Anna Soubry

The Right Honourable Anna Soubry
Official portrait, 2017
Leader of the Independent Group for Change
In office 4 June 2019 – 19 December 2019
Preceded by	Heidi Allen (Acting)
Succeeded by	Office abolished[a]
Minister of State for Small Business, Industry and Enterprise
In office 11 May 2015 – 15 July 2016
Prime Minister	David Cameron
Preceded by	Matt Hancock Jo Swinson
Succeeded by	Margot James
Minister of State for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans[b]
In office 7 October 2013 – 11 May 2015
Prime Minister	David Cameron
Preceded by	Mark Francois
Succeeded by	Mark Lancaster
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health
In office 4 September 2012 – 7 October 2013
Prime Minister	David Cameron
Preceded by	Anne Milton
Succeeded by	Jane Ellison
Member of Parliament for Broxtowe
In office 6 May 2010 – 6 November 2019
Preceded by	Nick Palmer
Succeeded by	Darren Henry
Personal details
Born	Anna Mary Soubry (1956-12-07) 7 December 1956 (age 67) Lincoln, England
Political party	Independent (1981–1988; since 2019)
Other political affiliations	Change UK (2019) Conservative (1975–1981; 1988–2019)
Spouse(s)	John Gordon ​ ​ (m. 1987, divorced)​ [1] Richard Holloway ​ ​ (m. 1994, divorced)​ [1]
Domestic partner	Neil Davidson
Children	2 daughters
Education	University of Birmingham (LLB) Inns of Court School of Law (BPTC)
Other offices March–June 2019: Change UK Spokesperson for Brexit and Justice

Anna Mary Soubry PC (/ˈsuːbri/; born 7 December 1956) is a British barrister, journalist and former politician who was Member of Parliament (MP) for Broxtowe from 2010^[2] to 2019. Known for her support of pro-European policies, she was originally elected as a Conservative but left the party to join Change UK in 2019.

Born in Lincoln, Soubry was raised in Nottinghamshire and read law at the University of Birmingham. She was the sole Conservative Party member of the National Union of Students' executive committee while at university but left the Conservatives after graduating and endorsed the Social Democratic Party, although she did not join the new party. After working as a journalist and presenter in regional and network television, she was called to the bar in 1995 and began to practise as a criminal barrister.

Soubry unsuccessfully contested Gedling as a Conservative at the 2005 general election but, after being added to the Conservative A-List, was elected to represent Broxtowe at the subsequent general election in 2010. She was Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health from 2012 to 2013 and Minister for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans from 2013 to 2015. She was appointed Minister of State for Small Business, Industry and Enterprise following the 2015 general election, also attending meetings of the Cabinet, but she returned to the backbenches after Theresa May became Prime Minister in July 2016.

Having been a strong supporter of the United Kingdom remaining in the European Union during the 2016 referendum campaign, Soubry was a vocal critic of Brexit and the Conservative Party's facilitation of the policy. She resigned from the Conservatives in February 2019, citing her party's shift to the right and support of Brexit. She and others joined The Independent Group, later Change UK, and she was appointed its leader in June 2019. She lost her seat to Darren Henry of the Conservative Party in the 2019 general election and Change UK disbanded shortly afterwards. Since 2022, Soubry has endorsed and supported the Labour Party.

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