Robert Owen Biggs Wilson (born 4 January 1965) is an English politician and political author. He was elected Conservative Member of Parliament for the Reading East parliamentary constituency in the 2005 general election, being re-elected in the elections of 2010 and 2015, before being defeated in 2017. He became Minister for Civil Society in the Cabinet Office on 27 September 2014. Early life Wilson was born and brought up in south Oxfordshire. He attended Wallingford School and then, between 1984 and 1988, the University of Reading, where he studied history. He spent his final year at university as the President of the Reading University Students' Union. Wilson was a member of the Social Democratic Party. Politics Local government Wilson joined the Conservatives, and was elected as one of three councillors for the Thames ward of Reading Borough Council in 1992, serving one term (until 1996). In 1997, he unsuccessfully contested Bolton North East at that year's general election. In 2003 he was elected for the Caversham ward of Reading Borough Council, in a by-election for a one-year term. The following year, he was again elected a councillor for Thames ward. Following his election as Member of Parliament, he stood down from the Council in May 2006. MP in the 2005–2010 parliament Wilson was selected as the Conservative parliamentary candidate for Reading East using a pioneering primary system, which opened the selection to non-party members for the first time. At the 2005 General Election he faced the Labour candidate and councillor, Tony Page. Page had replaced sitting MP, Labour's Jane Griffiths, who had been de-selected by her party. Wilson won 15,557 votes (35.4%) against Page's 15,082 votes (34.3%). The Conservative share of the vote increased by 3.4%. After his election, Wilson made his maiden speech on 23 May 2005. He served on the Education and Skills Select Committee, selected by the committee chair. Here he played a role in the committee stage of the Education and Inspections Bill, on issues such as Special Educational Needs. In July 2007 Wilson was promoted to the Conservative frontbench as Shadow Higher Education Minister replacing Boris Johnson. The MP, during his terms of office, promoted a major anti knife-crime campaign of Reading's papers; to do so meeting with crime victims' families and Thames Valley Police. Wilson successfully lobbied the DfT, Network Rail and local council to secure funding for the expansion and increase in facilities