CHLOE SMITH FIRST
BECAME INTERESTED
IN POLITICS AGED JUST 16
A
s the election looms
it’s increasingly hard
to resist getting swept
up in the promises
of change, progress
and hope that competing party
leaders are pledging. Despite
speculation that Labour’s reign
is coming to an end, commentators
are saying this is going to be one
of the toughest battles in political
history, making Parliament one
of the most exciting places to
be right now.
And there’s one 27 year old
who’s right in the thick of it. As
Britain’s youngest MP, Chloe
Smith, a Conservative who has
represented Norwich North since
the by-election there on 23 July
last year, is gearing up for her
front row seat in this summer’s
showdown. So when she invited
Stylist to spend a day with her as
she walked the corridors of power
at the House of Commons, we
jumped at the opportunity. Just
how does a young woman find
herself holding her own against
politicians 30 years her senior? How
does it feel to play a crucial role in
the future of the country? And how
do you juggle your own life with
such a demanding career?
“OK, let’s see. This Friday coming
I’m going to be at a housing forum
in the morning,” laughs Chloe. “Then
I’ve got meetings with the police,
local businesses, an event at
a school – then in the evening I’m
going to see a local vicar. If I get
a chance, I might play badminton.”
But Chloe doesn’t seem
especially daunted by her schedule,
nor fazed by the fact that it’s not the
most normal way for a 27 year old to
start the weekend. But the one thing
that she definitely is, is normal. She
might be making laws at an age
where most people are still paying
off their student loans, but she’s
definitely not a politics-bot.
Sitting in her small office, tucked
away across the road from the
Houses of Parliament in the old
Scotland Yard building (“Which is
why it looks a bit like a cell,”
jokes Chloe’s assistant,
Emily), she’s happy to reveal
that she rejected getting
seriously involved with
student politics when she
was at university (she read
English Literature at York,
graduating in 2004) in
favour of “getting to know
lots of different people
and having a few pints”.
On the other hand,
you don’t become a
member of Parliament before you’re
30 by accident. “I started getting
interested in politics when I was 16
and trying to set up a youth forum,”
she says. “That was a great chance
to start thinking about how it can be
a lot more rewarding to try and get
together with other people to solve
problems, rather than sit and sulk
and do nothing.”
Through her project, Chloe got to
know her local MP Gillian Shephard:
“She’s been a really important figure
for me. She was a great MP, she’s
got a wicked sense of humour and
she’s a bloody strong woman. She
made me think, ‘Well, this could be
a role I’d like to play later on.’
Though I think it’s fair to say I wasn’t
expecting it to come quite so early!”
Her parents – a textile teacher
in a state school, and a furniture
designer and maker – are “not
political, but always very interested
and would never pass up the
opportunity for a good debate.
I wanted to go into politics to
be a much more active member
of society,” Chloe explains.
FACE�OF�POLITICS
During her gap year, she interned
with the MPs Gillian Shephard and
Bernard Jenkin. After graduation
she worked as a consultant, and
when the opportunity arose she
applied to be the Conservative
candidate for Norwich North. She
was selected in 2008 but thought
she’d have until the general election
before she had to fight for the seat.
But when the incumbent Labour MP
Ian Gibson resigned last summer in
the wake of the expenses scandal,
a by-election was called and Chloe
CHLOE SMITH
found herself walking the corridors
of power less than 10 years after
sitting her A-levels.
When Stylist meets Chloe under
the wide glass roof of Portcullis
House at 9am she’s already firing
on all cylinders, apologising for
being a little late (yet another snow
shower impeded her walk from her
rented flat in Pimlico). There’s no
time to waste because she’s due
in the Department of Work and
Pensions Select Committee
meeting. She leads us upstairs
explaining the purpose of the
meeting – each governmental
department has a committee made
up of a group of MPs from all
parties, which meets regularly to
scrutinise the department’s work.
Today they’re collecting evidence
about local housing allowance.
“I thought it was a great
chance to get together with other
people to solve problems”
TORY LEADER DAVID CAMERON
AND CHLOE AFTER HER
BY-ELECTION WIN LAST YEAR
“Should be interesting,” she says,
cheerily. And actually watching
the MPs quiz the invited experts
about the best way to help people
who need housing support is
engrossing. Chloe puts some
questions to the panel, and
excuses herself after a couple of
hours. “I could tell that was going to
go on for a little bit,” she says.
On the walk back to her office
she explains a bit more about the
committee’s work, before saying,
“Really, I’m the worst person to ask
about these things. I’m still figuring
it all out myself.” It must be a hell of
a job in which to be the new girl.
From the endless winding of the
plush Victorian corridors of the
Palace of Westminster to the layers
of protocol and ritual that surround
every bit of Parliamentary business,
it is all designed to confuse.
But she seems to be in her
element, saying that she’s
tried to get involved as much
as possible – “I’m living life
at top speed at the moment”
– and that she’s received
plenty of help. “One of things
I have really appreciated
since I started here is how
supportive other MPs
have been – across all the
parties,” she says.
Keeping one eye
on the office clock,
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