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.

## 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.

## Infobox (officeholder)

- **embed**: yes
- **office1**: Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
- **term start1**: 25 October 2022
- **term end1**: 5 July 2024
- **primeminister1**: Rishi Sunak
- **predecessor1**: Chloe Smith
- **successor1**: Liz Kendall
- **office3**: Leader of the House of Commons
Lord President of the Council
- **primeminister3**: Theresa May
- **term start3**: 23 May 2019
- **term end3**: 24 July 2019
- **predecessor3**: Andrea Leadsom
- **successor3**: Jacob Rees-Mogg
- **office4**: Financial Secretary to the Treasury
Paymaster General
- **primeminister4**: Theresa May
- **term start4**: 13 June 2017
- **term end4**: 23 May 2019
- **predecessor4**: Ben Gummer
Jane Ellison
- **successor4**: Jesse Norman
- **office5**: Comptroller of the Household
- **primeminister5**: Theresa May
- **term start5**: 17 July 2016
- **term end5**: 12 June 2017
- **predecessor5**: Gavin Barwell
- **successor5**: Chris Pincher
- **office6**: Lord Commissioner of the Treasury
- **primeminister6**: David Cameron
- **term start6**: 13 May 2015
- **term end6**: 17 July 2016
- **predecessor6**: Harriett Baldwin
- **successor6**: Andrew Griffiths (politician), Andrew Griffiths


## Infobox (officeholder)

- **name**: Mel Stride
- **honorific-prefix**: The Right Honourable
- **honorific-suffix**: Member of Parliament, MP
- **image**: Official portrait of Mel Stride MP crop 2, 2024.jpg
- **caption**: Official portrait, 2024
- **office**: Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
- **term start**: 4 November 2024
- **predecessor**: Jeremy Hunt
- **leader**: Kemi Badenoch
- **office1**: Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
- **term start1**: 8 July 2024
- **term end1**: 4 November 2024
- **leader1**: Rishi Sunak
- **predecessor1**: Liz Kendall
- **office2**: Chair of the Treasury Select Committee
- **predecessor2**: Nicky Morgan
- **term start2**: 23 October 2019
- **term end2**: 25 October 2022
- **successor2**: Harriett Baldwin
- **office7**: Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament
for Central Devon
- **term start7**: 6 May 2010
- **predecessor7**: _Constituency created_
- **majority7**: 61 (0.1%)
- **birth place**: Ealing, London, England
- **alma mater**: St Edmund Hall, Oxford (Bachelor of Arts, BA)
- **party**: Conservative Party (UK), Conservative
- **children**: 3
- **spouse**: Michelle