Charlie Dewhirst is the Conservative MP for Bridlington and The Wolds, having first been elected to parliament at the 2024 general election.

In the 2024 general election, Dewhirst won 14,846 votes, representing 34.6% of the vote. The Labour Party candidate, Sarah Carter, received 11,721 votes (27.3%), while the Reform UK candidate, Maria Bowtell, secured 10,350 votes (24.1%). Dewhirst was duly elected with a majority of 3,125 votes.

The Bridlington and The Wolds constituency is located in the East Riding of Yorkshire. It was newly created ahead of the 2024 general election, primarily replacing the former East Yorkshire constituency.

Dewhirst’s immediate predecessor was Sir Greg Knight of the Conservative Party. Knight represented the former East Yorkshire constituency from 2001 to 2024.

Dewhirst is one of 26 new Conservative MPs that entered parliament at the 2024 general election.

Political Career

Dewhirst currently serves as a shadow parliamentary under secretary of state, jointly in the Cabinet Office and the Northern Ireland Office, and as an opposition whip. Dewhirst was appointed to these roles as part of the August/September 2026 shadow ministerial reshuffle, Kemi Badenoch’s second as Conservative leader.

Dewhirst is also a member of the House of Commons environment, food and rural affairs select committee (since October 2024) – the committee responsible for scrutinising the work of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). It looks at issues from farming to the water sector to a circular economy.

Dewhirst previously served as parliamentary private secretary (PPS) to the shadow Cabinet Office and shadow Northern Ireland teams.

Dewhirst has been listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) for Abraham Accords, carbon capture, utilisation and storage, child of the North, fisheries, science and technology in agriculture and UK food security.

Dewhirst delivered his maiden speech on 3 September 2024 during the debate on the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill.

In it, he said: “I want to improve access to local health services, increase transport links, ensure access to high-speed broadband for all and address the historical funding formula in education that disadvantages children in rural local authority areas.”

He added: “I am one of the few members who can claim to represent more pigs than people. Agriculture, fishing and tourism are the foundations of our local economy.”

Before entering parliament, Dewhirst served as a Conservative councillor on the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham from 2010 to 2018. He later served as a councillor on East Riding of Yorkshire Council from 2021 to 2024. He was deputy leader of East Riding of Yorkshire Council from 2023 to 2024.

Dewhirst stood unsuccessfully as the Conservative candidate for the Hammersmith constituency in London in the 2015 and 2017 general elections.

Political views

Leadership elections

Tory leadership 2024: Dewhirst supported James Cleverly’s candidacy in the 2024 Conservative Party leadership election. The contest was triggered by the resignation of Rishi Sunak following the party’s defeat in the 2024 general election.

During the contest, Cleverly, the shadow home secretary, urged the party to “be more normal”. On 9 October, in a major upset, Cleverly was eliminated in the fourth ballot after his support dropped to 37 votes. The result was widely attributed to a failure of tactical voting by supporters who assumed his place in the final two was secure.

Factional identity and party tradition

Lucy Connolly EDM: In May 2025, Dewhirst joined a small, cross-party group of MPs in signing a parliamentary motion expressing concern over the imprisonment of Lucy Connolly, who was jailed for inciting racial hatred in a social media post following the knife attacks in Southport. Connolly posted online calling for “mass deportation now”, adding “set fire to all the… hotels [housing asylum seekers]… for all I care”.

The early day motion (EDM), tabled by the former Reform MP Rupert Lowe, stated that Connolly was a young mother convicted of a non-violent offence during a period of “unprecedented overcrowding” in the prison system.

Brexit and Europe

Customs union vote (2025): In December 2025, Dewhirst 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

On the second reading of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, better known as the assisted dying bill, Dewhirst did not record a vote. He went on to vote against at third reading (June 2025).

In a statement setting out his position, issued shortly before the bill’s third reading, Dewhirst said: “While I am not against assisted dying in principle, the bill has emerged from committee stage with many of its most important safeguards weakened or removed. In particular, the removal of judicial oversight and replacement of medical safeguards with less independent panels is deeply concerning.”

Social values and conscience issues

Abortion decriminalisation (2025): Dewhirst voted against a backbench amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill that sought to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales in June 2025. The amendment, which was passed by a majority of 242 votes, removed women from the threat of prosecution for ending a pregnancy at any stage. As an issue of conscience, MPs were allowed to vote according to their personal beliefs.

Foreign policy and security

IPAC: Dewhirst is a member of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) – an international, cross-party network of legislators from democratic countries focused on relations with the People’s Republic of China. The alliance, established on 4 June 2020, the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, was formed to unite “lawmakers worldwide, promoting democracy and addressing threats to the rules-based and human rights systems posed by the rise of China.”

Before Politics

Born on 4 June 1980, Dewhirst grew up in Nafferton before moving to London after university to pursue a career in sport and communications.

He studied business at the University of Edinburgh between 1999 and 2003.

Dewhirst worked as a parliamentary researcher in Conservative MP Greg Hands’ office from 2005 to 2008.

He worked for UK Sport as a public affairs manager around the time of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

He went on to work as senior public affairs manager for the Rugby Football Union (2016-2018).

From 2020 to 2024, Dewhirst was the chief policy adviser for the National Pig Association.

Dewhirst has also served as vice chair of the Conservative Rural Forum.

Personal Life

Dewhirst is married and has two children. The family lives in Wansford.

Trivia

Dewhirst is one of 26 new Conservative MPs that entered parliament at the 2024 general election.