He attended the University of Leeds from 1993 to 1996, where he earned a 2.1 BA Joint Honours in Economics and Management Studies, becoming the first member of his family to attend university. In 2007 he was awarded an MA in creative writing from Nottingham Trent University.
In 1995 Byles and his mother Janice Meek rowed 3,044 nautical miles (5,637 km) from Tenerife to Barbados; it took 100 days, 18 hours and 57 minutes. In rowing across the Atlantic, the pair became the first mother and son team to row any ocean.[2]
In October 2008, Byles became the main sponsor of the Bedworth United F.C. Youth Team, in order to support community youth projects involving sport.[3]
On 8 March 2007, Byles was selected as the Conservative Party's Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for the North Warwickshire constituency at the 2010 general election. He was selected at an open primary.
Byles was elected by 54 votes at the election on 6 May 2010 after defeating the incumbent MP Mike O'Brien, and served as Member of Parliament in the House of Commons until May 2015. He had the smallest majority of all Conservative Members of Parliament during the 2010–2015 Parliament.
He gave his maiden speech in the Commons on Thursday 3 June 2010 when he spoke about Nicholas Chamberlaine, the Atherstone Ball Game, and his intention to campaign for better rehabilitation and mental health care for military veterans and reservists.[7]
In July 2014 Byles announced that he would not stand at the next election as "it was time to pursue new challenges."[8]
In 2006 Byles and his mother Janice Meek were belatedly awarded a Guinness World Record certificate for being the first mother and son team to row any ocean in 1997/8.[2]
