Michael was elected as Member of Parliament for Surrey Heath in May 2005. He has served as Shadow Minister for Housing & Planning and is currently Shadow Secretary of State for Children, Schools & Families.

Michael was born in Edinburgh in 1967 and brought up in Aberdeen. He has been a journalist since he left Oxford University, working for local and national newspapers, radio and TV. He has reported on issues as diverse as EU corruption in Brussels and the threat to small businesses from red tape as well as championing the victims of crime. Michael has also appeared regularly on radio and television, as a panellist on Radio Four's "The Moral Maze" and BBC 2's "Newsnight Review" and a guest on Channel Four News, Any Questions and Question Time.

Michael is a former Chairman of Policy Exchange, a centre-right think-tank which has come up with innovative policies on policing, local government and fighting terrorism. Policy Exchange's plans to devolve more power over police priorities to local communities has been widely welcomed and compared to the initiatives introduced by Rudi Giuliani which reduced crime in New York.

Michael is married to Sarah Vine, who is a leader writer at The Times, and they have one daughter, Beatrice, and a son, William.