Our People

Sir Gary Streeter is the Chair of Christians in Parliament and is the Conservative MP for South West Devon. Gary has been a Member of Parliament since 1992, served as a Minister in John Major’s Government and has specialised in International Development. He is committed to supporting Christians across all parties in living out their faith in their work in Parliament.

Maeve Sherlock is Co-Chair of Christians in Parliament and has been a Labour Peer since June 2010. She is currently a Shadow Work and Pensions Minister and is ordained in the Church of England. She was previously Chief Executive of the British Refugee Council and served as a special adviser to Gordon Brown as Chancellor of the Exchequer. She has been a commissioner of the Equality and Human Rights Commission and is currently a non-executive director of the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Marsha de Cordova is a Vice Chair of Christians in Parliament and has been the Labour MP for Battersea since 2017. She was Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities from April 2020 until September 2021. Before entering Parliament she worked in the charity sector for over 10 years, campaigning on the issue of social security. She is also a trade unionist and a member of Unite the Union where she represented disabled workers on the London & Eastern Regional Committee and the National Disabled Members Committee. She is the Vice Chair of Disability Labour.

Tim Farron is a Vice-Chair of Christians in Parliament and was the Leader of the Liberal Democrat Party from 2015 to 2017. He has been the Liberal Democrat MP for Westmorland & Lonsdale since 2005 and previously served as Party President from 2010-2014. He was the Chair of the 2013 National Parliamentary Prayer Breakfast, which had as its theme ‘Belief in God in 21st Century Britain’.

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson is a Vice-Chair of Christians in Parliament and has been the Democratic Unionist Party member for Lagan Valley since 1997. He is currently the leader of the DUP.

Ian Blackford is a Vice-Chair of Christians in Parliament and has been the SNP MP for Ross, Skye & Lochaber since 2015. He was the SNP Westminster Leader from 2017 to 2022. Ian lives in the Isle of Skye having previously had a career in finance and business. He was the Chair of the 2018 National Parliamentary Prayer Breakfast, which had as its theme ‘What can Christianity offer our society in the 21st century?’

Sal Brinton is a Vice-Chair of Christians in Parliament and has been a Liberal Democrat Peer since February 2011. She was President of the Liberal Democrat Party from 2015 to 2020. Prior to being in Parliament, she worked in the education sector for twenty years, including as Bursar for two Cambridge University colleges, and was the Director of the Association of the Universities in the East of England. She has also worked in television and venture capital investment.

Don Curry is a Vice-Chair of Christians in Parliament and has been a Crossbench Peer since October 2011. He lives in Northumberland and is a Member of the Rural Economy Committee. He chaired the Policy Commission on the Future of Farming and Food reporting to Government in January 2002 and was responsible for overseeing the Government’s Strategy for Sustainable Farming and Food until March 2009.

Michael Farmer is a Vice-Chair of Christians in Parliament and has been a Conservative Peer since October 2014. He is the founding partner for the Red Kite Group of hedge funds and sponsor governor for the ARK academy school All Saints Camberwell. To date his interests in the Lords have lain in family policy, welfare reform and the persecution of Christians abroad.

Revd Tricia Hillas is the Chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons, available to offer pastoral and spiritual support to Members, their staff and all who are part of the community of the Commons and the Estate. Prior to this she served as Canon Pastor of St Paul’s Cathedral in London, overseeing its pastoral care and social engagement ministry.

Revd Mark Harris is a Senior Parliamentary Officer for Christians in Parliament. Prior to this, he worked in the financial services sector for fifteen years. He holds Masters degrees in Theology from the University of Oxford and in Philosophy from King’s College London and is ordained in the Church of England.

Claire Newman is a Senior Parliamentary Officer for Christians in Parliament. Her role includes: managing the Christians in Parliament events programme and the National Parliamentary Prayer Breakfast, meeting with Members and staff one-to-one, leading small group Bible study & fellowship groups and producing resources. Prior to this, Claire worked in both the private and not-for profit sectors, most recently as Director of Internal Communications for Save the Children International.

Mark Gilmore is a Parliamentary Officer for Christians in Parliament. His role includes helping organise Christians in Parliament events. He also is currently working for Sir Gary Streeter as his Parliamentary assistant. Prior to this, he worked for Lord McColl and studied Law at Queen’s University Belfast.