Prior to being elected, Stewart was a Business Services Manager with Business Link in London. He is 45, married to Sarah, who is a journalist with a national newspaper, and they live in Central Peterborough with their daughter Isabel. He helped small companies with their Human Resource/Personnel issues and is a specialist advisor in the “Investors in People” quality standard.

Stewart studied Economics and Public Administration at Royal Holloway College in the eighties and was awarded an Honours degree from the University of London in 1988. He also holds a Masters degree in Human Resource Management.

Stewart worked for Lloyds Bank for nine years, and ran his own branch as a Branch Manager in London’s West End, as well as being a small business manager. He served as a Board Member and Trustee of the London City YMCA for 5 years.

Stewart has been part of the “Light Fantastic” fundraising committee at Sue Ryder Care at Thorpe Hall – which raised a record breaking £36,000 for the much loved charity in October 2006. He also serves on the Board of the Salvation Army’s Good Neighbours Scheme based at the Citadel in Bourges Boulevard and is Vice President of “Westgate in Peril” – raising funds for the restoration of this historic city centre church.

In his spare time, he enjoys reading biographies, travel, cinema, architecture and history.

Stewart fought Peterborough at the 2001 General Election and reduced Labour’s majority from 7,300 to 2,800 votes. He was re-selected as the Parliamentary Spokesman for Peterborough in August 2002. He was elected as a Member of Parliament in May 2005 with a majority of 2,740 votes and re-elected in May 2010 with an increased majority of 4861.

Before moving to Peterborough, Stewart was a Councillor in the London Borough of Ealing for eight years, and took a special interest in housing, planning and the environment. In May 1997, he contested the Brent South Parliamentary seat in North West London.

In the House of Commons, he was a member of the Regulatory Reform Select Committee from May 2005 to July 2007 and from December 2006 to July 2007 a member of the Health Select Committee.

In the previous Parliament Stewart was Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Pakistan and Vice Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Friends of Islam. He is currently the Co-Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Youth Affairs.

In July 2007 Stewart was appointed to the opposition whips office. Stewart was appointed Shadow Minister for Communities and Local Government in January 2008 and had Front Bench responsibility for regeneration, flooding and the Fire and Rescue Service up until May 2010.

Following the 2010 Election Stewart was appointed as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Owen Paterson as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

He is also a Parliamentary champion for the premature baby charity BLISS and strongly supports the work of Peterborough-based charity ASBAH – the Association for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus, supporting their campaign for the fortification of some foods with folic acid.