Mel Stride

Melvyn "Mel" Stride (born 30 September 1961) is a British politician who has been the Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer since 2024. He joined the government of Rishi Sunak as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on 25 October 2022. He later joined the Kemi Badenoch shadow cabinet in November 2024.

The Right Honourable Mel Stride MP
Official portrait, 2024
Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
Incumbent
Assumed office 4 November 2024
Leader	Kemi Badenoch
Preceded by	Jeremy Hunt
Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
In office 8 July 2024 – 4 November 2024
Leader	Rishi Sunak
Preceded by	Liz Kendall
Ministerial offices 2015‍–‍2024 Secretary of State for Work and Pensions In office 25 October 2022 – 5 July 2024 Prime Minister Rishi Sunak Preceded by Chloe Smith Succeeded by Liz Kendall Leader of the House of Commons Lord President of the Council In office 23 May 2019 – 24 July 2019 Prime Minister Theresa May Preceded by Andrea Leadsom Succeeded by Jacob Rees-Mogg Financial Secretary to the Treasury Paymaster General In office 13 June 2017 – 23 May 2019 Prime Minister Theresa May Preceded by Ben Gummer Jane Ellison Succeeded by Jesse Norman Comptroller of the Household In office 17 July 2016 – 12 June 2017 Prime Minister Theresa May Preceded by Gavin Barwell Succeeded by Chris Pincher Lord Commissioner of the Treasury In office 13 May 2015 – 17 July 2016 Prime Minister David Cameron Preceded by Harriett Baldwin Succeeded by Andrew Griffiths
Chair of the Treasury Select Committee
In office 23 October 2019 – 25 October 2022
Preceded by	Nicky Morgan
Succeeded by	Harriett Baldwin
Member of Parliament for Central Devon
Incumbent
Assumed office 6 May 2010
Preceded by	Constituency created
Majority	61 (0.1%)
Personal details
Born	(1961-09-30) 30 September 1961 Ealing, London, England
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Michelle
Children	3
Alma mater	St Edmund Hall, Oxford (BA)
Website	Official website

Political career

In October 2011, he was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Minister of State for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning, John Hayes in the government of David Cameron. He was later in the same government as an Assistant Government Whip from July 2014 until May 2015 and as Chief Whip (Lord Commissioner of the Treasury) from May 2015 until July 2016.

He was Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General from June 2017 to May 2019 in the government of Theresa May. He was in the same government earlier as Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons from 23 May 2019 to 24 July 2019.

He was Chairman of the Treasury Select Committee from 23 July 2019 to 25 October 2022 in the governments of Boris Johnson and Liz Truss.

He was elected the Conservative Party Member of Parliament for Central Devon in 2010.

On 26 July 2024, Stride announced he was running in the 2024 leadership election to be the new Conservative Party leader and Leader of the Opposition. He was eliminated in the second round of voting on 10 September.

Education

Mel was educated at Portsmouth Grammar School and Oxford University, where he was elected President of the Oxford Union.