The Honourable Victoria Prentis MP |
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Member of Parliament for Banbury |
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Assumed office 7 May 2015 |
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Preceded by | Tony Baldry |
Majority | 18,395 (31.7%) |
Personal details | |
Born |
Banbury, England, UK |
24 March 1971
Political party | Conservative |
Spouse(s) | Sebastian Prentis |
Alma mater |
University of London Downing College, Cambridge |
Website | Official website |
Victoria Mary Boswell Prentis (born 24 March 1971) is a British Conservative Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Banbury since the 2015 general election. She has been Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to junior ministers in the Department for Transport since July 2016.
She was born Victoria Boswell, in Banbury, and grew up on the family farm in nearby Aynho. She was educated at the University of London and Downing College, Cambridge, from where she has degrees in English and Law. She is the daughter of Tim Boswell, Baron Boswell of Aynho, who was MP for Daventry from 1987 to 2010.
Prentis qualified as a barrister in 1995, she joined the Civil Service in 1997 and left in November 2014. Her last job for the government was leading the "Justice and Security team" at the Treasury Solicitor's Department.
In November 2014, Prentis was selected as the Conservative candidate for the Banbury constituency at the 2015 general election. She won the traditionally safe seat for the Conservatives, with an increased majority and vote share. In Parliament she sits on the Justice Select Committee and the Select Committee on Statutory Instruments. Prentis is an opponent of High Speed 2, believing it will destroy communities and that the money could be better spent on other projects. She rebelled against the Conservative government when the HS2 Bill received its second reading in the House of Commons in March 2016.