Member of Parliament for Reigate

Elected: 1997

Bio:
Crispin was born in 1960, and is married to Victoria with two children. He was educated at Wellington College, and The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, where he won the Queen's Medal, gaining a Regular Commission, before reading Politics at the University of Durham between 1981 and 1984, where he was elected President of the Union Society in 1983. In 1991 he gained an MBA at Cranfield University School of Management.

In 1979, Crispin was commissioned as an Army Officer into the 13th/18th Royal Hussars (Queen Mary's Own) and served until 1990. During the 1980's he was stationed in Cyprus, Germany and the UK, serving as a Troop Leader, Regimental Operations Officer and Armoured Reconnaissance Squadron Commander, resigning his commission as a Captain in 1990 in order to stand for Parliament.
Crispin's main enthusiasms and occupations away from work are his family and cricket. Crispin plays for the Lords and Commons team, and the Reigate Priory Cavaliers. Other interests include travel, gardening and historical novels.

Crispin Blunt's Experience
Crispin contested his first Parliamentary seat in West Bromwich East for the Conservative Party in 1992. Between 1991-1993 Crispin, was a self employed representative of Forum of Private Business, and a Political Consultant. In 1993 Crispin was appointed as Special Adviser to Malcolm Rifkind the Secretary of State for Defence, and worked in the same capacity when Malcolm Rifkind became Foreign Secretary between 1995 and 1997.

In May 1997, Crispin was elected to Parliament as Member for Reigate in Surrey. He was subsequently appointed to the House of Commons Defence Select Committee. In May 2000 Crispin joined the House of Commons Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Select Committee.

In June 2001, Crispin was re elected as Member of Parliament for Reigate with an increased majority of 8025. Iain Duncan Smith appointed him to the Opposition front bench as Shadow Minister for Northern Ireland in September 2001. In July 2002 he was appointed as deputy to Tim Yeo, Shadow Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, where he had shadow ministerial responsibility for trade, energy and science. Crispin resigned this position in May 2003 and served again on the Defence Select Committee from December 2003 to October 2004, when Crispin returned to the Conservative front bench as an Opposition Whip under Michael Howard.
He was Chairman of the Conservative Middle East Council from 2003 to 2008 and has served as an officer for the Conservative Parliamentary Friends of India.

In January 2009, Crispin was appointed as a Shadow Home Affairs Minster with particular responsibility for Security and Counter-Terrorism by David Cameron.

In May 2010, he was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice.



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