Anna Soubry

In June 2010, Soubry met the transport minister Norman Baker and called for the £400,000,000 extension to the Nottingham Express Transit tram system to be scrapped, saying the money would be better spent on the A453 road. David Thornhill of the Campaign for Better Transport expressed astonishment at her opinion, and said the tram was definitely better value for money.[27] Soubry said she was pro-tram, but that the tram route through her constituency was "fundamentally flawed".[28] The extension nevertheless was constructed as planned.[29]

In July 2013, Soubry criticised Nottingham City Council leader Jon Collins over his refusal to meet her and others to discuss compensation for shops and businesses in the constituency which faced closure due to the tram works.[30] Collins subsequently agreed to meet her,[31] and the outcome was a review into the compensation packages available for affected businesses.[32]

In October 2010, Soubry wrote in her monthly column in the Beeston Express that on returning to Parliament she met a "somewhat shell-shocked Parliamentary Assistant bearing a pile of some 300 cards from constituents urging me to oppose the proposed sell-off of the Royal Mail."[33]

She expressed dismay at the time and cost of replying to each constituent when she had already discussed the issue with the Communication Workers' Union (CWU).[33] Twelve days later, Soubry announced in the House of Commons that of the 700 postal workers in her constituency, to her knowledge, none had written to her opposing privatisation of Royal Mail and only two had come to London.[34]

After complaints from the CWU, Soubry agreed she was wrong, but said that some of the letters had been misfiled and others had arrived late or were sent to the wrong MP, and that the CWU had been inefficient. She claimed she genuinely believed she was telling the truth, that the bill protected Royal Mail, its workers and the universal postal service, and said that was the only reason she supported it.[35]

In November 2010, Soubry appeared on the East Midlands version of The Politics Show to discuss her efforts to help the Citizens' Advice Bureau. The programme reviewed the current state of Nottinghamshire's CAB which was facing a 30% increase in enquiries plus cuts in its budget from local councils and the Ministry of Justice.[36] Soubry said she had asked the leader of Nottingham County Council and Kenneth Clarke to reconsider. Soubry later organised a meeting between the CAB, Midlands Women's Aid and charities minister Nick Hurd to make him aware of the effects of the proposed cuts in funding to these organisations.[37]

In January 2013, Soubry welcomed the announcement of the proposed High Speed 2 East Midlands Hub station at Toton Sidings in the constituency, stating that it was "a very good news day for Broxtowe". She has held a number of public meetings on the issue.[38]

Soubry voiced criticism in August 2013 over plans to not hold a public consultation meeting in the constituency, calling on HS2 Ltd to hold an event in Toton where the proposed East Midlands Hub is to be built.[39]

In an interview on the Daily Politics show in February 2012, Soubry as public health minister defended the NHS reforms.[40]

In March 2012, a group of 240 doctors wrote to The Independent describing the reforms as an "embarrassment to democracy" which had no support from professional healthcare organisations.[41] They pledged to stand as candidates against MPs who backed them and Soubry was mentioned as a likely target.[41] In response Soubry stated there had been no complaints from her local GP consortium and claimed that many local GPs could not wait for the Bill to be passed.[42]

In a Westminster Hall debate, Soubry emphasised the role advertising plays in encouraging young people to smoke.[43] She herself took up smoking as a teenager because of the attractive packaging and she compared addiction to nicotine to heroin dependence; though she had no direct experience of the latter.[43] According to The Daily Telegraph, her comments raised questions about why the Coalition dropped plans for plain packaging shortly after David Cameron employed Lynton Crosby, who has worked for tobacco companies, as an election strategist.[43]

Following her appointment as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health in September 2012, Soubry gave an interview with The Times in which she stated her support for assisted suicide for terminally ill people.[44] Both the Department of Health and the Ministry of Justice denied there were plans for reform, though her Liberal Democrat colleague Norman Lamb welcomed discussion and said he expected a private members' bill to be introduced by Lord Falconer in 2013.[44] Assisting suicide currently carries a maximum 14-year prison sentence.[44]

On 14 September 2012, speaking at an NHS Leadership Academy conference, Soubry stated that the Coalition had "screwed up" in the way it dealt with the medical profession over the NHS reforms.[45] Soubry later said that she fully supported the reforms but believed the benefits to patients could have been better explained and this would have won more support from health professionals.[45]

As Public Health Minister, Soubry criticised retailers who forced customers to pass "rows of unhealthy foods" on their way to the checkout and said that a new code of practice would urge retailers to stop this and also reduce deals on unhealthy food.[46]

In August 2013, as Public Health Minister, Soubry supported plans for a change in the law to allow HIV home-testing kits.[47]

Soubry was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence in David Cameron's October 2013 reshuffle, becoming the first elected female politician to be a Minister in the MoD. In the July 2014 reshuffle, Soubry was appointed Minister of State for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans.[48]

Following the 2015 general election, Soubry became Minister of State for Small Business, Industry and Enterprise at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills until 15 July 2016. Her partner, Neil Davidson, is a director at Morrisons leading her opponents to note a potential conflict of interest when she introduced new Sunday trading laws.[49] During an interview with ITV’s Paul Brand, Soubry revealed that Theresa May offered her a position as Minister of State for Justice in the formation of her first ministry in 2016 - though Soubry rejected this offer, preferring to return to the backbenches.

She was appointed to the Privy Council in May 2015.[50]

Soubry was a strong supporter of Britain remaining in the European Union, and backed the "Remain" campaign during the 2016 EU membership referendum, the holding of which she supported.[51]

In September 2016, Soubry criticised members of Vote Leave when it became clear that the pledge "at the heart ... of their message" of £350,000,000 a week of extra funding for the NHS was being dropped from post-Brexit plans.[52] Following a leaked Treasury report which claimed that the estimated annual cost to the UK Treasury of a "hard Brexit" would be between £38bn and £66bn per year after 15 years, Soubry referenced the loss of money for schools and hospitals and stated that Parliament should be involved in the principles guiding Brexit negotiations.[53]

Following the referendum, in which Broxtowe had a 54.6% vote to leave,[54] Soubry criticised former Mayor of London Boris Johnson, who led the "Leave" campaign, accusing him of backing Britain's exit from the EU because he wanted to be Prime Minister: "My anger with Boris is that I don't honestly believe that he believed what he was saying to people".[55] Appearing as a guest on BBC One's Question Time in June 2016, Soubry warned that some people who voted to leave the EU had disregarded tolerance, and describing it as "[not] our country's finest hour". She urged the UK to put "hope over hatred" following the result.[56]

In February 2017, Soubry voted to invoke Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union, triggering the process of withdrawal from the EU, saying: "I said I will honour the result of the referendum, so I voted to trigger article 50. So, I accept we are leaving the European Union, even though the result was close. My argument now is how do we get the best deal, and I want parliament, finally, to be involved in getting the best deal for our country."[57] In parliamentary debate over the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill, Soubry said: "I did not vote with my conscience, and if I am truthful about it, I am not sure that I voted in the best interests of my constituents. ... However, I was true to the promise that I had made to my constituents. I had promised them that if they voted leave, they would get leave, and that is what drove me through the Lobbies last week with a heavy heart and against my conscience."[58]

Addressing a Brexit protest outside Parliament in June 2016[59] she described how her 84-year-old mother, and her daughters, had "wept" on the morning that the result was announced. In an emotional and impromptu speech she told the gathering "We made a terrible, terrible mistake on Friday" and urged those wanting to stay in the European Union to continue fighting for that cause.

In December 2017, Soubry was one of 11 Conservative rebels who voted in favour of Parliament being guaranteed a vote on the final Brexit deal, despite the government's reluctance, with enough Conservatives rebelling that the measure was forced through.[60][61]

In January 2018, Soubry said the government should not let the 35 MPs she described as "hard Brexiteers" dictate the terms of Brexit.[62] On 15 April 2018, Soubry attended the launch event of the People's Vote, a campaign group calling for a public vote on the final Brexit deal between the UK and the European Union.[63] Later that year, Soubry declared that there should be a national government to solve the issue of Brexit and went on to argue that members of the European Research Group should be expelled from the Conservative Party. In December 2018, she declared that she would resign the Conservative whip and vote to have no confidence in her government if 'no deal' became the policy of the government.[64]

In December 2018, Soubry was harassed by a group of protesters in Westminster she described as "far-right". They referred to her as "on the side of Adolf Hitler" and called her a traitor for her anti-Brexit stance.[65][66] This was met with condemnation from MPs of all sides of the political spectrum, and by the Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow.[67] In February 2019, James Goddard, one of the activists who accosted Soubry, was charged with harassment in connection with the incident in December 2018 and a separate incident outside Parliament in January 2019.[68]

In early 2019, Soubry co-founded the group Right to Vote.[69]

Soubry resigned from the Conservative Party on 20 February 2019, along with Heidi Allen and Sarah Wollaston, and joined The Independent Group, later Change UK.[70] Soubry stated that "the right wing, the hard-line anti-EU awkward squad" had hijacked the Conservative Party from top to toe.[71]

On 4 June 2019, Change UK announced Soubry as their leader after six of the 11 MPs left to sit as independents and Heidi Allen resigned as leader.[72] Soubry commented that she was "deeply disappointed" at the split.[73]

Following the new party's failure to win at the December 2019 general election, in which it polled a total of 10,006 votes, Soubry announced that the Independent Group for Change would be disbanded. All three of the party's MPs who sought re-election were defeated with Soubry coming "a distant third in Broxtowe". Soubry stated that while there was "a need for massive change in British politics," without representation in parliament "a longer-term realignment will have to take place in a different way".[74]