Jeremy Balfour
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Jeremy Ross Balfour (born 11 March 1967) is a
Scottish Conservative The Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party ( gd, Pàrtaidh Tòraidheach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Tory an Unionist Pairty), often known simply as the Scottish Conservatives and colloquially as the Scottish Tories, is a centre-right political par ...
politician who has been a
Member of the Scottish Parliament Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP; gd, Ball Pàrlamaid na h-Alba, BPA; sco, Memmer o the Scots Pairliament, MSP) is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament. Electoral system The ad ...
(MSP) for the
Lothian Lothian (; sco, Lowden, Loudan, -en, -o(u)n; gd, Lodainn ) is a region of the Scottish Lowlands, lying between the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and the Lammermuir Hills and the Moorfoot Hills. The principal settlement is the Sco ...
region since 2016. A solicitor and Baptist Minister, he was first elected in the
2016 Scottish Parliament election The 2016 Scottish parliament election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2016 to elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament. It was the fifth election held since the devolved parliament was established in 1999. It was the first parliamentary electi ...
.


Early life and career

Balfour was born in
Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
in 1967, the third of four children of Ian and Joyce Balfour. Balfour attended the independent
Edinburgh Academy The Edinburgh Academy is an Independent school (United Kingdom), independent day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was opened in 1824. The original building, on Henderson Row in the city's New Town, Edinburgh, New Town, is now part of the Se ...
and has spoken about the impact of his disability on his childhood. In 2005 Balfour praised his parents and teachers saying that they got the correct balance "between pushing me to do things and when I could not, finding other ways of getting me involved. For example I could not play rugby but I was made touch judge". Balfour came from a family which included several lawyers and decided to pursue a legal career so then studied at the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
. He trained as a solicitor. After working as a solicitor, he studied at
London Bible College The London School of Theology (LST), formerly London Bible College, is a British interdenominational evangelical theological college based in Northwood within the London Borough of Hillingdon. History During the 1930s A. J. Vereker, secreta ...
to become a Baptist minister in 1995 and subsequently worked as an assistant minister at Morningside Baptist Church, where he met his wife. Around this time Balfour also worked as a lobbyist for the
Evangelical Alliance The Evangelical Alliance (EA) is a national evangelical alliance, member of the World Evangelical Alliance. Founded in 1846, the activities of the Evangelical Alliance aim to promote evangelical Christian beliefs in government, media and societ ...
.


Political career


Electoral Politics

Balfour previously stood in Edinburgh East and Musselburgh in the
1999 Scottish Parliament election The first election to the devolved Scottish Parliament, to fill 129 seats, took place on 6 May 1999. Following the election, the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats formed the Scottish Executive, with Labour Member of the Scottish Parliam ...
and Central Fife in the 2001 UK General Election. Balfour was elected to
City of Edinburgh Council The City of Edinburgh Council is the local government authority for the city of Edinburgh, capital of Scotland. With a population of in mid-2019, it is the second most populous local authority area in Scotland. In its current form, the counci ...
, representing the Corstorphine/Murrayfield ward from 2007 and did not stand for re-election in 2017 after being elected to Holyrood. In the
2016 Scottish Parliament election The 2016 Scottish parliament election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2016 to elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament. It was the fifth election held since the devolved parliament was established in 1999. It was the first parliamentary electi ...
, Balfour stood for the
Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyro ...
as the Conservative candidate for Midlothian North and Musselburgh, where he came third. He was instead elected from the
Lothian Lothian (; sco, Lowden, Loudan, -en, -o(u)n; gd, Lodainn ) is a region of the Scottish Lowlands, lying between the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and the Lammermuir Hills and the Moorfoot Hills. The principal settlement is the Sco ...
regional list.


Parliamentary career

Shortly after being elected, Balfour became
Scottish Conservative The Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party ( gd, Pàrtaidh Tòraidheach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Tory an Unionist Pairty), often known simply as the Scottish Conservatives and colloquially as the Scottish Tories, is a centre-right political par ...
spokesperson for childcare and early years and joined the Equal Opportunities Committee of the
Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyro ...
. Throughout his time in office, Balfour has consistently raised issues relating to people with Disabilities. In 2021, Balfour was the
Scottish Conservative The Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party ( gd, Pàrtaidh Tòraidheach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Tory an Unionist Pairty), often known simply as the Scottish Conservatives and colloquially as the Scottish Tories, is a centre-right political par ...
Deputy Party Spokesperson on Equalities and Deputy Party Spokesperson on Older People. In 2018, Balfour came under pressure to resign as the Scottish Conservative's welfare spokesperson for suggesting that terminally-ill people who don't die within three years should be re-assessed for benefits. He refused to apologise for the remarks, but was forced to withdraw the amendment to the Social Security (Scotland) Bill. Balfour was awarded 'Speech of the Year' by
Holyrood Magazine ''Holyrood'' is a fortnightly current affairs and politics magazine. Created following the advent of devolution in the UK in 1999 the magazine provides coverage of the goings on at the Scottish Parliament, as well as interviews with leading pol ...
in June 2019 for a speech on the 70th anniversary of the
NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...
. November 2020 was the 25th anniversary of the
Disability Discrimination Act In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, a number of countries have passed laws aimed at reducing discrimination against people with disabilities. These laws have begun to appear as the notion of civil rights has become more influential globally ...
coming into law. Balfour stated his opinion that more needs to be done to help disabled people into work in society. Balfour is the convenor of the Cross-Party Group in the Scottish Parliament on Disability, and co-convenor of the Cross-Party Group in the Scottish Parliament on Funerals and Bereavement. Balfour is also the member of many other cross-party groups entering on sport, disability, education and on matters relating to equality. On 12 January 2022, Balfour called for
Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...
to resign as Conservative party leader and Prime Minister over the
Westminster lockdown parties controversy Partygate was a political scandal in the United Kingdom about parties and other gatherings of government and Conservative Party staff held during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, when public health restrictions prohibited most gather ...
along with a majority of Scottish Conservative MSPs.


Political views

In his role for the Evangelical Alliance, Balfour called in 2000 for "an alternative n schoolswhere children could play and explore the imagination" in instances where Christian parents were concerned of their children having to celebrate Halloween. Balfour said of this role when talking about its stance on gay marriage in 2005, saying "My role with the Evangelical Alliance is to put across the Christian perspective. It does not mean that I feel people with different lifestyles should be discriminated against." The Evangelical Alliance is openly opposed to "all attitudes and actions which victimise or diminish" people with same-sex attraction, but believes that marriage between one man and one woman "is the only form of partnership approved by God for sexual relations" and so does not accept "sexually active
same-sex partnerships A domestic partnership is a legal relationship, usually between couples, who live together and share a common domestic life, but are not married (to each other or to anyone else). People in domestic partnerships receive benefits that guarantee r ...
as a legitimate form of Christian relationship." From 2004 to 2014, Balfour was director of the Scottish Council on Human Bioethics, a right-wing think tank. In keeping with his aforementioned views on discrimination, Balfour distanced himself from the think-tank after it emerged it had produced a report questioning the morality of victims of rape who take the morning-after pill. In the aforementioned interview in 2005, Balfour said "Marriage is for a man and a woman. That would be the Bible's perspective. But we have to recognise there are different views in society." Balfour has been consistent in his view on this and has stated his acceptance of the legality of same-sex marriage within Scotland in the legal sense. Balfour has expressed concern and raised parliamentary questions regarding
abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...
. Specifically, Balfour is concerned about abortions in cases of disabilities. He expressed fears in 2018 around whether or not women who were potentially going to give birth to disabled children were getting access to all the information and support that they need to make informed decisions. Balfour expressed these fears in relation to limb disabilities like his own and also to
Down Syndrome Down syndrome or Down's syndrome, also known as trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21. It is usually associated with physical growth delays, mild to moderate intellectual dis ...
. In the interview, Balfour said "As a society we have to say ultimately it is the mother’s choice, but the mother needs to be given as much information as possible to help with an understanding that yes, a disabled child will bring with it other issues, but it will also perhaps give you extra opportunities that you would not have expected." Reflecting on his own birth, he said: “It was a time where lots of individuals were born with lots of different disabilities for different reasons, and there was a special centre built here in Edinburgh, the
Princess Margaret Rose orthopaedic hospital The Princess Margaret Rose Orthopaedic Hospital was a hospital in Fairmilehead, Edinburgh, opened in 1932 and closed in 2000. After closure, with services transferred to the new Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, it was demolished and the site sold fo ...
. There were lots of us around who either had upper or lower limb operations and fifty years on from that I happened to be asking staff how many people born more recently with a similar disability do they treat? The response came that in regard to children, there is now a very small number – under ten – that they have had in the last number of years coming in. The reason for that is two-fold; one is a positive reason where I think mums are living healthier lifestyles and I think that has definitely affected the number of children born with a disability.The second reason is that children who come up on a scan with a disability, too often I think, mothers think ‘we need to abort this child’. Now that clearly is a mother's choice and whether or not they make that choice is not for me to comment on. But for me, I wonder whether mums are being given the whole picture; for example, yes having a child with a disability such as an upper limb missing doesn't mean they can't still go on to do lots of things. They can still go through education and lead a very fulfilling life.”


Personal life

Balfour has a physical disability which left him with no left arm and a right arm that ends at the elbow from which two elongated fingers protrude. In relation to his disability, Balfour has said that
thalidomide Thalidomide, sold under the brand names Contergan and Thalomid among others, is a medication used to treat a number of cancers (including multiple myeloma), graft-versus-host disease, and a number of skin conditions including complications of ...
is not the cause of his disability and it is uncertain what in fact is. In 2019, Balfour and a dog that his family looks after, Sadie, won the Holyrood Dog of the Year competition having taken part in an assault course. Balfour is married with two daughters.


References


External links

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profile
at City of Edinburgh Council website {{DEFAULTSORT:Balfour, Jeremy 1967 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Alumni of the London School of Theology British politicians with disabilities Conservative MSPs Councillors in Edinburgh Members of the Scottish Parliament 2016–2021 Members of the Scottish Parliament 2021–2026 People educated at Edinburgh Academy Politicians from Edinburgh 20th-century Scottish Baptist ministers Scottish Conservative Party councillors Scottish solicitors