About Shailesh Vara MP
Shailesh Vara MP is a former Government Minister who graduated from LLB Law in 1984 - he is a keen supporter of the University, our students and our alumni community, regularly hosting Brunel Law networking events at the House of Commons.
Shailesh is a Conservative Party politician and was elected as a Member of Parliament for North West Cambridgeshire in 2005 and was re-elected in 2010, 2015 and 2017. In Opposition, Shailesh was Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Commons and before being appointed to the Front Bench, he was on the Select Committee for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Shailesh was a Minister for Northern Ireland, having previously served as a Minister for Justice, a Minister in the Department for Work and Pensions and also as a Government Whip.
During his career, Shailesh has also been the Joint-Vice Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Trafficking of Women and Children, Treasurer of the BBC All Party Parliamentary Group, Vice-Chairman of the Executive Committee of Conservative Lawyers and the Chairman of the Conservative Parliamentary Friends of India Group.
In his profile video below, Shailesh tells us about his career journey and highlights, how Brunel helped him gain work experience, why persistence and a flexible attitude are so important for our students and graduates and how he made his Hollywood debut in ‘The Iron Lady’ starring Meryl Streep.