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Former Conservative MP Oliver Colvile has died at the age of 66. The news was confirmed by Stuart Andrew, who currently serves as the Shadow Secretary for Health and Social Care. Addressing his fellow MPs, Stuart said: "I wanted to pay tribute to our former colleague Oliver Colvile, who sadly passed away last night. He served for Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport between 2010 and 2017. He was named by Conservative Home as one of the minority of Conservative MPs not to have voted against the government, something as a previous whip I thought was exceptional. "He really was a true gentleman, whose eccentricities always endeared him to many, and I'm sure the whole House's thoughts are with his family." Other tributes on the floor of the House of Commons also came from the Speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, and the Health and Social Care Secretary, Wes Streeting. It's not reported that the former MP left behind a partner or any children, but he does leave behind his older brother, Charles, who was four years his senior. The brothers had a shared interest in cricket, with the pair both being members of the world-famous Marylebone Cricket Club; Oliver also played for the Lord's & Commons cricket team, being part of the winning Parliamentary Ashes team. Here's everything you need to know about Oliver's famous brother, and his political career… Charles Colvile Oliver was the younger brother of cricket commentator Charles Colvile, who has worked for Sky Sports since 1990. Before presenting on Sky, the commentator had been a freelance sports reporter for Radio 4, and he became a sports correspondent for the Today programme. Since working for the broadcaster, Charles has covered the Ashes and various tours from the English cricket team, including in the West Indies in 1994 and South Africa in the 1995/1996 season. Despite never having professionally played cricket, Charles is respected within the sporting world and has been trusted with writing obituaries for some of the sport's biggest names. In 2019, he said of bowler Bob Willis, who had died at the age of 70: "With his death, Bob Dylan has lost one of his most devoted fans, wine growers everywhere a serious connoisseur of their art and English cricket one of their greatest ever players." Outside of Oliver, Charles has kept much of his family life out of the spotlight. However, a bio for the star on Great British Speakers confirms: "He is married and has to find funds for four children, two dogs and two guinea pigs." Oliver's political career Before becoming an MP, Oliver ran his own communications firm, and he worked for Conservative politicians in devising community-led campaigns in marginal seats. He first attempted to become an MP in the 2001 General Election, when he stood as a Conservative candidate in Plymouth Sutton, where he lost by 7,000 votes. He tried again for the seat in 2005, reducing sitting MP Linda Gilroy's majority to 4,109. It was third time lucky for Oliver, as he won the successor seat of Plymouth Sutton and Devonport in 2010, defeating Linda with a majority of 1,149. He retained the seat in 2015, although his majority was reduced to just 523. At the following election in 2017, Oliver was defeated by Labour's Luke Pollard. During his time in Parliament, Oliver sat on the Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee, and he was also appointed as a Parliamentary Private Secretary to both the Secretary of State for Defence and for Northern Ireland. After his defeat in 2017, the former politician remained involved in politics as in the same year, he was appointed as the Director of Conservatives Abroad.
