First term (2015-17) Solloway was first elected at the
2015 general election for the
Derby North constituency, with a majority of 41 votes, unseating the Labour MP
Chris Williamson, who had been the MP for the seat since 2010. She became a
parliamentary private secretary to the minister of state for the
Department of International Development. Solloway campaigned for improving provision for
mental health and
homelessness in Derby North and in Parliament. Solloway lost her seat at the 2017 general election to Williamson, on a night where Labour made gains across the United Kingdom. She continued to be active in Derby North, including in the
2018 Derby City Council election and
2019 Derby City Council election, where the Conservatives made gains in the Derby North constituency wards.
Second Term (2019-24) She regained Derby North for the Conservatives at the
2019 general election with a majority of 2,540, with Williamson (standing as an independent) in sixth place. Following
Derby County FC's decision to enter administration in September 2021 Solloway played a prominent role in the campaign to save the club from potential expulsion from the
English Football League. Amanda organised the formation of the "Team Derby" campaign, composed of other local MPs and
Derby City Council, and facilitated meetings between "Team Derby", administrators Quantuma, the then
Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston and the EFL on multiple occasions. Solloway has credited helping to save the club from administration as her "single most important thing" she did while the MP for Derby North. From May to July 2022, Amanda has campaigned on behalf of constituents in
Darley Abbey, following the closure of the Darley Abbey Bridge, for the installation of a temporary replacement. Following news that
Derby City Council had agreed to purchase the temporary structure and keep it in place until 2027, Solloway has campaigned for a permanent alternative instead. This campaign included a visit to Darley Abbey by both the
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Arts and Heritage Lord Parkinson in April 2024 the
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Roads
Guy Opperman in May 2024. Between July 5, 2022 and the 21st of March 2023, Solloway successfully campaigned for Derby to be chosen as the location for the Department for Transport's
Great British Railways Headquarters. Her efforts included asking constituents to vote for Derby by scanning a QR code printed on a T-shirt she wore at constituency events and by holding meetings with the Secretary of State for Transport
Mark Harper and Minister of State for Rail and HS2
Huw Merriman. In October 2023, rollingstock manufacturer
Alstom announced that its Derby factory
Litchurch Lane could close if orders were not found to fill a production gap at the site, putting over 1,000 jobs at risk of redundancy. Solloway described her work to address this as her "main priority" over the following eight months until, in June 2024, a deal between Alstom and Transport for London, financed by £220 million of Department for Transport funding was agreed for an order of 10
Elizabeth line trains. Over this period Solloway routinely met with the Secretary of State for Transport
Mark Harper who stated Solloway "deserved a lot of credit for her absolutely tenacious campaigning" for a solution for Alstom's production gap.
Ministerial responsibilities (2020-24) On 14 February 2020, Solloway was appointed
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Science, Research and Innovation at the
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy during the
first cabinet reshuffle of the
second Johnson ministry. On 17 September 2021, Solloway was appointed a
lord commissioner of the Treasury (
Government whip) during the
second cabinet reshuffle of the
second Johnson ministry. Solloway then served as
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Equalities and
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Safeguarding from July to September 2022. She was also
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Science, Research and Innovation from February 2020 to September 2021. She was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Energy Consumers and Affordability) at the
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero on 7 February 2023. She also oversaw the Government's response to significant increases in energy prices following the
Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. ==Post-parliamentary career==