William Wragg was first elected as the Conservative MP for Hazel Grove in 2015, being reelected in 2019 with a majority of 4,423.
The constituency of Hazel Grove covers the south eastern edge of Great Manchester on the border with the Peak District. The seat contains the Stockport suburbs of Hazel Grove and Offerton alongside the small towns of Bredbury and Marple. Three quarters of the properties here are owner occupied and this is a relatively affluent area within Greater Manchester.
For many years, Hazel Grove was an exceptionally tightly fought Liberal Conservative marginal where the majorities of either party never exceeded 2,022 in any of the elections between 1983 and 1992. However in 1997, the Liberal Democrats won comfortably here, holding the seat with far large majorities until 2015. Since 2015, the Conservatives have recaptured the seat, but this remains a competitive marginal seat between the two parties.
William Wragg is Chairman of the Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Select Committee.
In November 2022, he announced that he planned to step down from Westminster at the next election.
Born in 1988, Wragg grew up in Hazel Grove. He attended Poynton High School and the University of Manchester. Before being elected to Westminster, he worked as a primary school teacher in a state school.
Wragg served as a local councillor for the Hazel Grove ward on Stockport Council from 2011 to 2015, being the first Conservative councillor to be elected to the Hazel Grove ward since 1992.
Wragg is openly gay, but has tweeted saying he doesn’t want to go on a database of LGBT politicians, commenting, “yes I’m gay. It isn’t everything..”..
He voted for Brexit in the 2016 EU Referendum.
In December 2020 he was something of a lockdown sceptic, and a member of the Covid Recovery group of MPs.
He is Vice Chair of the 1922 Committee of Conservative MPs.
In 2022, Wragg complained about the tactics used by government whips to influence conservative MPs. In the light of the ‘partygate’ affair, he confirmed that he has submitted a letter of no confidence in Boris Johnson.
William Wragg is Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Groups on Fair Business Banking; Gaps in Support. He is Vice Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Groups on Independent Education; and Sixth Form Education.
Email: william@williamwragg.org.uk
Personal Website: http://www.williamwragg.org.uk/
Twitter: @William_Wragg
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/wragg4HG
