Tom Tugendhat was first elected as the Conservative Party MP for Tonbridge & Malling in 2015 being reelected in 2019 with a majority of 26,941.
The constituency of Tonbridge and Malling is found in the western corner of Kent. Containing a high number of London commuters, this is an affluent constituency that has long been one of the Conservative Party’s safest seats. Aside from the town of Tonbridge with its famous public school, this seat also contains the smaller town of West Malling, one that has been significantly redeveloped with new housing estates and a sizeable business park in recent years. It then contains a large number of villages along the River Medway, and the smaller town of Edenbridge known for burning the effigy of famous person each year on bonfire night.
Tugendhat was appointed Minister for Security, serving as Minister of State at the Home Office, by Liz Truss in September 2022. He attends cabinet.
Tugendhat stood in the 2022 Conservative leadership election. He came fifth in the contest amongst Conservative MPs.
He previously served as Chairman of the Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee.
He has been particularly critical of China in recent years, and in 2021 was banned by the Chinese government from visiting China.
Born in 1973, Tugendhat read theology at Bristol University, and then studied for a Masters’ degree in Islamics at Cambridge University.
Tugenhat initially worked as a journalist in Beirut, and set up a public relations company in the country. Returning to the UK, he worked as a management consultant and then joined the Territorial Army.
He then served in the army from 2003 until 2013, and was involved in a number of operations on the front line in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
Working in Pashto, the language of southern Afghanistan, he was involved in the creation of the first non-warlord administration in Helmand since the Soviet invasion.
Before becoming an MP he was the military assistant to the Chief of the Defence Staff. He won the Conservative nomination in Tonbridge through an open primary,
Tugendhat’s father is the High Court Judge Sir Michael Tugendhat and his uncle is the Conservative politician and former EU Commissioner, Christopher Tugendhat. Tugenhat is married with two children.
Politically very ambitious, he became the first MP to openly declare himself as a potential candidate to replace Boris Johnson in the midsts of the partygate affair.
Tom Tugenhat is Vice Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Groups on Parental Participation in Education; Fair Business Banking; and Food Banks.
He supported Remain in the 2016 EU referendum.
He has at times experienced something of a strained relationship with Boris Johnson, and backed Michael Gove in the 2019 Conservative Party leadership election.
Email: tom.tugendhat.mp@parliament.uk
Personal Website: http://www.tomtugendhat.org.uk/
Twitter: @TomTugendhat
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/tomtugendhat
