{{Short description|British politician (born 1988)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2023}} {{Use British English|date=August 2016}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = Tom Pursglove | honorific_suffix = | image = Official portrait of Tom Pursglove MP crop 2.jpg | caption = Official portrait, 2020 | office = [[Minister of State for Legal Migration and the Border]]{{efn|As Minister of State for Immigration from September to October 2022.}} | prime_minister = [[Rishi Sunak]] | term_start = 7 December 2023 | term_end = 5 July 2024 | predecessor = [[Robert Jenrick]]{{efn|As Minister of State for Immigration.}} | successor = [[Seema Malhotra]]{{efn|As Minister of State for Migration and Citizenship}} | prime_minister1 = [[Liz Truss]] | term_start1 = 7 September 2022 | term_end1 = 25 October 2022 | predecessor1 = [[Kevin Foster (politician)|Kevin Foster]] | successor1 = [[Robert Jenrick]] | office2 = [[Minister of State for Disabled People, Health and Work]] | prime_minister2 = [[Rishi Sunak]] | term_start2 = 28 October 2022 | term_end2 = 7 December 2023 | predecessor2 = [[Claire Coutinho]] | successor2 = [[Mims Davies]] | office3 = [[Minister of State for Crime and Policing]]{{efn|Jointly with the [[Ministry of justice]].}} | prime_minister3 = [[Boris Johnson]] | term_start3 = 7 July 2022 | term_end3 = 7 September 2022 | predecessor3 = [[Kit Malthouse]] | successor3 = [[Jeremy Quin]] | office4 = [[Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice and Tackling Illegal Migration]]{{efn|Jointly with the [[Home Office]].}} | prime_minister4 = [[Boris Johnson]] | term_start4 = 17 September 2021 | term_end4 = 7 July 2022 | predecessor4 = [[Chris Philp]] | successor4 = [[Simon Baynes]] | 1blankname5 = Chairman | 1namedata5 = [[Brandon Lewis]] | office5 = [[Conservative Party (UK)|Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party for Youth]] | term_start5 = 27 July 2018 | term_end5 = 15 January 2019 | predecessor5 = [[Ben Bradley (politician)|Ben Bradley]] | successor5 = [[Nigel Huddleston]] | office6 = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]]<br />for [[Corby (UK Parliament constituency)|Corby]] | term_start6 = 7 May 2015 | predecessor6 = [[Andy Sawford]] | successor6 = [[Lee Barron (politician)|Lee Barron]] | term_end6 = 30 May 2024 | birth_name = Thomas Christopher John Pursglove | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1988|11|5|df=y}} | birth_place = [[Kettering]], England | death_date = | death_place = | party = [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] | education = [[Sir Christopher Hatton School]] | alma_mater = [[Queen Mary University of London]] }} '''Thomas Christopher John Pursglove''' (born 5 November 1988)<ref name="yournextmp">{{cite web|url=https://yournextmp.com/person/4180/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150324163110/https://yournextmp.com/person/4180 |url-status=usurped |archive-date=24 March 2015 |title=Tom Pursglove, Conservative Party candidate to be MP for Corby – YourNextMP.com|access-date=9 September 2016}}</ref> is a British [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] politician who served as a Minister from September 2021 to July 2024. A member of the Conservative Party, he was the [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] (MP) for [[Corby (UK Parliament constituency)|Corby]] from May 2015 until 2024 when he was defeated.<ref name="bbc">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/constituencies/E14000648 |publisher=bbc.co.uk|title=Corby parliamentary constituency - Election 2015 - BBC News|access-date=9 September 2016}}</ref>
Pursglove has previously served as [[Minister of State for Disabled People, Health and Work]], [[Minister of State for Immigration]], and [[Minister of State for Crime and Policing]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ministerial Appointments commencing: 25 October 2022 |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ministerial-appointments-25-october-2022 |access-date=28 October 2022 |website=GOV.UK |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Ministerial Appointments: September 2022 |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ministerial-appointments-september-2022 |access-date=8 September 2022 |website=GOV.UK |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Minister of State (Minister for Migration) - GOV.UK |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers/minister-of-state--121 |access-date=27 September 2022 |website=www.gov.uk |language=en}}</ref> Aged 26 at the time of his election, he was the youngest Conservative MP of the 2015–17 Parliament.
==Early life and career== Pursglove was born in [[Kettering]] on 5 November 1988, and grew up in [[Wellingborough]]. He was educated at [[Sir Christopher Hatton School]], a state comprehensive school in Wellingborough, and graduated from [[Queen Mary University of London]] in 2010 with a politics degree.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.votepursglove.co.uk/about-tom|title=Tom Pursglove|work=www.votepursglove.co.uk|access-date=8 June 2015}}</ref>
In 2007, at the age of 18, Pursglove became the youngest councillor in the country when he was elected for Croyland Ward on [[Wellingborough Borough Council]]. The election saw the Conservative Party extend their dominance in Wellingborough, winning 30 of the 36 posts available. Pursglove was re-elected in 2011, but did not stand again in 2015.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.electionscentre.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Wellingborough-1973-2011.pdf|title=Wellingborough Council Election Results 1973-2011|publisher= Plymouth University|access-date=18 August 2018}}</ref>
In addition to his role as a councillor, Pursglove worked as a [[parliamentary assistant]] to the Conservative MP for [[Daventry]] [[Chris Heaton-Harris]] and worked with the Conservative MP for Wellingborough [[Peter Bone]]. Prior to being elected as an MP, Pursglove was deputy chairman of the Wellingborough [[Conservative Association]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/generalelection/general-election-2015-seven-new-mps-that-you-should-know-about-10238265.html|title=General election 2015: Seven new MPs that you should know about|author=Sophie Mcintyre |work=The Independent|date=9 May 2015|access-date=9 May 2015|location=London}}</ref>
==Parliamentary career== Pursglove was elected as MP for [[Corby (UK Parliament constituency)|Corby]] at the [[2015 United Kingdom general election|2015 general election]] with 42.8% of the vote and a majority of 2,412.<ref name="electoralcalculus">{{cite web |title=Election Data 2015 |url=http://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/electdata_2015.txt |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017112223/http://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/electdata_2015.txt |archive-date=17 October 2015 |access-date=17 October 2015 |publisher=[[Electoral Calculus]]}}</ref> He won back for the Conservatives a seat that had been lost to Labour in a [[2012 Corby by-election|2012 by-election]] after the former Conservative MP [[Louise Mensch]] stood down.<ref name="northantstelegraph">{{cite news|url=http://www.northantstelegraph.co.uk/news/top-stories/general-election-2015-conservative-candidate-pays-tribute-to-former-labour-mp-after-winning-his-corby-seat-1-6733079 |work=[[Northamptonshire Evening Telegraph]]|title=GENERAL ELECTION 2015: Conservative candidate pays tribute to former Labour MP after winning his Corby seat|date=8 May 2015|first=Michael|last=Whelan|access-date=9 September 2016|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150511010049/https://www.northantstelegraph.co.uk/news/top-stories/general-election-2015-conservative-candidate-pays-tribute-to-former-labour-mp-after-winning-his-corby-seat-1-6733079|archivedate=11 May 2015}}</ref>
In July 2016, following [[Theresa May]]'s appointment as Prime Minister, Pursglove was appointed as [[parliamentary private secretary]] to [[Robert Goodwill]], the Minister of State for Immigration at the [[Home Office]].
Pursglove was re-elected at the [[2017 United Kingdom general election|2017 general election]] with an increased vote share of 49.2% and an increased majority of 2,690 votes.<ref name="electoralcalculus2">{{cite web |title=Election Data 2015 |url=http://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/electdata_2015.txt |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017112223/http://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/electdata_2015.txt |archive-date=17 October 2015 |access-date=17 October 2015 |publisher=[[Electoral Calculus]]}}</ref>
In February 2018, following the announcement that [[Northamptonshire County Council]] had brought in a [[section 114 notice]], putting it in special measures following a crisis in its finances, Pursglove was one of seven local MPs who released a statement arguing that the problems with the authority were down to mismanagement from the Conservative councillors who led it rather than funding cuts from the Conservative Government. They further argued that government commissioners should take over the running of the council.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-42944394|title=Northamptonshire MPs call for county council takeover|work=BBC News|date=5 February 2018|access-date=18 August 2018}}</ref>
On 27 July 2018, following [[Ben Bradley (politician)|Ben Bradley]]'s resignation over disagreements with the government's policy on [[Brexit]], Pursglove was selected to replace him as Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party for Youth. In February 2019, fellow Conservative MP [[Nigel Huddleston]] replaced Pursglove in the role following his resignation over the approach of the party towards Brexit.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/conservatives-youth-spokesman-age-nigel-huddleston-tories-a8775051.html|title=Conservatives appoint 48-year-old MP as youth spokesman|last=Cowburn|first=Ashley|date=12 February 2019|work=The Independent|access-date=9 September 2019}}</ref>
In August 2019, Pursglove was appointed as an [[Whip (politics)|assistant government whip]] in the [[first Johnson ministry]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.northantstelegraph.co.uk/news/people/new-government-role-for-corby-mp-will-stop-him-taking-part-in-parliamentary-debate-1-9022871|title=New government role for Corby MP will stop him taking part in parliamentary debate|newspaper=[[Northamptonshire Evening Telegraph]]|date=5 August 2019|first=Sarah|last=Ward|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20191025133252/https://www.northantstelegraph.co.uk/news/people/new-government-role-for-corby-mp-will-stop-him-taking-part-in-parliamentary-debate-1-9022871|archivedate=25 October 2019}}</ref>
Pursglove was re-elected at the [[2019 United Kingdom general election|2019 general election]] with an increased vote share of 55.2% and an increased majority of 10,268 votes.<ref>{{cite web |title=Declaration of Results UKPE 2019 |url=https://www.corby.gov.uk/declaration-results-ukpe-2019 |access-date=4 May 2020 |website=Corby.gov.uk}}</ref>
In September 2021, he was appointed [[Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice and Tackling Illegal Migration|Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Immigration, Compliance and Courts]] during the [[2021 British cabinet reshuffle|cabinet reshuffle]], a role held jointly between the [[Home Office]] and [[Ministry of Justice (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Justice]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ministerial-appointments-september-2021|title=Ministerial appointments: September 2021|date=16 September 2021}}</ref>
In October 2022, following the resignation of [[Liz Truss]] as [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]], Pursglove announced that he would be supporting previous Prime Minister [[Boris Johnson]] in the subsequent [[October 2022 Conservative Party leadership election|leadership election]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Who is backing Boris Johnson in the Conservative leadership race? |url=https://www.itv.com/news/central/2022-10-21/come-back-boss-mps-back-boris-johnson-as-new-pm-saying-hes-a-vote-winner |access-date=21 October 2022 |work=ITV News |date=21 October 2022}}</ref>
In October 2023, Pursglove was reported to have been campaigning with [[Peter Bone]], who had been suspended from the House of Commons and had had the Conservative whip suspended.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Adu |first=Aletha |date=29 October 2023 |title=Minister seen campaigning with suspended former Tory MP Peter Bone |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/oct/29/minister-seen-campaigning-with-suspended-tory-mp-peter-bone |access-date=31 October 2023 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> Following criticism by the Labour Party about this, the Prime Minister's spokesman said that [[Rishi Sunak]] had confidence in Pursglove.<ref>{{Cite news |date=30 October 2023 |title=Peter Bone: PM has confidence in minister who campaigned with suspended MP |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-67264809 |access-date=31 October 2023}}</ref> In the general election of 2024 he was defeated by the Labour party candidate.
==Political views== ===Criticism of the European Union=== Pursglove was one of the founders of [[Grassroots Out]], an organisation which advocated [[United Kingdom withdrawal from the European Union]]. The organisation was led by politicians from a range of political parties, including fellow Conservative MP [[Peter Bone]] and [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] MP [[Kate Hoey]]. In February 2016 it was announced that Pursglove and fellow Conservative MP Peter Bone would be speakers at the [[UKIP]] Spring Conference. Although rare for representatives of rival political parties to appear at such events, they argued any role they had there would be as representatives of the Grassroots Out group.<ref>{{cite news|title=Two Conservative MPs scheduled to speak at Ukip spring conference|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/feb/17/two-conservative-mps-ukip-spring-conference-grassroots-out|last1=Mason|first1=Rowena|last2=Ward|first2=Megan|work=The Guardian|access-date=18 August 2018|date=17 February 2016}}</ref>
In April 2016, Pursglove was criticised for taking payments of £21,750 from the Grassroots Out campaign, of which he was chief executive, which some fellow campaigners argued should have been donated to further campaigning. However, he argued his work had "keep costs to a minimum, allowing us to spend the maximum amount on campaigning", rather than hiring outside expertise.<ref name="BBC">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-eu-referendum-36102714|date=21 April 2016|publisher=BBC News|title=Arron Banks anger at Peter Bone and Tom Pursglove payments|access-date=18 August 2018}}</ref> In May 2016, he stated that, given the choice, he would ultimately prefer to see Britain leave the EU than his party secure another majority at the next general election, but also said that he was a 'loyal Conservative' and had no desire to defect to [[UKIP]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Tom Pursglove interview: I woke up aged 13 and knew I wanted to be a politician|url=https://www.totalpolitics.com/articles/interview/tom-pursglove-interview-i-woke-aged-13-and-knew-i-wanted-be-politician|work=Total Politics|access-date=18 August 2018|date=3 May 2016}}</ref>
===The environment=== In 2015, Pursglove [[climate change denial|expressed scepticism]] about human influence on [[climate change]] and advocated abolishing the [[Department of Energy and Climate Change]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Tom Pursglove: Tory's Youngest MP On Louise Mensch, Loving Margaret Thatcher and Why Roger Moore Was The Best Bond|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/11/17/tom-pursglove-louise-mensch-bond_n_8581164.html|work=Huffington Post|access-date=25 October 2019|date=17 November 2015}}</ref> Also in 2015, Pursglove questioned public spending on reducing carbon emissions in the UK on the grounds that countries such as China produce more emissions and therefore needed to take more action.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/11/17/tom-pursglove-louise-mensch-bond_n_8581164.html|title=Tory MP Tom Pursglove On Winning Back Trust After Louise Mensch And Why Roger Moore Was The Best Bond|date=17 November 2015|work=HuffPost UK|access-date=30 August 2018|language=en-GB}}</ref>
==Post-parliamentary career== Following his defeat at the 2024 general election, Pursglove co-founded, and has worked as a Director, at [[Public affairs industry|public affairs]] [[Consultant|consultancy]] Ascalane Partners.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.politicshome.com/news/article/year-general-election-former-mps-now|title=One Year After The General Election: Where Are Former MPs Now?|last=Crowther|first=Zoe|date=6 July 2025|work=[[Merit Group#Subsidiaries|PoliticsHome]]|accessdate=21 April 2026}}</ref>
==Notes== {{notelist}}
==References== {{reflist|30em}}
==External links== {{commons category}} *{{UK MP links |parliament=tom-pursglove/4369 |publicwhip=Tom_Pursglove |theywork=tom_pursglove}}
{{s-start}} {{s-par|uk}} {{s-bef|before=[[Andy Sawford]]}} {{s-ttl |title=[[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]]<br />for [[Corby (UK Parliament constituency)|Corby]] |years=[[2015 United Kingdom general election|2015]]–[[2024 United Kingdom general election|2024]] }} {{s-aft|after=[[Lee Barron (politician)|Lee Barron]]}} {{s-end}}
{{Minister of State for Immigration}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pursglove, Tom}} [[Category:1988 births]] [[Category:Alumni of Queen Mary University of London]] [[Category:Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:People from Wellingborough]] [[Category:UK councillors 2007–2011]] [[Category:UK councillors 2011–2015]] [[Category:UK MPs 2015–2017]] [[Category:UK MPs 2017–2019]] [[Category:UK MPs 2019–2024]] [[Category:British Eurosceptics]]