Alberto Costa

MP for South Leicestershire

Conservatives

Alberto Costa is the Conservative MP for South Leicestershire, having first been elected at the 2015 general election.

He currently chairs the House of Commons committee on standards and the committee of privileges.

In the 2024 general election, Costa won 18,264 votes, representing 35.6% of the vote. The Labour candidate, Robert Parkinson, received 12,758 votes (24.8%), while the Reform UK candidate, Bill Piper, secured 10,235 votes (19.9%). Costa was duly elected with a majority of 5,506 votes.

The South Leicestershire constituency covers areas south of the city of Leicester, including Lutterworth and Blaby as well as surrounding rural villages. It is considered a safe Conservative seat, having previously been part of the Blaby constituency represented by former Conservative chancellor Nigel Lawson from 1974 until 1992. The immediate predecessor MP for South Leicestershire was Conservative Andrew Robathan.

Political Career

Costa currently chairs the committee on standards (since September 2024) and the committee of privileges (since November 2024).

The standards committee oversees the rules of conduct for MPs and investigates alleged breaches. The committee is composed of seven MPs and seven independent lay members. The chair, in this case Costa, must be an opposition MP. Historically connected, the remit of the privileges committee is to consider any matter referred to it that may amount to a contempt of parliament.

By virtue of these roles, Costa sits on the liaison committee – the so-called “super committee” composed of the cross-party chairs of all the other commons select committees. It has a broad oversight role, but is best known for its questioning of the prime minister in sessions that take place two or three times a year.

Costa is also a member of the House of Commons administration committee – the committee responsible for overseeing the internal running of the House and the services provided to its members and their staff. Its primary role is to ensure that the facilities and administrative support on the parliamentary estate are effective, efficient, and meet the needs of a modern legislature.

Costa briefly served as shadow solicitor general in the caretaker/interim shadow cabinet created following the 2024 general election (July-November 2024). Previously, he served as parliamentary private secretary (PPS) to the attorney general, Suella Braverman. A PPS acts as an unpaid assistant to a minister, providing a link between the senior frontbencher and backbench MPs.

Costa resigned from an earlier PPS role at the Scotland Office in February 2019 after proposing an amendment seeking to guarantee the rights of EU nationals in the UK and Britons in the other 27 EU member states, even in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Costa had tabled an amendment calling for protections and urging the prime minister, Theresa May, to write to EU chiefs to demand an agreement on the rights of EU nationals.

After Costa resigned from his post, his amendment was accepted by the government and approved by MPs without a division.

Speaking in the commons, Costa said he had been a “loyal Conservative member” who has “never rebelled and have scarcely spoken out of turn.”

But he added: “When an amendment attracts such broad consensus across the House, … a sensible government must accept that reasonable amendment – I am therefore grateful that the government has acted reasonably in accepting my amendment in full.”

Costa went on to insist that the “matter should have been dealt with at the outset of the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the EU.”

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Costa has previously served as a member of the House of Commons Scottish affairs committee (2020-2024) and the justice committee (2015-2017). He has served on the standards and privileges committees since 2020.

In his capacity as a member of the privileges committee, Costa investigated whether former prime minister Boris Johnson had misled parliament over the “Partygate” scandal. He was one of four Conservative MPs on the committee (alongside Sir Bernard Jenkin, Sir Charles Walker and Andy Carter).

The committee’s investigation concluded that Johnson had deliberately misled the House, a contempt of parliament. The MPs recommended a 90 day suspension in a wide-ranging report, which was approved by MPs (354 votes in favour versus 7 against) on 19 June 2023.

The report’s publication came after Johnson had announced his resignation as an MP (on 9 June). In his letter announcing his intention to stand down as an MP, Johnson dismissed the committee as the “definition of a kangaroo court.”

He added: “I have been an MP since 2001. I take my responsibilities seriously. I did not lie, and I believe that in their hearts, the committee know it. But they have wilfully chosen to ignore the truth, because from the outset, their purpose has not been to discover the truth, or genuinely to understand what was in my mind when I spoke in the commons.”

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In the 2024-2026 parliamentary session, Costa introduced a bill to require manufacturers to fit microplastic-catching filters to new domestic and commercial washing machines on three occasions in three parliamentary sessions. In an op-ed, published by Politics.co.uk in 2025, Costa wrote that the government is not doing enough to “stop the flow of microplastics into our natural environment.”

He added: “Waste plastic doesn’t wait for government action – it keeps on floating around our planet, breaking down into microscopic pieces, polluting our natural world.

“I have introduced a bill to parliament that aims to stem the tide of microplastic pollution. My bill requires washing machine manufacturers to fit microplastic-catching filters in all new domestic and commercial washing machines, a commitment that France and Australia have already made.”

Costa is listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) for Italy, Greece and microplastics.

Costa delivered his maiden speech on 8 June 2015 during a debate on the Scotland Bill. In it, he stated: “As the son of Italian immigrants, I was born in England but raised in Scotland. As a dual qualified Scottish and English solicitor, I have worked across our United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. I am proud to call myself British.”

Referring to the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, Costa commented: “The Scottish voters decided to remain part of the UK, and all British people are entitled to constitutional stability, at least for a lifetime…

“I think it is also right that we recognise the need to complement the Bill in due course with further changes in the House of Commons – if you like, English votes for English laws.

“It is a cry not for English nationalism, but for fairness to ensure that decisions affecting England can be taken only with the consent of a majority of MPs representing English constituencies.”

Political views

Leadership elections and loyalty

Tory leadership 2022 (I): Costa supported Penny Mordaunt’s candidacy in the Conservative Party’s July-September 2022 leadership election. The contest was triggered by the resignation of Boris Johnson, following the mass exodus of more than 60 frontbenchers.

Mordaunt, the international trade minister, was described as a “socially liberal Brexiteer”. She was narrowly overtaken by Liz Truss in the final round. Mordaunt was thereby eliminated in the fifth parliamentary ballot on 20 July after receiving 105 votes.

Costa argued Mordaunt would “quickly re-establish trust with the great British people”, following the scandals that precipitated Boris Johnson’s defenestration as prime minister.

Announcing his endorsement, Costa told LBC Radio: “Sincerely I have been looking at this from an issue of integrity. I have looked at many cases as a member of the committee on standards, and I’ve asked myself: ‘Who do we need that is going to re-establish trust with the British public?’

“As a Tory, I’m asking myself that question… I think the person that will quickly re-establish trust among the Conservative Party members and indeed more importantly among voters must be Penny Mordaunt.”

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After Mordaunt failed to make the final round, Costa backed Liz Truss’ successful candidacy.

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Tory leadership 2019: Costa supported Michael Gove for the party’s leadership in 2019. The election was triggered by the resignation of Theresa May following her inability to secure a Brexit deal acceptable to parliament. Gove, then the environment secretary, reached the final three of the parliamentary ballots. He was ultimately eliminated in the fifth ballot on 20 June, receiving 75 votes – just two fewer than Jeremy Hunt.

Tory leadership 2016: Costa also supported Gove during the party’s leadership election in July 2016. The contest was triggered by the resignation of David Cameron following the UK’s vote to leave the European Union. Gove, then the justice secretary, had been expected to manage Boris Johnson’s campaign but made the surprise announcement that he would run for the leadership himself. Gove secured 48 votes in the first ballot, placing third, but his support fell to 46 votes in the second ballot on 7 July. As the candidate with the fewest votes in that round, Gove was eliminated from the contest.

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Factional identity and party tradition

One Nation Conservative: Costa has been listed as a member of the One Nation Conservatives caucus of moderate Tory MPs. The group was established in 2019 to provide a voice for the party’s more pragmatic and professedly “moderate” elements – a factional counter-weight to its ideological free-market, eurosceptic and socially conservative groups. In the 2019 to 2024 parliament, the group was chaired by former first secretary of state Damian Green, who went on to lose his seat at the 2024 general election.

Conservative Environment Network: Costa is listed as a member of the Conservative Environment Network (CEN) parliamentary caucus. CEN is an independent forum for conservatives that supports conservation and decarbonisation. It calls for the environment to be given a higher profile at the heart of policy making, describing “biodiversity loss, climate change, and wasteful resource use are threats to our national security”, and promotes “market-based policies” to environmental challenges. Members of its parliamentary caucus, such as …, are thought to generally align with the group’s “green” message and environmentalism.

Blue Collar Conservatives: Costa was previously listed as a member of the Blue Collar Conservatives group. This faction within the Conservative party was founded in 2012 by the former cabinet minister Esther McVey, but came to greater prominence following the 2019 general election. The group aimed to “champion working people and develop a conservative agenda to benefit the voters and communities most neglected by Labour”. In October 2022, McVey was succeeded by Lee Anderson as the group’s chair.

Brexit and Europe

Brexit referendum:Costa campaigned for Remain in the 2016 referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union (EU), and therefore disagreed with a majority of constituents, 58.1% of whom voted to Leave.

Article 50: In February 2017, Costa voted in favour of the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill. The legislation empowered the prime minister to notify the Council of the European Union of the UK’s intention to withdraw, formally triggering the process set out in Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union. MPs supported the bill by 498 votes to 114 at second reading.

In August 2019, Costa, who was one of 21 Conservative MPs, including senior former cabinet minister Philip Hammond, David Gauke, Rory Stewart and Greg Clark, to write to Boris Johnson voicing concerns about his approach to Brexit.

In the letter, leaked to The Sun, the MPs said they were “alarmed by the ‘Red Lines’ you have drawn which, on the face of it, appear to eliminate the chance of reaching agreement with the EU.”

Costa later said he had signed a letter as a “polite reminder” to the PM that he had obligations to EU citizens whose rights would not be protected in the event of no deal.

He added: “I take the prime minister’s word that it is a million-to-one chance that we will leave with no deal. So I signed that letter as a polite reminder. The numbers in the House of Commons against no deal do not look good for Boris. The best way out is to vote for a deal.”

Customs union vote (2025): In December 2025, Costa voted against the UK-EU Customs Union (Duty to Negotiate) Bill. The bill, introduced under the ten-minute rule procedure by Liberal Democrat Europe spokesperson Al Pinkerton, sought to mandate the government to enter into negotiations with the European Union to establish a bespoke customs union.

Assisted dying

Costa voted against the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, better known as the assisted dying bill, at both second reading (November 2024) and third reading (June 2025).

Foreign policy and security

Sanctioned (Russia): In April 2022, Costa was among the group of MPs placed on a sanctions list by the Russian government. The measure barred them from entering Russia and was presented by Moscow as a retaliatory response to the UK’s stance on the invasion of Ukraine.

Trident renewal (2016): Costa voted in favour of a government motion calling for the renewal of the Trident nuclear deterrent system in July 2016. The motion, which was passed by 472 votes to 117, committed the UK to constructing a new fleet of submarines to carry the nation’s nuclear weapons.

Syria airstrikes (2015): Costa voted in favour of a government motion to extend UK airstrikes against Isis from Iraq into Syria in December 2015. The motion, which was passed by 397 votes to 223 after a ten-hour debate in the House of Commons, authorised the RAF to conduct strikes against Isis targets in Syria.

Before Politics

Born Alberto Castrenze Costa in England on 13 November 1971, his parents are Italian. They came to the UK in 1967. He grew up in Bishopbriggs, near Glasgow, Scotland. He attended St Helens Roman Catholic Primary School and Turnbull High School.

Costa studied at the University of Glasgow, gaining MA (Distinction) and LLB degrees. He served as President of the Students’ Representative Council (1995-1996). Costa obtained his Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the University of Strathclyde.

Whilst at Glasgow University he was elected president of the Students’ Representative Council from 1995 to 1996.

Costa qualified as a solicitor in Scotland and later cross-qualified as a solicitor in England and Wales.

He later worked for the Treasury Solicitor representing the British government in court and advising ministers and senior civil servants in government departments.

He is a Freeman of the City of London.