Suella Fernandes is the Conservative Member of Parliament for Fareham, and a member of the Education Select Committee. Born in Harrow, to parents from Mauritius and Kenya, she read Law at Cambridge University, the Sorbonne and is admitted to the New York Bar. Prior to her election in May 2015, she practised as a Barrister for 10years in London, specialising in planning law and judicial review and was a member of the Attorney General’s Panel of Treasury Counsel, regularly defending government departments in court. She helped to set up a Free School, Michaela Community School in Wembley and she set up Africa Justice Foundation, a community justice charity working in some of the poorest parts of the world.
One to One Questions
1) What is your current position?
Conservative Member of Parliament for Fareham
2) What are your proudest achievements?
Co-founding a new Free School, Michaela Community School, in my home town of Wembley.
3) What inspires you?
Social justice and fairness, self-empowerment, taking part in community, truth and beauty
4) What has been the biggest obstacle in your career?
I practised as a self-employed Barrister for 10 year before entering Parliament. The Bar is one of the best professions in England (I’m biased, obviously), I was lucky to learn from some of the best lawyers around and I enjoyed a stimulating, varied and stable career. However, it involves A LOT of hard work, huge amounts of reading, rigorous technical knowledge, a very thick skin, shockingly early starts, late nights and the tension that comes from self-employment. The biggest challenge for me has been to balance work and “life”, with work winning most of the time.
5) Who has been the biggest influence on your career to date?
I have enjoyed campaigning in the Conservative Party since I was a teenager and made lifelong friends on the way. My interest in politics was gently sparked by my parents: my mother was a local Conservative Councillor for 16 years and my father an activist. The seeds were sown when, as an argumentative teenager, family dinner time invariably involved debate, discussing campaigns and politics.
6) What is the best aspect about your current role?
As a new Member of Parliament, I love meeting constituents who live in Fareham and hearing about their lives as well as soaking up the atmosphere in the Chamber of Commons, learning from my colleagues and speaking in debates.
7) And the worst?
Not identified any so far, but get back to me in 12 months.
8) What are your long term goals?
To serve the people of Fareham with integrity, humility and warmth. And play my part in the economic recovery of the country.
9) If you were Prime Minister, what one aspect would you change?
I’m a fan of David Cameron’s Big Society and I’d like to see even more community spirit, optimism and service engendered in our national psyche, regardless of age, class or ability.
10) If you were marooned on a desert island, which historical figure would you like to spend your time with and why?
One of my favourite poets, Rumi, to sustain my inspiration and morale.
