Shailesh Vara
Shailesh Lakhman Vara (born
September 4,
1960) is a
British Conservative Party politician. He was elected
Member of Parliament for
North West Cambridgeshire in the
2005 general election, succeeding
Brian Mawhinney as the Conservative MP for the seat. Shailesh Vara has previously been a Vice-Chairman of the Conservative party.
Born in
Uganda to
Hindu Indian Immigrants. Vara came to Britain with his family in 1964 when he was 4. Educated at
Aylesbury Grammar School and
Brunel University, qualified as a solicitor. He worked in the City and West End of London, and during 1989-1990, he worked in
Hong Kong. Has been a senior legal adviser and business consultant for London First, and is vice-president of the
Small Business Bureau.
He also has a
Black belt in
Tae Kwon Do and set up his own club where he taught for a while.
Shailesh and his wife Beverley Vara, live with their son, Sam, in
Cambridgeshire.
 |
Election 2005 |
Vara has been involved with the Conservative party since the late 1980s and has held various posts at local, regional and national levels. As Vice Chairman of the Party he had a broad range of responsibilities. These included advising
Michael Howard, deputising for the Party Chairman, Party spokesman with the media and looking after Conservative Future (which comprises the 10,000 or so people in the party under 30).
Vara was elected Member of Parliament for
Cambridgeshire North West in May 2005. Shailesh Vara has previously contested the
Birmingham Ladywood seat at the
1997 general election, which
Clare Short held on to, and
Northampton South in the
2001 general election, which Vara failed to win by only 885 votes.
At the Tory Conference in 2000, he was awarded the accolade of official "rising star" of the party, with
Lord Alexander of Weedon describing him as a "future Conservative Party leader".
In the run up to the 2001 general election, Shailesh was a member of the Party's manifesto teams for Law and Order and Legal Affairs.
In 2003, Shailesh was invited by the US government to take part in their "Young European Leaders" programme in which he was elected group leader by his fellow delegates from 12 countries.
Breast Cancer Bill
The
Breast Cancer Bill[
1] was Shailesh's chosen issue after he was one of 20 MPs who were selected at random to introduce a
Private Members Bill to the House, and he has campaigned enthusiastically to broaden the age of routine breast cancer screening for women from the present 50-70 age group to 45-75 years.
However, the government refused to support the Bill and
"talked it out". This is a device whereby Bills can be blocked when the Minister concerned continues speaking until it is time for the debate to end, and by doing so, the Bill is effectively stopped from further progress. [
2]
Shailesh Vara has given his backing to
Breast Cancer Campaigns (BCC) award wining national ‘wear it pink day, and showed his support for breast cancer charity
Breakthrough Breast Cancer at a meeting in the
House of Commons.
*
Conservative Future*
North West Cambridgeshire (UK Parliament constituency) *
Official Site**
Press Release*
Conservative party - Shailesh Vara *
Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Shailesh Vara MP*
The Times : Election 2005 *
TheyWorkForYou.com - Shailesh Vara MP*
Guardian - Class of 2005*
Telegraph - Vara Interview *
HearFromYourMp - Shailesh Vara 
