Kevin Hollinrake is the Conservative MP for Thirsk and Malton, having first been elected to parliament at the 2015 general election.

Hollinrake currently serves as chair of the Conservative Party.

In the 2024 general election, Hollinrake won 19,544 votes, representing 39.2% of the vote. The Labour candidate, Lisa Banes, received 11,994 votes (24.1%), while the Reform UK candidate, Mark Robinson, secured 8,963 votes (18.0%). Hollinrake was duly elected with a majority of 7,550 votes.

The Thirsk and Malton constituency is a large rural seat in North Yorkshire, including towns such as Thirsk, Malton, Pickering, Filey, and Bedale. It covers part of the North York Moors National Park. The seat is considered safe Conservative territory, held by the party since its creation in 2010 (and predecessor seats long before that).

Hollinrake’s immediate predecessor as the MP for Thirsk and Malton was Anne McIntosh, who represented the seat from 2010 to 2015.

Political Career

Hollinrake was appointed Conservative chairman in the July 2025 shadow cabinet reshuffle, the first of Kemi Badenoch’s tenure as Conservative leader.

Hollinrake previously served as shadow secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities from November 2024 to July 2025. He was shadow secretary of state for business and trade from July to November 2024, serving in the interim/caretaker shadow cabinet constituted after the 2024 general election.

Prior to the 2024 general election, which saw the Conservatives ejected from government, Hollinrake held a series of ministerial roles. He was minister of state for enterprise, markets and small business from March 2024 to July 2024 and parliamentary under-secretary of state at the Department for Business and Trade from October 2022 to March 2024) – with responsibilities including postal affairs during the Post Office Horizon IT scandal inquiry period.

During the significant political turbulence of June 2022, Hollinrake was one of the Conservative MPs who publicly declared their loyalty to the prime minister, Boris Johnson, ahead of a vote of no confidence in his leadership. The vote was triggered by discontent within the parliamentary party following the “partygate” scandal and the publication of the Sue Gray report. While the prime minister ultimately won the vote, the scale of the rebellion against him, with 148 of his own MPs voting to remove him, severely weakened his authority and presaged his resignation the following month.

Hollinrake said at the time: “I don’t feel that [Johnson’s] breaches of the rules are sufficiently serious to warrant the resignation of the leader of this nation, not least one who led us to decisive victories for the leadership, in the general election and [in the Hartlepool by-election] (12 months ago) and delivered on Brexit.

“We need to let him get on with the job of tackling the cost of living and supporting Ukraine in their battle against Putin.”

However, Hollinrake later appeared to change his stance. In July 2022, he said that he could see “no way” Johnson could recover after Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid’s resignations as chancellor and health secretary respectively. “Loyalty to leadership is important, but trust in our leader is vital”, he said in a social media post.

https://x.com/kevinhollinrake/status/1544376333102358528

In a statement issued after Johnson’s resignation, Hollinrake said his position had become “untenable”.

In July 2016, Hollinrake was appointed parliamentary private secretary (PPS) to David Lidington as leader of the House of Commons. A PPS acts as an unpaid parliamentary assistant, providing a link between the senior frontbencher and backbench MPs. Hollinrake went on to serve as PPS to Michael Gove as secretary of statement for environment, food and rural affairs from June 2017 to July 2019. Hollinrake remained PPS to Gove during his tenure as chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (July 2019 – September 2021).

Hollinrake has a strong record of successful backbench legislation, introducing private members’ bills on issues of social justice and economic policy.

• The Supply of Drugs to Children Under 16 (Aggravated Offence) Bill, introduced by Hollinrake in July 2022, aimed to tackle “county lines” drug dealing by making it an aggravated offence, attracting a tougher sentence, to supply controlled drugs to a person under 16.
• The Abolition of Business Rates Bill, introduced January 2021, called for the replacement of business rates with a small increase in VAT, arguing the current system is outdated and damages high street businesses.

Hollinrake proposed the Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Act 2018, also known as “Jack’s Law”, in July 2017 as a private members’ bill. It created a statutory right for parents to two weeks of paid leave if they suffer the death of a child under 18. It received royal assent in September 2018.

In January 2017, Hollinrake introduced the Guardianship (Missing Persons) Act 2017 as a private members’ bill. The legislation, known as “Claudia’s Law” after the missing York chef Claudia Lawrence, allows the families of people who have been missing for 90 days or more to apply to manage their loved one’s financial affairs. It received royal assent in April 2017.

In September 2020, Hollinrake became involved in a public disagreement on social media with the footballer and anti-poverty campaigner Marcus Rashford. The exchange began after Hollinrake commented that it was a parent’s “job to feed their children”.

This prompted a direct response from Rashford. The footballer urged the MP to “talk to families before tweeting”, adding that he had never met a parent who did not feel a responsibility to feed their children.

He added: “Put to the side that this comment came from an MP. It’s comments like this that prevent people from speaking their truth and asking for help. We need to start uplifting each other. I would have had the same response to anyone tweeting this.”

Hollinrake replied: “Very happy to debate this with you in any open forum.”

https://x.com/MarcusRashford/status/1302530757748035584

Hollinrake was a member of the House of Commons Treasury committee from December 2021 to November 2022, and the housing, communities and local government committee from July 2015 to November 2019.

Hollinrake ran to be chair of the Treasury committee in August 2019, highlighting his “non-partisan, robust, Yorkshire straight-talking approach”. He was ultimately unsuccessful.

Hollinrake delivered his maiden speech on 4 June 2015 during a debate on the economy. In it, he said: “I stand before you today not as someone who has long pursued a career in politics, but as someone who was inspired many years ago to make the most of their life.

“My parents were decent, hard-working people who worked every hour God sent to build something for themselves and, more importantly, for their children. They talked to me not only about making your own way, but about helping people along the way.”

He added: “Ronald Reagan once said that virtually all our economic growth is achieved by entrepreneurs and their small businesses… We must make it easier and more rewarding to start a business and invest, and we do not help the poor by destroying the rich.

“As our economy grows, the benefits should be felt by everyone… I welcome the government’s drive to cut red tape. governments should do less, not more, but must keep stable conditions in our economy.”

In July 2007, Hollinrake was selected as the Conservative candidate for Dewsbury ahead of the 2010 general election. He resigned his candidacy in October 2008 to focus on his business. Simon Reevell, Hollinrake’s replacement as the Conservative candidate, ultimately won the Dewsbury seat with a 1,526-vote majority.

Political views

Leadership elections and loyalty

Tory leadership 2024: Hollinrake supported Kemi Badenoch’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.

Badenoch, the then-shadow housing secretary, was seen as a leading figure on the party’s right wing. After finishing first in the final parliamentary ballot with 42 votes, she defeated Robert Jenrick in the membership vote on with 53,806 votes (56.5%). Badenoch was declared Conservative leader on 2 November.

In an October 2024 interview with Sky News, Hollinrake described Badenoch as “bold and different”.

In an article for the Yorkshire Press, Hollinrake wrote: “Kemi has a star factor that not many politicians have nowadays, she speaks with an honesty and frankness that I know Yorkshire folk resonate with…

“She is a brave, bold and decisive leader whose optimism will be a refreshing tonic to Keir Starmer’s doom and gloom. There’s an urgent need to move beyond performative or superficial approaches to problem-solving.”

https://x.com/SkyNews/status/1870758953191121295

Tory leadership 2022 (I): Hollinrake supported Rishi Sunak’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.

Sunak, the former chancellor, warned against “comforting fairytales” regarding unfunded tax cuts. Although he won every round of the parliamentary ballots, securing 137 votes in the final stage, Sunak was defeated by Liz Truss in the membership vote, finishing with 60,399 votes (42.6%).

Tory leadership 2022 (II): Hollinrake also supported Sunak’s candidacy in the Conservative Party’s October 2022 leadership election. The contest was triggered by the resignation of Truss after just 45 days in office, following the financial and political tailspin triggered by her “mini-budget”. Unlike the summer contest, this election featured an expedited process requiring each candidate to secure at least 100 nominations from MPs to proceed. Sunak, having emerged as the clear frontrunner, was declared leader of the Conservative Party unopposed on 24 October.

Owen Paterson report: In November 2021, Hollinrake was one of 13 Conservative MPs who voted against a government-supported amendment to defer the suspension of Conservative MP Owen Paterson. The vote took place after a report by the commons standards committee found Paterson had breached paid advocacy rules in what was described as an “egregious” case of lobbying on behalf of two companies.

Tory leadership 2019: Hollinrake 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: Hollinrake supported Theresa May for the party’s leadership in July 2016. The contest was triggered by the resignation of David Cameron following the UK’s vote to leave the European Union.

May, the then-home secretary, secured a commanding lead in the parliamentary stages, receiving 165 votes in the first ballot and 199 in the second. Following the withdrawal of her final rival, Andrea Leadsom, on 11 July, May was declared leader unopposed and was appointed prime minister two days later.

Factional identity and party tradition

China Research Group: Hollinrake was a founding member of the China Research Group (CRG). The CRG was established in 2020 by a group of Conservative MPs to promote a more critical and questioning approach to the UK’s relationship with the People’s Republic of China. The CRG described its mission as aiming to “promote understanding, leading to fresh thinking about issues raised by the rise of China, and provide a trustworthy source of news and informed knowledge on China issues.”

Conservative Environment Network: Hollinrake is listed as a member of the Conservative Environment Network (CEN) advisory council. 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 Hollinrake, are thought to generally align with the group’s “green” message and environmentalism.

Bright Blue: Hollinrake has been listed as a parliamentary supporter of Bright Blue, an independent centre-right think tank and membership organisation that champions liberal conservatism in the UK. Since its founding in 2014, the organisation has expanded its reach through a new cross-party strategy.

Blue Collar Conservatives: Hollinrake 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: Hollinrake supported the Remain campaign in the 2016 referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union (EU), and therefore disagreed with a majority of his constituents, 56.4% of whom voted to Leave.

Article 50: In February 2017, Hollinrake 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.

He expressed criticisms of attempts to secure a “no deal” Brexit, expressing fears about the possible economic consequences.

Speaking in a January 2019 debate on the European Union (Withdrawal) Act, Hollinrake warned that the UK should not “rush towards the exit door”.

He told the House: “I violently agree with those who see a bright future outside the European Union. Despite being a remainer, that is what I believe, too, in the longer term. In the short term, as we have been trading in a certain way for 46 years, it is unfair and irresponsible to trample businesses underfoot in a headlong rush towards the exit door.

“This is not about ‘project fear’. I think a no-deal Brexit has real risks, particularly for those sectors that have time-dependent supply chains.”

https://x.com/kevinhollinrake/status/1132897378598576128

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

Hollinrake voted in favour of 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).

In a statement setting out his position, issued after the bill’s second reading debate, Hollinrake stated: “The current law leaves many people suffering. Despite advances in palliative care, some still die in pain. Others travel to Dignitas or take their own lives, often without support or safeguards. A change in the law would ensure compassion, regulation, and choice for those facing unbearable suffering.

“This is a crucial and sensitive issue and I appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts. If you would like to discuss this further, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.”

In a July 2020 Yorkshire Post article, Hollinrake argued the case for assisted dying was “proven” by his mother’s death. He recounted the “difficult” final hours of his mother – which, he said, had profoundly influenced his view that the law needed to change.

He wrote: “Many more people will have experienced similar deaths over the past few months due to coronavirus, and many more will continue to die in such ways even after the pandemic has been controlled.

“It cannot be right to force people to suffer like that when they would much rather die peacefully, on their own terms.”

Social values and conscience issues

Abortion decriminalisation (2025): Hollinrake 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

Trident renewal (2016): Hollinrake 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): Hollinrake 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.

Sanctioned (Russia): In April 2022, Hollinrake 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.

Before Politics

Born Kevin Paul Hollinrake in Easingwold, North Riding of Yorkshire on 28 September 1963. His father was a milkman and his mother a social worker.

He attended Easingwold School and studied physics at Sheffield City Polytechnic (now Sheffield Hallam University), although he did not complete his degree.  

He worked for Prudential’s estate agency division before co-founding Hunters Estate Agents in York in 1992. The business grew into a large national chain.

Personal Life

Hollinrake is married and has four children.

He is a keen sportsman, having played cricket and rugby, and also plays golf.