Nigel Huddleston is the Conservative MP for Droitwich and Evesham, having first been elected to parliament at the 2015 general election.

In the 2024 general election for the new Droitwich and Evesham constituency, Huddleston received 19,975 votes (40.3%). The Labour candidate received 10,980 votes (22.1%), and the Reform UK candidate secured 9,456 votes (19.1%). Huddleston was duly elected with a majority of 8,995.

The Droitwich and Evesham constituency is located in Worcestershire and includes the towns of Droitwich Spa and Evesham, along with numerous villages. It is an area with income levels above the national average and includes many commuters to the West Midlands.

The seat, previously known as Mid Worcestershire until the 2024 election (when boundaries were slightly adjusted), has been held continuously by the Conservative Party since its creation in 1983. It is considered a safe Conservative seat, although the majority was significantly reduced in 2024 (from 28,018 in 2019 to 8,995).

Huddleston’s immediate predecessor as the MP for Mid Worcestershire was Peter Luff, who represented the seat from 1997 to 2015.

Political Career

Huddleston left the Conservative frontbench as part of the August/September 2026 shadow cabinet reshuffle conducted by Kemi Badenoch. He served as shadow culture secretary from July 2025 to August 2026, and co-chair of the Conservative Party (alongside Lord Johnson) from November 2024 to July 2025.

Huddleston was shadow financial secretary to the Treasury from July to November 2024 in the interim/caretaker shadow cabinet created after the 2024 general election.

Prior to the 2024 general election, which saw the Conservatives ejected from government, Huddleston served as financial secretary to the Treasury from November 2023 to July 2024, international trade minister from October 2022 to November 2023, and a government whip (lord commissioner of the Treasury) from September 2022 and February 2023.

Huddleston was previously parliamentary under-secretary of state at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (covering sport, tourism, heritage, and civil society) from February 2020 to September 2022, and an assistant government whip from July 2019 to September 2021.

During the significant political turbulence of June 2022, Huddleston 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.

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Following the 2017 general election, Huddleston was appointed as parliamentary private secretary (PPS) to ministers at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). A PPS acts as an unpaid parliamentary assistant, providing a link between the senior frontbencher and backbench MPs.

In January 2018, he became PPS to the culture secretary (Matt Hancock then Jeremy Wright). He was appointed Conservative vice chair with responsibility for the engagement of young people in February 2019.

Huddleston was a member of the House of Commons culture, media and sport select committee from 2015 to 2017.

He delivered his maiden speech on 4 June 2015 during a debate on the economy. In it, he said: “As I have spent the past several years working for one of the leading technology companies in the world, it will be no surprise that in this place I wish to be an advocate for technology and the digital sector, despite the fact that I am reading from a piece of paper…

“The other sector I wish to champion in this place is travel and tourism—again, one of the fastest growing sectors of the British economy.”

He added: “Finally, we all know that we can have good public services only if we have a strong economy that generates the taxes to pay for them. That is why it is vital that we continue to support business and job creation, thereby supporting workers and their families. That is what I am here to do.”

Huddleston served as a Conservative councillor on St Albans City and District Council, representing the Wheathampstead ward, from 2011 to 2014.

Huddleston previously stood unsuccessfully as the Conservative candidate for Luton South in the 2010 general election, finishing second to Labour candidate Gavin Shuker on 12,396 votes (29.4%).

Political Views

Leadership elections and loyalty

Tory leadership 2024: Huddleston 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 with 53,806 votes (56.5%). Badenoch was declared Conservative leader on 2 November.

In an August 2024 ConservativeHome article, Huddleston argued that Badenoch has that “something special.”

He wrote: “She is one of the few politicians with mononym status (known by a single word name). Although she’ll gently remind anyone who pronounces her surname wrongly that ‘it’s BAYdenoch not BADenoch – as there is no bad in Badenoch.’

“Mononyms are usually reserved for celebrities, and there is a star quality about Kemi.”

He added: “Values are at the heart of Kemi’s leadership bid, as evidenced by the launch of Renewal2030, the name she has chosen for her campaign. This values-based approach in large part explains why she is attracting support from people like me, traditionally seen as on the left of the party, as well as those on the right.”

Tory leadership 2022 (I): Huddleston 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 2019: Huddleston supported Sajid Javid 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 the Conservative Party.

Javid, the then-home secretary, successfully reached the final four of the parliamentary stages, but was eliminated in the fourth ballot on 20 June after receiving 34 votes.

Tory leadership 2016: Huddleston 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

Tory Reform Group: Huddleston is listed as a member of the Tory Reform Group (TRG) – a pressure group within the Conservative Party that represents the “one nation” tradition of political thought. Historically associated with senior party figures such as Kenneth Clarke and Michael Heseltine, the TRG was established in 1975 to champion socially progressive and centrist policies – acting as an intellectual counterweight to the emerging free-market, Thatcherite wing of the party.

Bright Blue: Huddleston 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: Huddleston 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: Huddleston supported Remain in the 2016 Brexit referendum, and therefore disagreed with a majority of constituents, 59.4% of whom voted to Leave.

In a June 2016 article for The House magazine, written in the final weeks of the EU referendum campaign, Huddleston argued that the UK’s travel and tourism sector made “a compelling case to remain” in the European Union.

He stated that the “seamless flow of goods, services, and people across EU borders” had been a major factor in the tourism sector’s success.

He wrote: “For an industry that has created one in three of new UK jobs since 2010, the repercussions of a leave vote could be severe.

“It is widely acknowledged that EU membership has played a key part in bringing about lower air fares and lower mobile roaming charges right across Europe. I believe that exchange rate uncertainty and business confidence are other convincing reasons to stay in the EU.

“The possibility of Brexit has already weakened the pound and this could make the cost of holidaying abroad more expensive, and add to the costs for UK business when buying abroad. Inbound travel could admittedly benefit a little, but no sensible government has a collapsing exchange rate as a deliberate policy goal and a prolonged period of exchange rate uncertainty would be extremely damaging.”

Article 50: In February 2017, Huddleston 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.

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

Huddleston 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).

Speaking during the bill’s third reading debate, Huddleston said he had “genuinely agonised” over whether to support the proposed legislation.

He said: “I have changed my mind over the years, largely influenced by constituents coming into surgeries or informing me about their own deeply personal experiences.

“That includes horrific stories of seeing loved ones in their final days, but I also recall a lady whose mother did go to Dignitas. She said that it was a decision that she thought was absolutely right at the time, yet, since then, she has regretted helping her mother with that every single day of her life, and believes that she helped contribute towards her death.”

He added: “I believe that some improvements have been made to the bill, but not enough. I continue to have significant concerns about the potential for assisted dying to be abused and to be extended way beyond the originally intended scope.”

Social values and conscience issues

Abortion decriminalisation (2025): Huddleston 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): Huddleston 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): Huddleston 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, Huddleston 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 in Lincoln on 13 October 1970, Huddleston grew up in North Hykeham, Lincolnshire. He attended Sir Robert Pattinson Academy, a state comprehensive school. He studied politics and economics at Christ Church, Oxford University, becoming the first person in his family to attend university and from his school to attend Oxford.

During his time at Oxford, Huddleston was involved in the Oxford Union and held various roles within the Oxford University Conservative Association as well as the Oxford University Student Union (OUSU).

He later gained an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management in California.

Before entering politics, Huddleston worked for 17 years as a management consultant, initially for Arthur Andersen and then for Deloitte, working in both London and Los Angeles and specialising in the entertainment and leisure sectors.

From 2011 until his election in 2015, he was employed by Google as the industry head of travel.

Personal Life

Huddleston lives in Badsey, Worcestershire with his American wife, Melissa.

They have two children.

Trivia

Before becoming an MP, Huddleston worked for Google as the Industry Head of Travel.