21 Facts About Andrew Pelling

Andrew John Pelling was born on 20 August 1959 and is a British politician.

Andrew Pelling was Member of Parliament for Croydon Central from 2005 to 2010, first as a Conservative, then from 2007 as an independent.

Andrew Pelling contested the seat as an independent at the 2010 general election, but lost to his former party.

Andrew Pelling was a councillor in Croydon and a member of the London Assembly.

Andrew Pelling joined the Labour Party in February 2011 but was expelled from Labour in February 2022.

Andrew Pelling was educated at Trinity School, Croydon and then New College, Oxford, where he led the Oxford University Conservative Association.

Andrew Pelling was elected to the position of Librarian of the Oxford Union, a senior position, and ran for President several times without being elected, on one occasion losing to William Hague.

Andrew Pelling was elected to Croydon Council in 1982 in Broad Green ward and later represented the ward of Heathfield.

Andrew Pelling served as Chair, first of the Education Committee in the early 1990s and subsequently became Deputy Leader of the Conservative Group when they lost control of the Council in 1994.

Andrew Pelling was first elected to the London Assembly in 2000, and retained his seat in 2004.

Andrew Pelling was a member of the London Development Agency and chaired the GLA budget committee.

At the 2005 general election, Andrew Pelling won the Croydon Central parliamentary seat by 75 votes, beating the incumbent, Labour's Geraint Davies.

On 28 May 2007 Andrew Pelling was one of 18 Conservative MPs to vote in favour of an amendment to the Freedom of Information Act proposed by David Maclean, which would have seen the Houses of Parliament and MPs exempted from the disclosure requirements of the Act.

On 18 September 2007 Andrew Pelling was arrested on suspicion of assaulting his wife Lucy after the Metropolitan Police received a complaint.

Andrew Pelling was released on bail later that night after being questioned.

Andrew Pelling remained active in political circles, and attended the 2010 Labour Party Conference in Manchester.

Andrew Pelling was elected to Croydon Council on 22 May 2014.

In February 2022, Andrew Pelling was expelled from the Labour Party for leaks to the press, campaigning for a directly-elected mayor, and voting against the party on council tax cuts.

In March 2024, Andrew Pelling switched party allegiance to the Liberal Democrats.

Andrew Pelling was selected as the Liberal Democrat candidate in the new seat of Croydon East for the 2024 general election.

Andrew Pelling was married to Sanae for 16 years, and the couple had three children.