Rob was born and brought up in south Oxfordshire before moving to Reading in 1984 as a student attending Reading University. He is married to Jane and they have four children and live locally.
Rob made his name as an entrepreneur, successfully building several small businesses over the past decade.
Before becoming the Parliamentary Candidate for Reading East, he previously fought two Parliamentary elections in 1997 and 2001, and was campaign manager during the successful 1992 campaign in Reading East. Rob also acted as an advisor to David Davis MP.
Rob served as a Reading Borough Councillor before being elected as a Member of Parliament in 2005. He served on the Education Select Committee until 2007 when he was appointed Shadow Minister for Higher Education. Following David Cameron's reshuffle in January 2009, he became a whip with responsibility for transport and health.
Rob was re-elected in May 2010 with a substantially increased majority. Following the coalition Government agreement, Rob was appointed as Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to Jeremy Hunt, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.
Rob has recently authored a critically acclaimed book on the formation of the Coalition government entitled '5 Days to Power: The Journey to Coalition Britain'.