeremy Corbyn's leadership.[5] He supportedOwen Smith in the2016 Labour Party leadership election.[citation needed]
Slaughter was appointed as Shadow Minister for Housing in October 2016,[4] however he was sacked from the frontbench in June 2017 after he voted in favour of an amendment to theQueen's Speech which called on the UK to remain in theEuropean Single Market, in defiance of the Labourwhip.[6]
In theNovember 2021 British shadow cabinet reshuffle, he became the newShadow Solicitor General.
On 15 November 2023, Slaughter voted for anSNP amendment to the King's Speech, demanding an immediate Ceasefire inGaza, contrary to theLabour Party's official stance to supportHM Government line on theGaza war. He was dismissed by SirKeir Starmer from his position asShadow Solicitor General.[7]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forEaling, Acton & Shepherd's Bush 2005–2010 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forHammersmith 2010–present | Incumbent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Shadow Minister for Justice 2010–2016 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Shadow Minister of State for Housing 2016–2017 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Shadow Minister for Legal Aid 2021 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Shadow Solicitor General for England and Wales 2021–2023 | Succeeded by |
