Simon Gerard Kirby (born 22 December 1964), also known as Simon Radford-Kirby, is a British politician. A member of the
Conservative Party, he was elected as the
Member of Parliament (MP) for
Brighton Kemptown in
2010
The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
. In 2016, he was appointed
Economic Secretary to the Treasury
The Economic Secretary to the Treasury is a junior ministerial post in HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury, ranked below the First Lord of the Treasury, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the Paymaster General a ...
and
City Minister
City Minister is a ministerial post in His Majesty's Treasury. The minister is responsible for the British financial services sector, which is commonly known as " the City". The post is normally held in combination with another Treasury positio ...
. He lost his seat at the
2017 general election.
Early life and career
Kirby was born in
Hastings
Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England,
east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...
, Sussex, in 1964. He attended Chantry Infants School, Sandown Primary School and
Hastings Grammar School
Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England,
east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west at Senlac Hill in 1066. ...
. He has a BSc(Hons) degree in
mathematical model
A mathematical model is an abstract and concrete, abstract description of a concrete system using mathematics, mathematical concepts and language of mathematics, language. The process of developing a mathematical model is termed ''mathematical m ...
ling from the
Open University
The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...
and studied
operational research
Operations research () (U.S. Air Force Specialty Code: Operations Analysis), often shortened to the initialism OR, is a branch of applied mathematics that deals with the development and application of analytical methods to improve management and ...
at the
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...
. During the 1980s he was involved with the anarchist scene in Hastings and was present at an alternative party organised by anarchists on West Hill for the wedding of Mr Andrew Windsor (
Prince Andrew
Prince Andrew, Duke of York (Andrew Albert Christian Edward; born 19 February 1960) is a member of the British royal family. He is the third child and second son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and a younger broth ...
).
Kirby established a number of successful businesses in a variety of industries in the
Brighton
Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...
area, including playing a part in establishing ''Surf 107'', a Brighton independent radio station, later renamed
Juice 107.2. He worked with
Martin Webb to found the Webb Kirby (later C-Side) pub, restaurant and nightclub chain in the city employing over 200 people. He has been a
school governor
In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, school governors are the overseers of a school. In state schools, they have three main functions:
*Giving the school a clear vision, ethos and strategic direction
*Holding the headteacher to account for th ...
at a number of schools.
Elected as a councillor in 1992 on
Brighton Borough Council
Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age, Roman and Anglo-Saxon periods. The ancient settlement of ...
, Kirby later also served on
Mid Sussex District Council and
East Sussex County Council
East Sussex County Council is the upper tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of East Sussex in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county; the latter additionally includes Brighton and Hove.
East ...
, where he was the cabinet member with responsibility for economic development. He stood down as a councillor in 2009 to concentrate on winning the parliamentary seat of
Brighton Kemptown.
Parliamentary career
He was elected to the House of Commons as MP for
Brighton Kemptown in the
May 2010 general election, with a majority of 1,328, gaining the seat from
Labour. He was later listed as one of 20 Conservative MPs said to have "true grit" by the
ConservativeHome
ConservativeHome is a politically conservative news website and events company. It was first established by Tim Montgomerie in 2005 with the aim of arguing for a broad conservative spectrum, which is serious about both social justice and a fair ...
website.
Following his election to parliament, Kirby became vice-chair of the
All Party Parliamentary Group on
HIV/AIDS
The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...
and served on the
Business, Innovation and Skills and
Administration
Administration may refer to:
Management of organizations
* Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal: the process of dealing with or controlling things or people.
** Administrative assistant, traditionally known as a se ...
Select Committees. Since becoming a member of parliament he has also become a patron of the Sussex Beacon and the Sussex & Kent ME/CFS Society.
In 2012, Kirby was appointed as the
Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the
Minister for Sport and Tourism
The minister for sport and civil society was a junior minister in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport of the United Kingdom government, with responsibility for sport and Civil Society in England. In 2020, the role merged with that of the ...
Hugh Robertson. In October 2013, he was promoted to PPS to the Minister of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, also Robertson. In August 2014 Kirby was promoted to the role of PPS to the
Secretary of State for Health
The secretary of state for health and social care, also referred to as the health secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the work of the Department of Health and Social Care. The in ...
,
Jeremy Hunt
Sir Jeremy Richard Streynsham Hunt (born 1 November 1966) is a British politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2022 to 2024 and Foreign Secretary from 2018 to 2019, having previously served as Secretary of State for Health a ...
.
Following Kirby's re-election at the
May 2015 general election, with a reduced majority of 690 votes, but increasing his share of the vote by 2.7%, he was appointed as an
Assistant Government Whip on 13 May 2015. Kirby was opposed to
Brexit
Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU).
Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...
prior to the
2016 European membership referendum.
In July 2016, Kirby was appointed
Economic Secretary to the Treasury
The Economic Secretary to the Treasury is a junior ministerial post in HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury, ranked below the First Lord of the Treasury, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the Paymaster General a ...
and
City Minister
City Minister is a ministerial post in His Majesty's Treasury. The minister is responsible for the British financial services sector, which is commonly known as " the City". The post is normally held in combination with another Treasury positio ...
. He was responsible for financial services policy and the overall strategic relationship with UK financial services. This included working with banks, insurance companies and the financial services sector. He also has an interest in pensions and savings. In January 2017, he was stripped of his responsibilities for overseeing Brexit's impact on financial services, amid reports that senior financial executives from the
City of London Corporation
The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the local authority of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United Kingdom's f ...
had expressed concern at his lack of business experience and inability to provide detailed answers and assurances about how the Treasury was handling Brexit.
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 ...
, however, told ''The Argus'', that she had "absolute confidence" in Kirby as a strong advocate for Brexit. The prime minister said Kirby was still playing a Treasury role in the negotiations.
Personal life
Kirby is married to Elizabeth and has six children. He supports
Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club and is an honorary vice-president of
Whitehawk Football Club in his former constituency.
References
External links
Simon Kirby MP''official constituency website''
Simon Kirby MPConservative Party profile
Kemptown Conservatives*
Survey replies of political viewsat ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
''
News articles
The Argus election candidate informationNotice of election to East Sussex County Council
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirby, Simon
1964 births
Living people
Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
UK MPs 2010–2015
Alumni of the London School of Economics
Alumni of the Open University
Members of East Sussex County Council
School governors
UK MPs 2015–2017
People from Hastings
Conservative Party (UK) councillors
People educated at Hastings Grammar School
Economic Secretaries to the Treasury
Politicians from Brighton and Hove