Mike was first elected as a Member of Parliament in May 2010 with a majority of 5,809. He was re-elected in 2015 with 50.9% of the vote and a majority of 5,662 and re-elected again in the 2017 General Election with 47% of the vote, and a 1,657 majority. He was returned for a fourth time in December 2019, with an increased majority of 6,562.
Mike has lived in Finchley since 1988 and previously represented Finchley Church End as a local Councillor. He also served as Leader of Barnet Council between 2006 and 2009.
In 2017, Mike was appointed to the Government Whips Office. In 2018, he was appointed as Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, before being promoted the role of Comptroller of Her Majesty’s Household, which is a senior role within the Government Whips Office.
In September 2021, Mike was moved into a new role as Minister for Exports at the Department for International Trade, alongside a role as Minister for Equalities - holding both roles until July 2022. In September 2022, Mike was appointed as a Minister in the Ministry of Justice, with a brief covering courts & legal services.
Before becoming a Minister, Mike was a Vice-President of the APG on Anti-Semitism and co-chaired the first backbencher debate on this issue. He was also Member of the APPG on Islamophobia and a Trustee of the Holocaust Memorial Day. He was a member of Conservative Friends of India; Conservative Friends of Israel and Conservatives for Cyprus. Mike has previously served as Chairman of the London Conservative MPs and Vice-Chairman of the Conservative Party (Equalities).
Mike was at the forefront of the legislation on Equal Marriage, and his speech was widely acclaimed as influencing other Parliamentarians on the subject. He has also been vocal in arguing for equality for men and boys in health provision. Mike was formerly a Parliamentary Aide to Rt Hon Chris Grayling MP, Secretary of State for Transport; and was also Chair of the All Party Group on HIV & Aids, which campaigns for better access to treatment for people with HIV, in developing countries as well as the UK.
Prior to politics, Mike spent most of his career in retail banking for Barclays Bank plc as well as some time with Deloitte & Touche as a management consultant. He has a good history of voluntary and community work which included being Treasurer of the Barnet Tsunami Appeal, Chairman of Barnet Multi-faith forum, former hospice and a ‘meals on wheels’ volunteer.
Key achievements include being instrumental in outlawing residential squatting; Henlys Corner road scheme; securing funding for Finchley Memorial Hospital, as well as a new Breast Screening Unit; changing policy on HPV Vaccinations for boys and men, and securing funding for the new HIV Innovation Fund on preventing HIV.