Adrian Sanders was born in Paignton, Devon and attended Torquay Boys’ Grammar School which he left after A-Levels.
He spent seven years in the insurance industry, seven years working in political research, and seven years in the voluntary sector as a lobbyist for EU funding and CEO of a not for profit that helped organisations access EU funding. He entered Parliament in 1997 representing his home town seat and held it for 18 years until May 2015.
In Parliament, he served as a spokesperson on a number of different subjects, was a member of several select committees and became a member of the Speaker’s Panel, chairing debates and bills in committee and Westminster Hall. For 17 years he chaired the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Diabetes and helped set up the international Parliamentary Diabetes Global Network that he administers today.
He recently chaired STAR (Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers), the self-regulatory body of the UK’s £2 Billion ticketing industry, and will retire as an elected Councillor on Torbay Unitary Authority in May 2019. He continues as an elected Executive Committee member of the Former MPs Association and is Vice-President of JDRFUK, and the League Against Cruel Sports.