Andrew Murrison

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Infobox officeholder Surgeon Commander Andrew William Murrison (born 24 April 1961) is a British doctor, naval officer and Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for South West Wiltshire, previously Westbury, since 2001. He served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence People and Families from October 2022 to July 2024.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Murrison has held a variety of positions within the British government, including Minister for International Security Strategy, Minister of State for Northern Ireland, and then Minister of State for International Development and the Middle East. In Parliament, he chaired the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> from July 2017 to May 2019.

Early life and education

Andrew Murrison was born on 24 April 1961 in Colchester. The son of William Gordon Murrison RD and Marion Murrison, he grew up in Harwich, where he attended Harwich and Dovercourt High School,<ref name="Biography">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Ukwhoswho"/> and the Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth.<ref name="Almanac">Robert Waller & Byron Criddle, The Almanac of British Politics, Routledge, 2002, p. 852 Template:Webarchive at books.google.com</ref>

Medical and naval career

Having been awarded a Royal Navy scholarship, Murrison qualified as a doctor from the University of Bristol's medical school in 1984. He holds the degrees of MD and MB ChB.<ref name="Biography"/><ref name="Almanac"/>

After his graduation and until 2000, Murrison served in the Royal Navy as a medical officer based at Fareham and retired with the rank of Surgeon-Commander.<ref name="Biography"/><ref name="Almanac"/> During his naval career he worked as an Honorary Research Registrar at Southampton General Hospital and spent a year as a postgraduate student at Hughes Hall, Cambridge, obtaining a Diploma in Public Health.<ref name="Biography"/> From 2000, he worked as a general practitioner locum in Wiltshire and as a consultant in occupational health at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital.

In 2003, as a naval reserve officer, Murrison served in Iraq for a six-month tour of duty.<ref name="Biography"/>

Political career

Before entering full-time politics, Murrison was a member of the Bow Group, an assistant to Sir Peter Lloyd, and then from 1999 to 2000 an assistant to Lord Freeman, whose role at Conservative Central Office was screening potential parliamentary candidates.<ref name="Almanac"/>

Parliamentary career

At the 2001 general election, Murrison was elected to Parliament as the Conservative MP for Westbury with 42.1% of the vote and a majority of 5,294.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In the 2001 Conservative leadership election, Murrison supported Michael Portillo.<ref name="Almanac"/>

In 2004, in a free vote, Murrison voted against the bill to ban foxhunting and hare coursing which became the Hunting Act 2004.<ref name="howtheyvoted" />

Murrison was re-elected as MP for Westbury at the 2005 general election with an increased vote share of 44.5% and an increased majority of 5,346.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> After the election, he was appointed as shadow defence minister.<ref name="Guardian">Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2005, he spoke in parliament against a proposed European military union, saying "The threat that the proposed Euro force might pose to one of the most successful post-war organisations, NATO, and to our symbiotic relationship with the United States, has surely not been adequately explored".<ref name="Guardian" />

In a Commons divisions in 2007 on a number of House of Lords reform options, Murrison voted for options 7 and 8, proposing a 100% elected House of Lords, including the removal of all remaining hereditary peers, and against options 4 and 5, which proposed a partly elected and partly appointed upper chamber.<ref name="howtheyvoted">Template:Cite web</ref>

He is the Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Clinical Leadership and Management, and is a member of the "Cardiac Risk in the Young All Party Parliamentary Group".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Prior to the 2010 general election, Murrison's constituency of Westbury was abolished, and replaced with South West Wiltshire. He was elected as MP for South West Wiltshire with 51.7% of the vote and a majority of 10,367.<ref name="electoralcalculus2010">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In November 2011, Murrison was appointed as the Prime Minister's special representative for First World War centenary commemorations.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

He was in September 2012 appointed as Minister for International Security Strategy in the Ministry of Defence.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In July 2014, Murrison was appointed as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Northern Ireland Office.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

At the 2015 general election, Murrison was re-elected as MP for South West Wiltshire with an increased vote share of 52.7% and an increased majority of 18,168.<ref name="electoralcalculus">Template:Cite web</ref>

In January 2016, he appointed Prime Ministerial Trade Envoy to Tunisia and Morocco,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> until his resignation on 5 July 2022.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Murrison was again re-elected at the snap 2017 general election with an increased vote share of 60% and an increased majority of 18,326.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He was again re-elected at the 2019 general election with an increased vote share of 60.2% and an increased majority of 21,630.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> At the 2024 general election, Murrison was again re-elected, with a decreased vote share of 33.8% and a decreased majority of 3,243.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Personal life

Murrison is married to Jennifer (Jenny) Munden, a physiotherapist. They have five daughters and live near Mere in Wiltshire.<ref name="Biography"/><ref name="Ukwhoswho">MURRISON, Dr Andrew William Template:Webarchive at ukwhoswho.com (subscription site)</ref>

He was sworn in as a member of the Privy Council on 22 May 2019 at Buckingham Palace.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This gave him the honorific prefix "The Right Honourable" for life.

Decorations

Ribbon	Description	Notes
	Iraq Medal
	Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal	2002 UK version of this medal
	Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal	2012 UK version of this medal
	Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal	2022 UK version of this medal
	King Charles III Coronation Medal	2023 UK version of this medal
	Volunteer Reserves Service Medal

Publications

• Template:Cite book
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External links

• Template:Official websiteTemplate:UK MP links
• Template:C-SPAN