Shailesh Vara MP has been appointed as the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Work and Pensions by the Prime Minister, David Cameron.
Vara has been the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice since 2013 and will continue in this role alongside his new appointment.
Speaking about his appointment, he said, “I am delighted to have been appointed by the Prime Minister as a Minister in the Department for Work and Pensions. I am also very pleased that I will be able to continue my work in the Ministry of Justice. Both departments have important work to be done and I look forward to helping progress the government’s agenda.”
A British Indian origin MP, Vara was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for North West Cambridgeshire in the 2005 general election, succeeding Brian Mawhinney as the Conservative MP for the seat. Vara has previously been a Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party. In 2006, he was appointed to the Shadow ministerial post of Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Commons. Following the 2010 general election, he was appointed to the position of Assistant Whip in the Coalition government. On 7 October 2013, he was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice.
He was born in Uganda to a Hindu Gujarati family and came to Britain in 1964 at the age of four. He was educated at Aylesbury Grammar School and Brunel University, and qualified as a solicitor. Vara worked in the City and West End of London, and during 1989-1990, he worked in Hong Kong. He has been a senior legal adviser and business consultant for London First, and is Vice-President of the Small Business Bureau.
