Stephen Hammond

Stephen Hammond, MP for Wimbledon since 2005, began his career in finance, becoming director of the equities division of Dresdner Kleinwort Benson and later working at Commerzbank Securities. After several unsuccessful parliamentary campaigns (for North Warwickshire in 1997 and Wimbledon in 2001), Hammond was elected councillor for the Village ward on Merton Council and became deputy leader of the council’s Conservative group. He eventually won the Wimbledon seat in 2005, joining the Regulatory Reform Committee and becoming shadow minister for transport. Hammond’s time in the Commons has particularly focused on transport, and he served as parliamentary under-secretary of state at the Department for Transport (2012-14). He backed remain in the 2016 referendum and was sacked as vice-chair of the Conservative party for London after rebelling and backing an amendment to give MPs a meaningful vote on the final Brexit deal. His most recent time in parliament has been marred by Brexit, causing him to resign from his position as health minister over Boris Johnson’s proposed no-deal Brexit, and to later have the Conservative whip briefly withdrawn after he backed the Benn Act, forcing Johnson to seek an extension to Article 50.