Chris Leslie

Chris Leslie
Official portrait, 2017
Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
In office 11 May 2015 – 12 September 2015
Leader	Harriet Harman (acting)
Preceded by	Ed Balls
Succeeded by	John McDonnell
Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
In office 7 October 2013 – 11 May 2015
Leader	Ed Miliband
Preceded by	Rachel Reeves
Succeeded by	Shabana Mahmood
Shadow Financial Secretary to the Treasury
In office 8 October 2010 – 7 October 2013
Leader	Ed Miliband
Preceded by	Stephen Timms
Succeeded by	Shabana Mahmood
Ministerial offices Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs In office 13 June 2003 – 5 May 2005 Prime Minister Tony Blair Preceded by Office established Succeeded by Bridget Prentice Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Regeneration and Regional Development In office 29 May 2002 – 13 June 2003 Prime Minister Tony Blair Preceded by Nick Raynsford[a] Succeeded by Yvette Cooper Parliamentary Secretary at the Cabinet Office In office 11 June 2001 – 29 May 2002 Prime Minister Tony Blair Preceded by Graham Stringer Succeeded by Douglas Alexander
Parliamentary offices Member of Parliament for Nottingham East In office 6 May 2010 – 6 November 2019 Preceded by John Heppell Succeeded by Nadia Whittome Member of Parliament for Shipley In office 1 May 1997 – 11 April 2005 Preceded by Marcus Fox Succeeded by Philip Davies
Personal details
Born	Christopher Michael Leslie (1972-06-28) 28 June 1972 (age 51) Keighley, England
Political party	Independent (since 2019)
Other political affiliations	Change UK (2019) Labour and Co-operative (until 2019)
Spouse	Nicola Murphy
Alma mater	University of Leeds
Website	Official website
Other offices March–June 2019: Change UK Spokesperson for Economics and Trade

Christopher Michael Leslie (born 28 June 1972) is a debt collection executive and a former British politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Shipley from 1997 to 2005 and Nottingham East from 2010 to 2019. A former member of the Labour Party, he defected to form Change UK and later became an independent politician.

Born in Keighley, Leslie was educated at Bingley Grammar School and graduated from the University of Leeds with a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Parliamentary Studies and a Master of Arts in Industrial and Labour Studies. After working as an office administrator and political researcher, he was elected to Parliament for Shipley aged 24 at the 1997 general election.

Leslie was a minister in the Department for Constitutional Affairs from 2001 to 2005 but lost his seat at the 2005 general election. He was director of the New Local Government Network think-tank from 2005 until being elected for Nottingham East at the 2010 general election.

Between May and September 2015, Leslie served as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer in the shadow cabinet of acting Labour leader Harriet Harman. In 2018, he lost a motion of no confidence by his constituency party. In February 2019, Leslie left Labour alongside six other MPs in protest at the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn to form The Independent Group, later Change UK.

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