15 Facts About Oliver Heald

Sir Oliver Heald, was born on 15 December 1954 and is a British barrister and Conservative Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament for North East Hertfordshire, formerly North Hertfordshire, from 1992 to 2024.

Oliver Heald was born on 15 December 1954 in Reading, Berkshire, and was educated at the Reading School and Pembroke College, Cambridge, where he read Law.

Oliver Heald was called to the Bar at the Middle Temple in 1977 and was a practising barrister in London and East Anglia at Fenners Chambers in Cambridge from 1979 until he was elected to Parliament.

Oliver Heald was Chairman of the North Hertfordshire Conservative Association for two years from 1984.

Oliver Heald became the Vice-President of the Southwark and Bermondsey Conservative Association in 1988 for five years, becoming the President for five years from 1993.

Oliver Heald made his maiden speech on 9 June 1992 in which he spoke of his political beginnings on a soapbox at Speakers' Corner.

Oliver Heald was appointed as the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Minister of State at the Home Office Peter Lloyd in 1994.

Oliver Heald was promoted to serve in the Government of John Major in 1995 when he was appointed as the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Social Security, where he remained until the fall of the Conservative government in 1997.

Oliver Heald was made a Spokesman for Health by Iain Duncan Smith in 2001.

Oliver Heald joined Michael Howard's Shadow Cabinet as the Shadow Leader of the House of Commons in 2003.

Oliver Heald had previously helped to lead the rebellion against the House of Lords Reform Bill, eventually abstaining on the vote.

Oliver Heald was opposed to Brexit prior to the 2016 referendum.

In December 2017 Oliver Heald voted with fellow Conservative Dominic Grieve and nine other Conservative MPs against the government, and in favour of guaranteeing Parliament a "meaningful vote" on any deal Theresa May agrees with Brussels over Brexit.

In January 2024, Oliver Heald announced that he would stand down at the 2024 general election.

Oliver Heald became the Executive Chairman of the Society of Conservative Lawyers in July 2008.