predecessor successor birth_place nationality party office term_start image article_title name alma_mater
stephen dorrell incumbent woking , surrey , england british conservative chair of the health select committee member of parliament 18 june 2014 file : sarahwollastonmp.jpg sarah wollaston
 dr sarah wollaston king 's college london
sarah wollaston

dr sarah wollaston -lrb- born 17 february 1962 -rrb- is a british conservative party politician .
wollaston studied at king 's college london school of medicine , and after graduation was a general practitioner for two decades .
before becoming the member of parliament -lrb- mp -rrb- for totnes in 2010 , she was the first person to be selected as a parliamentary candidate for a major british political party through an open primary , in which she emphasised that she was an outsider to politics , who had worked a ` real job ' .
she won the nomination for the conservative candidature and at the general election won the seat with an increased conservative majority .
wollaston is chair of the health select committee , having joined the committee following her election to the house of commons and later winning election to the chair in 2014 .
she has gained a reputation for being an independent-minded mp , not afraid to stand up to her party 's leadership or oppose them when she believes that their decisions go against the interests of her constituents .
as such , she has rebelled against the government on several key votes - voting in favour of a referendum on britain 's membership of the european union in 2011 , for a cut in the eu budget in 2011 and voting against military intervention in syria in 2013 .
she has been a vocal proponent for minimum unit pricing for alcohol and has spoken out against political patronage in westminster .
in 2013 , she jointly won the spectator parliamentarian of the year award for her opposition to a royal charter on press regulation .
