Simon Burns | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Minister of State for Rail and Aviation | |
| In office 4 September 2012 – 4 October 2013[1] | |
| Prime Minister | David Cameron |
| Preceded by | Theresa Villiers |
| Succeeded by | The Baroness Kramer |
| Minister of State for Health Services | |
| In office 12 May 2010 – 4 September 2012 | |
| Prime Minister | David Cameron |
| Preceded by | Mike O'Brien |
| Succeeded by | Dan Poulter |
| Lord Commissioner of the Treasury | |
| In office 5 July 1995 – 23 July 1996 | |
| Prime Minister | John Major |
| Preceded by | Timothy Kirkhope |
| Succeeded by | Roger Knapman |
| Member of Parliament forChelmsford West Chelmsford (1997–2010) | |
| In office 11 June 1987 – 3 May 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Norman St John-Stevas |
| Succeeded by | Vicky Ford |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1952-09-06)6 September 1952 (age 73) Nottingham, England |
| Party | Conservative |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | Worcester College, Oxford |
| Website | Official website parliament..simon-burns |
Sir Simon Hugh McGuigan Burns (born 6 September 1952) is a British politician, who served asMember of Parliament (MP) forChelmsford since being elected at the1987 general election until the2017 general election.
Burns resigned from beingMinister of State for Transport in October 2013 to stand in theFirst Deputy Chairmen of Ways and Meansby-election following the resignation ofDeputy SpeakerNigel Evans.[2]
Returned toParliament as aConservative MP in the2015 election, he wasknighted in the2015 Birthday Honours.[3] Burns announced in January 2016 that he would not be standing at the next general election, reaffirmed when the2017 general election was declared.[4][5]
Born on 6 September 1952 inNottingham, Burns was educated at Christ the King School inAccra, thenStamford School inLincolnshire, before going up toWorcester College, Oxford, to read Modern History, graduating with aBA (Hons) (Third-class honours, resulting in his nickname "third degree burns") in 1975.[6] He has also received anHonoraryDoctorate of Philosophy (Hon. PhD) fromAnglia Ruskin University.[7]
Burns cites following theKennedy administration in the early 1960s as the point where he became interested in politics, saying "As you looked around the world you hada prime minister in Britain who was about 69,a president in France in his mid-70s anda chancellor in West Germany in his 80s. [Kennedy] had a glamorous family, and conveyed the impression that you could actually do something in politics to improve the lives of citizens. I thought that was cool, and decided that public service would be fantastic".[8]
Before beginning his degree at Oxford, Burns spent nine months in theUnited States working forSenatorGeorge McGovern's ultimately unsuccessfulpresidential campaign againstPresidentRichard Nixon in1972. Following theWatergate scandal andNixon's subsequent resignation in 1974, Burns would comment that McGovern's campaign had "won the argument, even if we lost the vote".[8]
From 1975 to 1980, Burns waspolitical adviser to Rt HonSally Oppenheim (now Baroness Oppenheim-Barnes). From 1980 to 1983 he was ajournalist and served as adirector ofWhat To Buy for Business magazine, before working from 1983 to 1987 for theInstitute of Directors Policy Executive.[9]
Burns has been active in domestic politics since 1970, when he was a founder member of the Rutland and StamfordYoung Conservatives, having been founding chairman of Stamford School CPC. From 1973 to 1975, he was a committee member, Political Action Officer and Secretary ofOxford University Conservative Association, and a member of theOxford Union. From 1977 to 1981, he was Treasurer forSouthfields Ward and an executive council member of Putney Conservative Association.
In 1983, he was the Conservative Partycandidate inAlyn and Deeside (Flintshire, Wales) where he reduced Labour's majority from 6,800 to 1,368. In 1986, he was elected Chairman of Avonmore Ward, Fulham Conservative Association.[citation needed]
Burns was sworn of thePrivy Council in February 2011.[10]
Burns was opposed toBrexit prior to the2016 referendum.[11] In 2013 Burns voted against theMarriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill.[12]
At the2005 general election, Burns gained 22,946 votes (44.9%) and a majority of 9,620 (18.8%). The number of votes cast for Burns in 2005 was an increase of 2.4% from the previous general election in 2001. His majority also increased from 6,261 to 9,620. Turnout was 61.9%, down from 62.5% in 2001. At the2010 general election, Burns gained 25,207 votes (46.2%), winning a majority over the Liberal Democrat candidate by 5,110 (9.4%).
At the2015 general election, Burns gained 27,732 votes (51.5%), winning the seat with a majority overChris Vince, theLabour candidate, of 18,250 (33.9%).[13]
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In 2007, Burns persuaded theHouse of CommonsAdministration Committee, then being a member, that parliamentarians should have "priority access" to services within theParliamentary Estate. In practice, this meant that MPs and Peers could avoid queues for shops, restaurants, bars, computers, photocopiers and even toilets by "pushing in" ahead of visitors or staff. The so-called "queue jumping rule" provoked cross-party opposition fromCommons staff and other MPs but Burns trenchantly defended the proposal.[14]
On 3 April 2008, Burns was involved in a collision with a cyclist as he drove his4x4 out of thePalace of Westminster gates intoParliament Square. The cyclist,British Army Major Stuart Lane, was thrown over the handlebars of his bicycle and broke twovertebrae in his neck "which could have hindered his Army career".In February 2009 Burns pleaded guilty to a charge of careless driving and was fined £400 with £200 costs at theCity of Westminster Magistrates' Court.[15]
On 29 June 2010, Burns calledSpeaker of the House of CommonsJohn Bercow, who stands at 5'6", a "stupid, sanctimonious dwarf" during a debate.[16]
In November 2011, Burns compared members of the campaigning group38 Degrees to zombies,[17] which led to an open letter of complaint to Burns with over 85,000 signatures.[18]
In January 2013, Burns, when theminister overseeing rail fares, was revealed as having been making use of a ministerial car instead of travelling the 35 miles from his home in Essex to London by train. He claimed this was because he was not allowed to read sensitive papers on the train, but his claim was immediately contradicted by the Cabinet Office, although it was conceded that readingRed box matters in such an environment was not advisable. The cost to the taxpayer was estimated to be £80,000 per annum.[19]
Burns was married to Emma Clifford from 1982 until their divorce in 2000; they have two children.
He is a second cousin ofDavid Bowie.[8]
In theQueen's Birthday Honours 2015, Sir Simon was appointed aKnight Bachelor "for parliamentary and political service".[20]
Despite his conservative views, Burns is a "proud" supporter of the more liberal-leaningU.S. Democratic Party. Citing thebig tent nature ofAmerican political parties, he argues "You can't just say that, because you’re a British Conservative, so you have to be a [U.S.]Republican. American politics isn’t contained in that way. Turn the clock back to the 1970s, and the Democrat Party went from the liberal Kennedy wing right through to the out-and-out racists in theSouthern states. The Republican Party had itsliberal wing – people likeJohn Lindsay,Chuck Percy andNelson Rockefeller."[8]
Media related toSimon Burns at Wikimedia Commons
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by |  Member of Parliament forChelmsford 1987–1997 | Constituency abolished; recreated in 2010 |
| New constituency | Member of Parliament forChelmsford West 1997–2010 | Constituency abolished |
| New constituency | Member of Parliament forChelmsford 2010–2017 | Succeeded by |
|  | |
