Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst is the Conservative MP for Solihull West and Shirley, having first been elected to parliament at the 2024 general election.

In the 2024 general election, Shastri-Hurst won 16,284 votes, representing 34.7% of the vote. The Labour candidate, Deirdre Fox, received 11,664 votes (24.9%), while the Liberal Democrat candidate, Ade Adeyemo, secured 7,916 votes (16.9%). Shastri-Hurst was duly elected with a majority of 4,620.

The Solihull West and Shirley constituency, newly created ahead of the 2024 general election, is located in the West Midlands. The seat was primarily formed from the abolished Solihull constituency and parts of the former Meriden constituency, both previously held by the Conservatives.

Political Career

Shastri-Hurst currently serves as shadow parliamentary under secretary of state for health and social care. He was appointed to this role as part of the August/September 2026 shadow ministerial reshuffle, Kemi Badenoch’s second as Conservative leader.

Shastri-Hurst is also a member of the House of Commons justice select committee (since October 2024) – the committee responsible for examining the policies and spending of the Ministry of Justice and associated public bodies. Its remit includes the courts, legal aid, prisons, probation and the rule of law. It also advises on sentencing guidelines.

In addition, Shastri-Hurst is a member of the standards and privileges committees (since October 2024). The standards committee oversees the rules of conduct for MPs and investigates alleged breaches. The remit of the privileges committee is to consider any matter referred to it that may amount to a contempt of parliament.

Shastri-Hurst served as parliamentary private secretary (PPS) to the shadow health and social care team from November 2024 to September 2026.

Shastri-Hurst was a member of the public bill committee for the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill from January to March 2025.

Shastri-Hurst delivered his maiden speech on 24 July 2024 during a debate on education and opportunity.

In it, he said: “I do hope, however, that my professional experiences will allow me to contribute effectively to this place on behalf of the people of Solihull West and Shirley – by being a critical friend on the issue of health and social care, so that we improve patient outcomes; by protecting the rule of law and ensuring access to justice; and by upholding the military covenant”.

He added: “I am painfully aware of the good fortune and opportunities I have had in life. I have benefited from a loving family and been provided with the opportunities to fulfil my potential.

“Sadly, that is not the case for all, so during the course of my time in this House I will seek to champion the early years agenda, so that we give young people the best chance in life.

“I will also seek to work with members from across the House to improve SEND provision in this country, so that we can move the conversation away from the level of disability and focus instead on the level of intervention, and ensure that every child can access the curriculum and achieve their potential, irrespective of the hurdles they face, because it is only by investing in our young people that we invest in our society.”

Shastri-Hurst previously stood as the Conservative candidate in the North Shropshire by-election in December 2021, losing to the Liberal Democrat candidate Helen Morgan.

Political views

Leadership elections

Tory leadership 2024: Shastri-Hurst supported Tom Tugendhat’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. Tugendhat, the then-shadow security minister, was eliminated in the third parliamentary ballot on 8 October 2024 after receiving 20 votes.

During the campaign, Shastri-Hurst described Tugendhat as a “decent and honourable man. I believe he has all the skills to unite the Party, rebuild trust with the British people, and lead us to victory.”

Factional identity and party tradition

Conservative Environment Network: Shastri-Hurst 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 Shastri-Hurst, are thought to generally align with the group’s “green” message and environmentalism.

Brexit and Europe

Customs union vote (2025): In December 2025, Shastri-Hurst voted against the UK-EU Customs Union (Duty to Negotiate) Bill. The bill, introduced under the 10-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

Shastri-Hurst 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 of the bill.

Speaking during the bill’s second reading debate, Shastri-Hurst said he was “instructed by my own experiences – my personal experiences of my relatives, and of those patients whom I failed. I failed because I did not give them the good death that they deserved, despite the very best efforts of palliative care.”

He added: “It is true that we can improve the palliative care offering in this country, but it is not a binary choice. It is not a choice of palliative care or assisted dying; it is a choice about someone having an option over how they want autonomy over their body at the end of their life.”

Before Politics

Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst was born in Birmingham in 1984. His father was a general practitioner in Birmingham for three decades, and his mother was a nurse. He attended King Edward’s School.

Shastri-Hurst studied medicine at the University of Nottingham, graduating in 2005. He subsequently obtained a postgraduate qualification in law from the University of law.

Shastri-Hurst also holds postgraduate qualifications in trauma sciences (Queen Mary University of London) and legal medicine.

During his studies, Shastri-Hurst joined the Royal Army Medical Corps.

He worked as a surgeon in the NHS.

Shastri-Hurst’s final medical post was with the major trauma service at University Hospitals Birmingham.

Shastri-Hurst was called to the Bar in 2018.

Personal Life

Shastri-Hurst lives in his Solihull West and Shirley constituency.

Trivia

Shastri-Hurst served for eight years as a medical officer in the British Army.