Sir Patrick Cormack was first elected to Parliament in 1970 and has enjoyed uninterrupted service, first as the Member of Parliament for Cannock, from 1970 to 1974, and since then as the Member for South Staffordshire (formerly called South West Staffordshire), a constituency which incorporates a large portion of his former Cannock seat.

At the General Election in 2005 Sir Patrick’s polling day was delayed for seven weeks because of the death of his Liberal Democrat Opponent. Nevertheless he increased both his share of the vote and his majority, and achieved a swing of 9.1% from Labour, the largest such swing of the whole General Election. Sir Patrick’s current majority, which represents 52.05% of the vote, is 8,847.

Sir Patrick is a former Conservative Party Spokesman on Constitutional Affairs and a former Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Commons, a post he resigned in 2000 in order to contest the Speakership election later that year.

Sir Patrick has served on many House of Commons’ Committees, including the Education and Foreign Affairs Select Committees and many House Committees. He was a member of the House of Commons Commission from 2001 until 2005 and Chairman of the House of Commons Works of Art Committee from 1987 to 2001. Since 1979 he has been Chairman of the All Party Arts and Heritage Group.

In July 2005 Sir Patrick became Chairman of the Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee.

He edited the House Magazine from 1983 to 2005 and is now Life President of the Magazine and Chairman of the Editorial Board. He writes and broadcasts regularly and is a team captain of BBC’s Parliamentary Questions quiz.

From 1995 to 2005 he served on the General Synod of the Church of England as an elected member.

Visit the website regularly to find news on South Staffordshire and Sir Patrick’s work in the House of Commons.