Philip Cochrane

Philip Andrew Cochrane is a former Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom who is now Curate in the Church of England.

Background

Born in December 1970, Philip was brought up on the family farm on the north antrim coast near Dunluce Castle in Northern Ireland, Philip was educated at Bushmills Primary School and Coleraine Academical Institution. After leaving school, he first went to Aberdeen University where he joined the Conservative Party - for personal and academic reasons he left Aberdeen after only one year. He continued his studies at Reading University where he completed a BA (Hons) in Politics and International Relations in two years. He then moved to Buckinghamshire to work for Equitable Life and in 1994 he met Rachel Ashburner from Amersham and were married the following year. The couple now have two sons.

Prior to training for the ministry, Philip was Head of Reward Consulting at Jardine Lloyd Thompson's Benefit Solutions business and ran his own benefit and communications business.

Political career

Philip was selected as a the Conservative Candidate for Amersham North & Chesham Bois for the May 1997 County Council elections - given the unpopularity of the Conservative Party at the time and the small size of the majority he was defending, not many were expecting him to be elected. In the event, he recorded a large swing to the Conservatives and was elected as one of only three members of Buckinghamshire County Council who were in their twenties at the time of their election.

Even though he was one of the youngest and least experienced members, Philip was considered to be a high-flier early on and within the year, he was a member of the senior policy making committees for Education and Children's Services and also for the County Council as a whole. Philip was encouraged to consider standing for Parliament and in 1999 was selected for the marginal Stafford constituency which the current Conservative leader, David Cameron had fought and lost in 1997.

Though a self-described 'constructive' Euro-sceptic, internal divisions over Europe resulted in Conservative Association officers defecting to United Kingdom Independence Party. In the event, in the June 2001 General Election, UKIP polled strongly in Stafford depriving Philip of any swing away from Labour and resulting in the re-election of David Kidney as Member of Parliament.

Church ministry

Following a sabbatical from politics, Philip decided not to pursue a political career and instead opted to train for the ministry within the Church of England - this has raised some eyebrows in his native Northern Ireland, where he was raised as a Presbyterian. He trained at Trinity College, Bristol and was ordained a deacon in June 2007. He is identified as an 'open evangelical' within the Church.