In 1987, Stride set up a business specialising in trade exhibitions, conferences and publishing, which was expanded to the United States. The US company was sold.
Parliamentary career Stride was selected as the prospective Conservative candidate for Central Devon in June 2006 after his name was added to the new
Conservative A-List in 2006; he was the first A-Lister to be selected. At the
2010 general election, Stride was elected as MP for
Central Devon with 51.5% of the vote and a majority of 9,230. On 28 October 2011, Stride was appointed
Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Minister of State for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning,
John Hayes. At the
2015 general election, Stride was re-elected as MP for Central Devon with an increased vote share of 52.2% and an increased majority of 21,265. Stride was promoted to the frontbench as Lord Commissioner of the Treasury after the election. Stride was opposed to
Brexit prior to the
2016 referendum. Stride was appointed
Comptroller of the Household following the appointment of
Theresa May as
Prime Minister. He was again re-elected at the
2019 general election, with an increased vote share of 55.3% and an increased majority of 17,721. At the
2024 general election, Stride was again re-elected, with a decreased vote share of 31.5% and a decreased majority of 61.
Ministerial career: 2017–2019 Following the 2017 general election, Stride was appointed
Financial Secretary to the Treasury. In this role in April 2019, Stride was accused by MPs of breaking the
Ministerial Code over comments he had made in relation to the Loan Charge. Stride was appointed
Leader of the House of Commons and
Lord President of the Council on 23 May 2019, following the resignation of
Andrea Leadsom. Stride endorsed
Michael Gove to become
Leader of the Conservative Party in the
2019 leadership election. Following
Boris Johnson's election as party leader and appointment as Prime Minister he was dismissed from his role as Leader of the House of Commons and replaced by
Jacob Rees-Mogg.
Backbencher: 2019–2022 On 23 October 2019, Stride was elected Chair of the
Treasury Select Committee, replacing
Nicky Morgan. Stride supported
Rishi Sunak in the
July–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election, serving as his campaign chief, and lent his support to him again in the
October 2022 Conservative Party leadership election.
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions: 2022–2024 Upon the appointment of Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister, Stride returned to the frontbench having been appointed
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. In September 2023, Stride commented on the state pension system in the United Kingdom. Stride said that the triple lock system was not sustainable in the long term. The comments came in response to reports that the government was considering scrapping the mechanism used to uprate the state pension having seen several years of large increases. Stride became well known for his frequent media appearances during the
2024 general election campaign, making more appearances on morning television programs than any other Conservative minister.
In opposition The Conservative Party suffered a
landslide defeat at the
2024 general election and Stride's constituency became one of the country's most marginal, with his majority falling to just 61 votes. Immediately afterwards, Stride called for the party to elect a new leader. Following the election and the subsequent formation of the
Starmer ministry, Stride was appointed
Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in
Rishi Sunak's caretaker Shadow Cabinet. On 26 July 2024, Stride announced he would be standing in the
2024 leadership election to be the new
Conservative Party leader. During the first MPs' ballot, Stride achieved the second lowest number of votes of the six candidates, at 16. Stride's outperformance of
Priti Patel was an upset, leading him to declare his campaign had "Melmentum". He came last of the remaining five candidates in the second ballot, remaining at 16 votes, and was eliminated from the contest on 10 September.
Kemi Badenoch ultimately won the party leadership, prevailing over
Robert Jenrick in the final round on 2 November 2025. in 2025On 4 November 2024, Stride was appointed
Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer in
Badenoch's shadow cabinet. In June 2025, Stride apologised for the
September 2022 mini-budget implemented by Prime Minister
Liz Truss, stating that the Tories would "never again" risk the UK's economic stability by making "promises we cannot afford". During his time as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, Stride deputised for the
Leader of the Opposition during Deputy PMQs, facing
Angela Rayner on 25 June 2025 whilst the
Prime Minister was at the
2025 The Hague NATO summit. At his autumn 2025 conference speech, Stride described
Reform UK as a “populist alternative that is totally detached from reality” and blamed the incumbent Labour government for increasing borrowing, raising taxes, and increasing debt. == Personal life ==