David Laws

Who is David Laws?

David Anthony Laws PC is the British Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Yeovil, and the Minister of State for Schools and the Cabinet Office, where he has a cross-departmental role working on the Coalition Agreement and government policy.

Laws was briefly a Cabinet Minister in 2010, as Chief Secretary to the Treasury. He held office for 17 days before resigning due to the disclosure of his Parliamentary expenses claims, described by the Parliamentary Standards and Privileges Committee as "a series of serious breaches of the rules, over a considerable period of time". In consequence of the breaches he was suspended from Parliament by vote of the House of Commons.

After a career in investment banking, Laws became an economic adviser and later Director of Policy and Research for the Liberal Democrats. In 2001, he was elected as the MP for Yeovil, the seat previously represented by former Liberal Democrat leader Paddy Ashdown.

In 2004, he co-edited The Orange Book: Reclaiming Liberalism, followed by Britain After Blair in 2006. After the 2010 general election, Laws led negotiations for the Liberal Democrats which resulted in a coalition with the Conservative Party.