Bob Stewart was elected as the Conservative MP for Beckenham in 2010, being reelected in 2019 with a majority of 14,258.
The constituency of Beckenham in south east London contains the bulk of Beckenham itself alongside the communities of Keston, Hayes and West Wickham. House prices in this part of England are extremely high, and the seat contains a large number of commuters travelling into the centre of London for work. There are some green areas around Keston in the south of this constituency. Beckenham is a very long standing and safe Conservative seat which has been held continuously by the Conservatives since 1950.
Born in 1948 into a military family, Stewart attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and became an infantry officer in the Cheshire Regiment. A few years later the Army sent him to the University of Wales where he took a first class degree in International Politics.
In total, Stewart spent 26 years as an army officer, and completed seven operational tours of Northern Ireland. Stewart was the Incident Commander during the Doppin Well bombing in Ballykelly which killed 17 people including six soldiers from his own company. During his time in the army he also is said to have spent a period guarding Rudolf Hess in Spandau Prison in Berlin.
In March 1991 Stewart assumed command of 1st Battalion the Cheshire Regiment. As Commanding Officer he was the first British Commander under United Nations command in Bosnia during 1992-93. During this time he became well known to the public for his frequent television appearances.
On returning from Bosnia he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order. Promoted to Colonel he then took up the appointment of Chief of Policy at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers in Europe.
At Westminster, Stewart regularly calls for increased spending on defence, including above the current level of 2% of GDP.
Bob Stewart left the British Army in September 1995 to become a Senior Consultant at Public Affairs firm Hill & Knowlton (UK) Ltd.
In May 1998 he was appointed Managing Director of WorldSpace UK Ltd, a digital radio satellite broadcasting company.
Stewart has written a number of books, including ‘Broken Lives’, about command during the Balkan War, and ‘Leadership under Pressure’ published in October 2009.
Stewart was a supporter of Martin Bell, a personal friend of his, in Bell’s successful 1997 General Election campaign on an independent anti sleaze ticket campaign in Tatton.
Stewart supported Brexit in the 2016 EU referendum. He backed Boris Johnson in the 2019 Conservative Party leadership election. On partygate he said he ‘abhors’ the lockdown parities but told LBC that he will remain loyal to Boris adding if anyone ‘can turn a situation around, he can, and he’s proved that in the past’.
Bob Stewart is Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Groups on Bahrain; Belize; Kazakhstan; Krgystan; Taiwan. He is Deputy Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Groups on the Armed Forces.
He is Vice Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Groups on Australia and New Zealand; Bermuda; Cameroon; Deliberative Democracy; Equitable Life Policyholders; Central America; the Channel Islands; the Falkand Islands; the Isle of Man; Liechtenstein; Norfolk Island; Poland; Qatar; Switzerland; International Relations; Mountaineering; Terrorism; and Writers.
Stewart is married. He has six children. He employs his wife as a part time Senior Parliamentary Assistant.
Email: bob.stewart.mp@parliament.uk
Personal Website: https://www.bobstewart.org.uk/
