Hollobone, Philip

Philip Hollobone was first elected as the Conservative MP for Kettering in 2005, being reelected in 2019 with a majority of 16,765.

The constituency of Kettering is found to the north of Northamptonshire and includes the towns of Kettering, Desborough, Burton Latimer and Rothwell.  The constituency contains a range of industry and has good transport links to both London and the Midlands.   Held by Labour between 1945 and 1979, Kettering supported the Conservatives between 1979 and 1997, before returning to Labour at the height of the Blair years between 1997 and 2005.  It has been held by the Conservatives with a reasonable degree of comfort in recent years.  Some 61% of the electorate backed Brexit in the 2016 EU referendum.

Born in 1964, Philip Hollobone was educated at Oxford University, where he studied Modern History and Economics.  He once worked for eight months as a volunteer teaching assistant with a Baptist Mission in Honduras, Central America.

Before being elected to Parliament spent most of his work career as an industry research analyst examining the performance of water, gas and electricity companies across the UK.

Hollobone served for over eight years in the Territorial Army, latterly as a paratrooper.  He also served as a Special Constable in the British Transport Police.

Hollobone was previously elected to Kettering Borough Council.

Considered to be on the right of the Conservative Party, he was a supporter of Leave in the 2016 Brexit referendum.  He is socially conservative.

In 2010, Hollobone tried to introduce the Face Coverings (Regulation) Bill which would have regulated the wearing of the Burka in public.  His proposed Bill was not successful.

In something that is extremely unusual in the modern House of Commons he supports the reintroduction of national service and the death penalty. He is Vice Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Flags and Heraldry.

Hollobone backed Leave in the 2016 EU referendum.  He is a strong eurosceptic.   Born in the same year as Nigel Farage, Hollobone went to school with the former Brexit Party leader, with the pair both attending Dulwich College in south London.

Hollobone has been a member of the band of church bell ringers at Kettering Parish Church.  He is said to have rung bells at church towers throughout the Kettering area.

Email: philip.hollobone.mp@parliament.uk