Sarah Dines

Sarah Dines MP
Official portrait, 2019
Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister
Incumbent
Assumed office 17 September 2021 Serving with Andrew Griffith
Prime Minister	Boris Johnson
Preceded by	Trudy Harrison Alex Burghart
Member of Parliament for Derbyshire Dales
Incumbent
Assumed office 12 December 2019
Preceded by	Patrick McLoughlin
Majority	17,381 (34.8%)
Personal details
Born	(1965-05-27) 27 May 1965 (age 56) Billericay, Essex, England
Nationality	British
Political party	Conservative
Alma mater	Brunel University London
Occupation	Politician
Profession	Barrister
Website	www.sarahdines.org.uk

Sarah Elizabeth Dines (born 27 May 1965)^[1] is a British Conservative Party politician. She has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Derbyshire Dales since 2019.^[2]

Early life and career[]

Dines was born in Billericay, and raised in Basildon, Essex.^[3]

Her parents, Elizabeth (née Dale) and Tony Dines, were tenant farmers until their tenancy was ended and their farm was taken from them to form part of what then became Basildon new town. Her mother served as a Conservative councillor on Basildon District Council and subsequently on Maldon Town Council, Maldon District Council and Essex County Council.^[4]

Dines attended Chalvedon comprehensive school and completed her A Levels at Basildon College.^[4] She studied at Brunel University from 1983 to 1987, and at the Inns of Court School of Law between 1987 and 1988. She is a member of Lincoln's Inn and was called to the Bar in July 1988.^[5][6]

Legal career[]

She worked as a family law practitioner, latterly at 3 Paper Buildings, dealing with divorce, including complex financial and business assets, care, adoption, international child law and child abduction and related issues. She is a member of the Family Law Bar Association and the British Academy of Forensic Sciences.^[4][5][7]

Political career[]

Dines has been a lifelong Conservative, joining the Conservative Party as a teenager; she was chairman of the Basildon Young Conservatives. While at university, she was chairman of the Brunel University Conservative Association, and Secretary of the London Conservative Students. She also worked as a parliamentary researcher for MP Sir George Gardiner.^[4]

At the age of 21, she was elected to Basildon District Council, representing Burstead ward from 1987 to 1991. She unsuccessfully contested the seat of Belfast East at the 1997 general election.^[8][9]

Parliamentary career[]

Dines was elected as Member of Parliament for the Derbyshire Dales constituency at the 2019 general election with 29,356 votes, a majority of 17,381.^[10]

Shortly after her election, Dines was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

In March 2020, she was elected as a member of the Justice Select Committee.^[11] On 2 March 2020, she was appointed to the ad hoc Select Committee on the Armed Forces Bill.^[12]

In December 2020, the Sunday Times published an article reporting that Dines had been claiming expenses for hotel accommodation located near to her parliamentary office despite owning six homes in total, worth approximately £5 million. The newspaper accused Dines of "charging the taxpayer thousands of pounds for regular stays at a four-star hotel".^[13] A spokesman for Dines responded, stating that she had conformed to all the necessary processes for declaring her interests and that any expenses claims she has made "have been in line with the instructions set out by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority."^[14] Dines was listed^[when?] at number 6 in a ranking of all 11 Derbyshire Members of Parliament listed in terms of how much they spent on parliamentary expenses.^[15]

On 17 September 2021, Dines was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister Boris Johnson, alongside Andrew Griffith, in the second cabinet reshuffle of the second Johnson ministry.^[16]

Dines is a member of numerous All-Party Parliamentary Groups, including Policing and Security, Environment, Pacific Islands and Norfolk Island, Armed Forces, Sovereign Defence Manufacturing Capability, Legal and Constitutional Affairs, Farming, Peak District, Trade and Export Promotion, Rural Business, Small and Micro Business, Caribbean, Commonwealth, Ireland and the Irish in Britain, Social Media, Women in Parliament and Endometriosis.^[4] She is a member of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly.^[17]

Political beliefs[]

Dines is on the centre-right of the Conservative Party. She is a supporter of the Blue Collar Conservatism group in Parliament,^[18] which exists to "champion working people".^[19] In her maiden speech, Dines stated: "My politics are simple: I am instinctively cautious of the encroachment of the state into the lives of everyday people."^[20]

She has been a long-time Eurosceptic, and was listed as such when she was the Conservative candidate in East Belfast.^[21] She supported Brexit in the 2016 EU membership referendum,^[22] and is a member of the European Research Group.^[23]

During the 2019 general election campaign she said that her priorities were to "get Brexit done",^[13] preserving the environment and better digital connectivity within the constituency. She declared herself to be "passionately committed to the countryside and the environment".^[7][3] She stated that "people need to vote blue to be green."^[24]

On 20 December 2019, she signed the Early Day Motion calling for Big Ben to chime on the day of Brexit.^[25] Dines is a member of the 'Vote Blue, Go Green' movement within the Conservative Party.^[26]

In her maiden speech in the House of Commons on 17 March 2020, Dines said: "I am a working-class, council [house]-reared, comprehensive school-educated Conservative". Dines mentioned that her mother canvassed with her in the pram, that she delivered her first Conservative party leaflet at the age of 8 and at the age of 17 was on the committee that selected David Amess as the then prospective Conservative parliamentary candidate for Basildon. She went on to say that her personal heroes were Margaret Thatcher and those who paved the way for Thatcher, the parliamentarians Airey Neave and Ian Gow. She also mentioned former MI6 director Sir Maurice Oldfield, who had been born in her constituency, and "our intelligence and security services, which are often the unsung heroes of battles fought in the twilight and dark, and in the cold."^[25]

Dines has spoken in a number of parliamentary debates, including the Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing Bill 2019–21, Agriculture Act 2020, Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill, Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Act 2020, Domestic Abuse Bill 2019–21, Private International Law (Implementation of Agreements) Act 2020, Armed Forces Bill 2019–21, the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020, COVID-19: Road Map, Unsafe Cladding: Protecting Tenants and Leaseholders, Additional COVID-19 Restrictions: Fair Economic Support, The Future of the High Street and Private International Law (Implementation of Agreements) Bill (Lords).^{[27][better source needed]}

Dines has a particular interest in the armed forces and veterans: she is a member of the Royal British Legion and the Ashbourne Ex-Servicemen's Club.^[28] She is a member of the Armed Forces, Armed Forces Covenant^[4] and Veterans All-Party Parliamentary Groups.^[29]

Dines was one of the Conservative MPs calling for the BBC to reconsider its decision not to play "Rule, Britannia!" and "Land of Hope and Glory" at the Last Night of the Proms, a decision that was ultimately reversed. She said: "I am proud to be British, as are my constituents. Anthems of our nation are poignant and mean so much more today, than a reference to the historical time they were written in. We should be proud of history and recognise and learn from any mistakes of the past."^[30]

Dines has spoken out on the "truly despicable online abuse" to which parliamentarians have been subjected, stating that "attacks on physical appearance, seems to be predominantly aimed at women MPs".^[31]

Constituency campaigns[]

Dines has been a vocal advocate of local issues in her constituency. She has repeatedly raised the issue of funding for Ashbourne's long-awaited A515 bypass, stating: "For over 100 years, in one form or another, the Ashbourne bypass in Derbyshire Dales has been endlessly discussed, debated, consulted on and promised."^{[32][33][34][35]}

Dines has repeatedly made the case for shopping locally within Derbyshire Dales, supporting and showcasing local businesses and products^[36] including farming,^[37][38][39] tourist attractions,^[40][41] quarrying,^[42][43] wedding venues,^[44] the hospitality industry,^[45] leisure centres,^{[46][47][48][49]} cheese,^[50][51] distilleries,^[52][53] breweries,^[54][55] and beauty salons, nail bars and physical therapy businesses within her constituency.^[56]

She has called for the police station in Bakewell to be reopened,^[57][58] and has fought for churches in her constituency to remain open during the COVID-19 lockdown.^[59]

She also headed the campaign for cricket clubs to reopen with the Derbyshire Dales.^[60]

Personal life[]

Dines has four adult sons.^[61] Her husband is David Hoile, a public relations adviser.^[61] Her primary residence is a grade II listed "mansion" in Great Dunmow, Essex, bought for £800,000 in 2003.^[61] In total, she owns six homes, including one in Whitechapel, London, and land, altogether worth an estimated £5 million, according to The Times.^[61]

Dines is a former member of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (Princess Royal's Volunteer Corps), and has drawn attention to the unit's role during the coronavirus pandemic.^[62]

Dines was taken ill with coronavirus in March 2020. She said: "I have to say, there were a lot of people worse off than me. I had it moderately, and it was very, very unpleasant and quite frightening."^[63]

References[]

External links[]

• Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Contributions in Parliament at Hansard
• Voting record at Public Whip
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou