Michael Tomlinson

Michael Tomlinson was elected as the Conservative MP for Mid Dorset and North Poole in the 2015 general election, taking the seat from the Liberal Democrats on a swing of 11.6 per cent and with a 10,530 majority. He qualified as a barrister and was called to the Bar by Middle Temple. He has been involved in pro bono projects in Rwanda and Sierra Leone, and has been an advocate for prison reform, seeking to ensure that “everyone upon release from prison has the opportunity to rebuild their lives, seek employment, a stable home and stop future offending.” Tomlinson campaigned to leave the EU during the 2016 referendum and ultimately supported Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement despite expressing doubts over the deal in an article for The Daily Telegraph. He sat on the European Scrutiny Committee in November 2016, and between 2016 and 2018 was the deputy chair of the European Research Group. He was later appointed as parliamentary private secretary to Dominic Raab who resigned as Brexit secretary less than 48 hours later. He has also co-chaired the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Safeguarding in Faith Settings and chaired the Group on Youth Employment.