| Victoria Collins | |
| Parliament: | United Kingdom |
| Constituency Mp: | Harpenden and Berkhamsted |
| Term Start: | 4 July 2024 |
| Predecessor: | Constituency established |
| Majority: | 10,708 (19.7%) |
| Office1: | Liberal Democrat portfolios |
| Suboffice1: | Science, Innovation and Technology |
| Subterm1: | 2024–present |
| Party: | Liberal Democrats |
| Alma Mater: | |
Victoria Mei Elizabeth Collins[1] is a Liberal Democrat politician and entrepreneur[2] who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Harpenden and Berkhamsted since 2024.[3]
Collins was privately educated at Newcastle upon Tyne Church High School,[4] [5] before studying history at Van Mildert College at Durham University from 2006 to 2009.[6] She later completed a master's degree in international economic policy at Sciences Po in Paris.
She is of Chinese descent.[7] In her maiden speech in Parliament, Collins indicated that her mother arrived in the United Kingdom from Malaysia for her education in 1974, and her mother went go on to run a shop where Victoria helped as she was growing up.[8]
She has previously worked on economic and environmental policy in the European Parliament,[9] [10] and was a contributor on Forbes's website.[11] She has also worked as an independent consultant on sustainability.
Collins contested the Poole constituency for the Liberal Democrats at the 2019 general election. She came third, with 15.5% of the vote.[12]
Collins was selected as the Liberal Democrat prospective parliamentary candidate for the South West Hertfordshire constituency in October 2022.[13] However, due to the 2023 Boundary Commission changes, she was no longer located within the constituency, and she therefore was made to be the candidate for the Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.[14] She was elected to represent the constituency with a majority of 10,708 votes over the second place Conservative candidate Nigel Gardner.