Kwasi Kwarteng (Conservative Candidate for Spelthorne)

Kwasi's parents were born in Ghana in the 1940s, when it was still a British Colony, called the Gold Coast. They came to Britain in the 1960s as students. His mother studied for her A' Levels, his dad went to the LSE, where one of his classmates, though only for a few months, was Mick Jagger.

Kwasi's parents studied hard. His mother qualified as a barrister the year after he was born, but didn't start her practice until Kwasi was seven. She felt, as many young mothers do, that she wanted to stay at home and look after her child.

At Cambridge University, Kwasi earned a Bachelor's degree and a PhD in British History and was also on the series-winning team on University Challenge in Jeremy Paxman's first year as the host.

Kwasi has worked as a company analyst in the City for seven years, and as a journalist.

He was Conservative Candidate for Brent East at the General Election of 2005, Chairman of the Bow Group in 2006 and a candidate for the London Assembly in 2008.

Kwasi is currently writing a book, Ghosts of Empire, about the global legacy of the British Empire. This will be published by Harry Potter publishers, Bloomsbury, next year.