Sir Robert Andrew Raymond Syms (born 15 August 1956) is a Conservative Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for

Poole Poole () is a coastal town and seaport on the south coast of England in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area in Dorset, England. The town is east of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east ...

from

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

. He received a

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in 2017.

Early life and career

Robert Syms was born on 15 August 1956 in

Chippenham Chippenham is a market town in north-west Wiltshire, England. It lies north-east of Bath, Somerset, Bath, west of London and is near the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town was established on a crossing of the River Avon, ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

, and went to Collegiate School, a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

school in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

. He was leader of North Wiltshire District Council from 1984 to 1987 and a

Wiltshire County Council Wiltshire Council, known between 1889 and 2009 as Wiltshire County Council, is the local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Wiltshire in South West England, and has its headquarters at County Hall in Trowbridge. Since 2009 it has bee ...

lor from 1985 to 1997. Syms has also been managing director of his family's plant hire firm on Bristol Road in Chippenham, and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Building. He retains a directorship and shareholding in Marden Holdings Ltd, headquartered in Bristol Road, Chippenham.

Parliamentary career

At the 1992 general election, Syms stood as the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

candidate in Walsall North, coming second with 39.4% of the vote behind the incumbent Labour MP

David Winnick David Julian Winnick (born 26 June 1933) is a British Labour Party politician who served 42 years as a Member of Parliament (MP), for Walsall North between 1979 and 2017, he was also the MP for Croydon South from 1966 to 1970. Early life Bo ...

. Syms was elected to Parliament as MP for

at the 1997 general election with 42.1% of the vote and a majority of 5,298. At the 2001 general election, Syms was re-elected as MP for Poole with an increased vote share of 45.1% and an increased majority of 7,166. He was again re-elected at the 2005 general election, with a decreased vote share of 43.4% and a decreased majority of 5,988. In May 2009, ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'' reported that Syms had claimed more than £2,000 of furniture for his designated second home in London which was delivered to his parents' address in Wiltshire. Syms denied any wrongdoing, telling the '' Bournemouth Echo'': "It was purely a matter of convenience from my point of view". Syms said the furniture was only delivered and assembled at his parents' home, then later transported to his London address. At the 2010 general election, Syms was again re-elected, with an increased vote share of 47.5% and an increased majority of 7,541. Syms was an assistant whip for the Coalition government between 2012 and 2013. He has served on a variety of select committees, acting as chair of the Regulatory Reform Committee from July 2010 to September 2012 and the High Speed Rail select committee from April 2014 to February 2016. At the 2015 general election, Syms was again re-elected with an increased vote share of 50.1% and an increased majority of 15,789. Syms organised a letter signed by more than 80 fellow

Eurosceptic Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies and seek refor ...

Conservative MPs urging

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...

to continue as Prime Minister regardless of the result of the EU referendum in 2016. He backed

Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Baroness May of Maidenhead (; ; born 1 October 1956), is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served as Home Secretar ...

's leadership bid following Cameron's resignation, and was appointed as a Government Whip and Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury upon May's succession. At the snap 2017 general election, Syms was again re-elected, with an increased vote share of 57.9% and a decreased majority of 14,209. In June 2017, Syms was criticised for using aggressive and unprofessional language on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

. He replied to a tweet calling the Conservative-DUP deal after the 2017 general election a "coalition" by calling the twitter user a "dick". At the 2019 general election, Syms was again re-elected, with an increased vote share of 58.7% and an increased majority of 19,116. In 2020, Syms became a "lockdown rebel" and a steering committee member of the lockdown-sceptic

COVID Recovery Group The COVID Recovery Group (CRG) was an informal group of Conservative Party (UK), Conservative MPs in the United Kingdom who opposed the UK government's decision to introduce a second period of lockdown measures for England during the COVID-19 p ...

alongside a group of Conservative MPs who opposed the UK government's December 2020 lockdown. They have been seen as an "echo" of the Brexiteer

European Research Group The European Research Group (ERG) is a research support group and caucus of Eurosceptic Conservative Members of Parliament of the United Kingdom. In a ''Financial Times'' article in 2020, the journalist Sebastian Payne described the ERG as " ...

(ERG) of MPs, and a response by backbench Conservatives to

Nigel Farage Nigel Paul Farage ( ; born 3 April 1964) is a British politician and broadcaster who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Clacton (UK Parliament constituency), Clacton and Leader of Reform UK since 20 ...

's anti-lockdown

Reform UK Reform UK is a right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Nigel Farage has been Leader of Reform UK and Richard Tice deputy leader since 2024. It has five members of Parliament (MPs) in the House of Commons and one membe ...

party. At the 2024 general election, Syms lost his seat to Labour's Neil Duncan-Jordan by a margin of 18 votes. Syms's vote share was reduced to 31.8%. This was after multiple recounts.

Personal life

He is divorced and has two children. Syms was appointed

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

in October 2017.

References

External links

Poole Conservatives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Syms, Robert 1956 births Living people People from Chippenham People educated at Colston's School Leaders of local authorities of England Members of Wiltshire County Council Conservative Party (UK) councillors Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Poole Politics of Dorset UK MPs 1997–2001 UK MPs 2001–2005 UK MPs 2005–2010 UK MPs 2010–2015 UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs 2017–2019 UK MPs 2019–2024 Knights Bachelor