Simon Robert Maurice Baynes (born 21 April 1960) is a British

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 ...

former politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Clwyd South from

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. He served as

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice and Tackling Illegal Migration The minister of state for Border Security and Asylum is a senior role in the Home Office, British Home Office with responsibility for tackling irregular migration. It was previously known as the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice ...

from July to September 2022. Baynes worked in finance for J.P. Morgan Cazenove from 1982 to 2006, before running a small bookshop in

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United ...

Early life and education

Baynes was born in Lesbury,

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

, the son of Sir John Christopher Malcolm Baynes, 7th Baronet and Shirley Maxwell Baynes (''née'' Dodds). He grew up in

Montgomeryshire Montgomeryshire ( ) was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was named after its county town, Montgomery, Powys, Montgomery, which in turn was named after ...

, where his father ran the Lake Vyrnwy Hotel. He and his father have since co-authored a book on the hotel. He was privately educated at both Belhaven Hill Preparatory School and

Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by royal charter, to replace the town's Saxon collegiate foundations which were disestablished in the sixteenth century, Shrewsb ...

, before studying at

Magdalene College, Cambridge Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary ...

, where he graduated with a BA in History. Whilst at the university, he was a choral exhibitioner and won the Dunster History Essay Prize. He was also President of the Cambridge Union. In 1982, he was Chairman of the Cambridge University Conservative Association.

Early career

Baynes was a partner at Cazenove & Co., and latterly a managing director of JPMorgan Cazenove, from 1982 to 2006. From 2007 to 2011, he was the owner and bookseller of Simon Baynes - Books and Music in

. He has been a trustee (and was the founder) of Concertina - Music for the Elderly, which he formed in 1998 with his wife. It provides live music in care homes for the elderly. His mother-in-law suffered from

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. He founded the Bodfach Charitable Trust in 2006, which he is also a trustee of. In addition, he has been a trustee of the Y Dolydd

Llanfyllin Llanfyllin ( – ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community in Powys, Wales. The community (which measures 41.8 square kilometres) population in 2021 was 1,586 and the town's name means ''church or parish'' (Llan (placename), llan) ''o ...

Workhouse (2005–12), Mid Wales Opera (2012–19), Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod (2017–19) and Friends of St Myllin's Church (2018–19), the latter of which he is a patron of. From 2005 to 2012, Baynes was Chairman of North Powys Youth Music. He has also been Chairman of the Welsh Historic Gardens Trust (2016–19) and the Holroyd Community Theatre (2018–19). He was the founder and Chairman of the Montgomeryshire Literary Festival (2018–19). From 2017 to 2019, he was a governor at Llanfyllin High School.

Political career

He stood as the Welsh Conservative candidate in

in 2005, finishing second behind incumbent Liberal Democrat MP Lembit Öpik. He unsuccessfully sought the Conservative nomination for the seat of South Staffordshire in 2010, losing out to future cabinet minister Gavin Williamson. He then contested Dwyfor Meirionnydd at the 2010 general election, and the same seat in the

2011 National Assembly for Wales Election The 2011 National Assembly for Wales election was an election for the Senedd, National Assembly. The poll was held on 5 May 2011 and decided the incumbency for all the Assembly's seats. It was the fourth election for seats in the National Assemb ...

, both times without success. Baynes was a Conservative member of Powys County Council from

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, and joint leader of the Conservative group. The following year, he joined Llanfyllin Town Council, where he remained a member until 2019. He served as the mayor of the eponymous

town of

from 2018 to 2020. He has contested elections in Clwyd South on three occasions. He first contested Clwyd South in the 2016 Welsh Assembly election. In

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

he contested the marginal Westminster seat. On all three occasions he finished second. He was elected to Parliament for Clwyd South at the 2019 general election, to serve in the 58th Parliament. He defeated the incumbent Labour MP Susan Elan Jones. On 2 March 2020, Baynes became a member of the Welsh Affairs Select Committee. He endorsed Priti Patel in the July 2022 Conservative Party leadership election, but she did not end up standing. He then supported

Rishi Sunak Rishi Sunak (born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2022 to 2024. Following his defeat to Keir Starmer's La ...

. Clwyd South was abolished at the

2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies The 2023 review of Westminster constituencies was the most recent cycle of the process to redraw the Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, constituency map for the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The new constituency b ...

, therefore Baynes was selected to fight the neighbouring Liberal Democrat held English seat of

North Shropshire North Shropshire was a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Shropshire, England from 1974 to 2009. The district council was based at Edinburgh House in Wem. Other settlements included the towns of Ellesmere, Shropshire, Elles ...

for the

Conservatives 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 civilizati ...

in the 2024 general election. He lost to the incumbent Liberal Democrat MP Helen Morgan by over 30% (15,000 votes).

Personal life

Baynes married his wife Margaret (known as Maggie), an architect, in 1992. They have two daughters. He lists his recreations as "music (including playing the organ for church services), theatre, concerts, gardening, heritage".

Publications

* (with Sir John Baynes, G. V. Westropp) ''Lake Vyrnwy: The Story of a Sporting Hotel''. United Kingdom, Quiller Publishing, Limited, 2019. . * ''The Forgotten Country House: The Rise and Fall of Roundway Park''. United Kingdom, Quiller Press, Limited, 2019. .

Electoral history

2024 UK general election

2019 UK general election

2017 UK general election

2016 Welsh Assembly election

2011 Welsh Assembly election

2010 UK general election

2005 UK general election

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baynes, Simon 1960 births Living people People educated at Belhaven Hill School People educated at Shrewsbury School Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge UK MPs 2019–2024 People from Clwyd Conservative Party (UK) MPs for Welsh constituencies Younger sons of baronets