Kit Malthouse is the Conservative MP for North West Hampshire, having first been elected to parliament at the 2015 general election.

In the 2024 general election, Malthouse won 17,770 votes, representing 35.0% of the vote. The Labour candidate, Andy Fitchet, received 14,482 votes (28.5%), while the Reform UK candidate, Andy Meacham, secured 7,734 votes (15.2%). Malthouse was duly elected with a majority of 3,288 votes.  

The North West Hampshire constituency includes the towns of Andover, Tadley, and Whitchurch. It is considered a safe Conservative seat, held by the party continuously since its creation in 1983.  

Political Career

Malthouse is a member of the House of Commons science, innovation and technology select committee (since October 2024) – the committee responsible for examining the expenditure, administration and policy of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and associated its public bodies.

During the Conservative party’s last tenure in government, Malthouse held several senior government positions, including secretary of state for education (September – October 2022) and chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (July – September 2022).

In June 2022, Malthouse publicly declared their loyalty to the prime minister, Boris Johnson, ahead of a Conservative “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.

In a social media post, Malthouse stated: “In the fight against crime there can be no better leader than [Boris Johnson] – his commitment to safer streets, more prosperous neighbourhoods, a united country and to the British people, is profound, and it’s why he wins. I will be supporting him tonight.”

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.

Malthouse also served as minister of state for crime and policing (2019-2022), minister of state for housing (2018-2019), and parliamentary under-secretary of state for family support, housing and child maintenance (2018).

Malthouse briefly stood for the Conservative leadership in the party’s 2019 contest, which followed Theresa May’s resignation as prime minister. He withdrew from the race after it became clear there was an “appetite for this contest to be over quickly”. Malthouse had won the support of Conservative MPs Richard Benyon, Alex Burghart, George Hollingbery, Paul Maynard, Sarah Newton and Royston Smith.

In a statement, Malthouse said he entered the contest “believing that I could make a real difference in delivering a Brexit that would command the support of the House of Commons”.

He was the architect of the so-called “Malthouse compromise” during the tumultuous Brexit years. This proposal amounted to an alternative arrangement for the Irish backstop – the central Brexit sticking point during May’s tenure as prime minister. The compromise received support among Conservative MPs across the party.

Malthouse set out an “official” explanation of the compromise as part of a ConservativeHome report.

The explainer stated: “The structure of the compromise is to offer the EU a choice of two plans: Plan A is predicated on achieving agreement on a [withdrawal agreement] that addresses the principal weakness of the current version, the perpetual character of the Irish backstop, and its consequences for the future relationship between the UK and the EU.

“Plan B assumes that agreement on a [withdrawal agreement] is not possible and that both sides accept a responsibility to act so as to minimize as far as possible the disruption that might arise to people and businesses in the EU and the UK.

“Both Plan A and Plan B involve the UK’s ceasing to be a member state of the EU according to the timetable set by Article 50 of the treaties, that is on 29 March 2019.”

Critics of the compromise argued that the proposed “alternative arrangements” did not offer a clear route forwards. It was not pursued by the government at the time.

Malthouse was a member of the House of Commons Treasury committee between October 2016 to February 2018.

Malthouse is listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) for choice at the end of life, cyber security and business resilience, extraordinary rendition, life sciences and policing.

Malthouse delivered his maiden speech on 2 June 2015, during a debate on health and social care.

In it, he said: “North West Hampshire is a hard-working place with very high employment levels underpinned by a thriving small business community, but it is not without its problems. I have pledged to put my shoulder to the wheel to try and help, starting with schools, where performance is not universally brilliant.”

He added: “During my many years in local and regional government in London, I have become increasingly alarmed at the social and cultural architecture in which our children live. I have tried to do my bit for them – for children in the care system, in prison or in gangs, and for children trafficked, mutilated, beaten, abused and too often killed.”

In the 2005 to 2010 parliament, Malthouse was added to the Tory “A-List” of prospective parliamentary candidates (PPCs), drawn up by Conservative Central Office at the behest of then-party leader David Cameron. The A-List was a centrally-approved priority list of around 100-150 PPCs created as part of Cameron’s bid to modernise the party’s image. The primary goal was to increase the diversity of Conservative MPs by fast-tracking more women and candidates from ethnic minority backgrounds into safe and winnable seats.

Before entering parliament, Malthouse served as a member of the London Assembly from 2008 to 2016. During this time, he was deputy mayor of London for policing (2008-2012) and deputy mayor for business and enterprise (2012-2015) under then-mayor Boris Johnson.

Prior to this, Malthouse was a councillor on Westminster city council (1998-2006), serving as deputy leader from 2004 to 2006.

Political views

Leadership elections and loyalty

Tory leadership 2019: Malthouse initially supported his own candidacy for the party’s leadership in 2019. Upon withdrawing from the contest, Malthouse supported Johnson’s candidacy.

Johnson, the former foreign secretary and mayor of London, campaigned on the central pledge to “deliver Brexit” by 31 October 2019, “deal or no deal”. He thereby positioned himself as the candidate best-placed to break the parliamentary deadlock. Johnson secured 114 votes in the first parliamentary ballot, and reached 160 votes in the final MP round. In the subsequent ballot of the party membership, Johnson won a decisive victory with 92,153 votes (66.4%).

Tory leadership 2016: Malthouse 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

Blue Collar Conservatives: Malthouse 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: Malthouse supported Leave in the 2016 Brexit referendum, and therefore agreed with a majority of his constituents, 54.8% of whom also voted to Leave.

Article 50: In February 2017, Malthouse 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.

Assisted dying

Malthouse 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).

He was a prominent supporter and co-sponsor of the legislation.

In a speech at the bill’s second reading, Malthouse said he had “spent many, many hours with dying and bereaved people, which has, time and again, reinforced my view.”

He added: “If we do not pass the bill today, we are cornering all those people; we are trapping them, with the law, in their disease, and consigning them to an end of torture and degradation that they do not wish to go through.

“As I said before, we are a 1,000-year old democracy. It is not beyond us to design legislation that will give those people what they want, while protecting those whom we feel need to be protected…

“I ask members please to be clear that whatever happens today, terminal people will still take their own lives – all we are deciding today is how.”

Social values and conscience issues

Abortion decriminalisation (2025): Malthouse voted in favour of 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): Malthouse 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): Malthouse 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.

Palestine

Palestinian recognition letter (July 2025): In July 2025, Malthouse was among the over 254 MPs to sign a cross-party letter calling for the government to immediately recognise the state of Palestine. The letter called on the prime minister and foreign secretary to recognise Palestine at the UN Conference then taking place in New York.

On 21 July 2025, Malthouse said he was “beyond words” at the alleged inaction of the foreign secretary, David Lammy. The Conservative MP cited “daily lynchings and expulsions on the west bank, and dozens being murdered as they beg for aid”.

He added: “Can he not see that his inaction and, frankly, cowardice are making this country irrelevant?

“Can he also not see the personal risk to him, given our international obligations – that he may end up at The Hague because of his inaction?

“Finally, frankly, I make an appeal to Labour backbenchers: we cannot get your leadership to change their minds; only you can, if you organise and insist on change.”

Lammy responded: “I have to tell him that it demeans his argument when he personalises it in the way that he does. It is unbecoming, and not something the House expects, particularly of its more senior members.”

Palestinian recognition letter (June 2025): In June 2025, Malthouse was among a group of eight Conservative MPs who attempted to deliver a letter to 10 Downing Street calling on the government to recognise a Palestinian state.

The letter read: “We write to express our strong support should the government recognise a Palestinian state… This decision would be a substantive act of diplomacy and a statement of commitment to equality and peace.”

“Successive UK governments have affirmed support for two states living side by side in peace and security, but without meaningful action, that vision is rapidly slipping away. Settlement expansion, the ongoing disproportionate destruction in Gaza, and political deadlock, are making a viable two-state solution harder to achieve with each passing day.”

Sir Edward Leigh, one of the letter’s signatories, stated that they were “locked out of Downing Street”.

Before Politics

Born Christopher Laurie Malthouse in Liverpool on 27 October 1966.

He attended Liverpool college (then private) before studying politics and economics (BA) at Newcastle university. He qualified as a chartered accountant with Touche Ross & Company (now Deloitte) in 1995.

He subsequently worked as finance director of the Cannock Group before founding County Finance Group, a midlands-based finance company, which he chaired.

Personal Life

Malthouse married Tracy-Jane Newall in 1996 (divorced 2005); they have one son. His first wife, Tracy-Jane, later married Adam Afriyie, a former Conservative MP.

He married Juliana Farha in 2007; they have one son and one daughter.

Trivia

Malthouse first stood for parliament in Liverpool Wavertree at the 1997 general election. He placed third with 10.8% of the vote, behind the Liberal Democrat candidate and the incumbent Labour MP, Jane Kennedy.