Having become a Young Conservative aged 14, he switched to the Social Democratic Party (SDP) while at university in 1981. In 2002, he stated: "the first Thatcher Government did get a bit bogged down and it wasn't really the radical government that subsequently emerged,... And the fact that you had a completely new opportunity to wipe the slate clean, with no baggage, was a very attractive thing".[6]
Mundell practised as a solicitor before joining BT as Group Legal Advisor for Scotland in 1991. He became BT Scotland's Head of National Affairs, remaining with BT until being elected as an MSP.
In January 2009 Mundell was among the 18 MPs (either Scottish or representing Scottish constituencies) who supported the Commons Motion stating football "should not be any different from other competing sports and our young talent should be allowed to show their skills on the world stage", thereby endorsing the idea of Team GB entering a British football team in the London 2012 Olympics. Football's governing bodies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland oppose a Great Britain team, fearing it would stop them competing as individual nations in future tournaments.[12]
At the 2015 general election, Mundell was again re-elected, with an increased vote share of 39.8% and a decreased majority of 798.[16][17][18]
In July 2015, Mundell opened a food bank in the Dumfries and Galloway, which it is adjacent to his own constituency and was at the time represented by the Scottish National Party's Richard Arkless. After the opening, Mundell was escorted from an angry anti-austerity demonstration by police.[19] Mundell, who had previously denied that welfare reform changes were behind the increased demand for food banks, was accused of hypocrisy by opponents who said the opening was "nothing to celebrate".
In the Brexit referendum, Mundell supported Britain remaining within the EU.[20] Following it, he became a part-time member of the cabinet committee working on strategies for Brexit.[21]
At the snap 2017 general election, Mundell was again re-elected, with an increased vote share of 49.4% and an increased majority of 9,441.[22] He was again re-elected at the 2019 general election, with a decreased vote share of 46% and a decreased majority of 3,781.[23][24]
Mundell was again re-elected at the 2024 general election, with a decreased vote share of 33.9% and a increased majority of 4,242.[27]
Personal life
On 13 January 2016, Mundell publicly came out as gay on his personal website, becoming the first openly gay Conservative cabinet minister.[2][3] His nickname is 'Fluffy'.[28]
Mundell was previously married to Lynda Jane Carmichael from 1987, and the couple divorced in 2012. He has three children, one of whom, Oliver Mundell, is the Conservative MSP for Dumfriesshire, having won his seat in the Scottish Parliament in May 2016.[29]
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