Simon Robert Maurice Baynes (born 21 April 1960) is a British
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
politician who served as
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice and Tackling Illegal Migration from July to September 2022. He was elected as the
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
(MP) for
Clwyd South at the
2019 general election.
Baynes worked in finance for
J.P. Morgan Cazenove
J.P. Morgan & Co. is a Commercial banking, commercial and investment banking institution founded by J. P. Morgan in 1871. Through a series of mergers and acquisitions, the company is now a subsidiary of JPMorgan Chase, one of the largest bankin ...
from 1982 to 2006, before running a small bookshop.
Early life and education
Baynes was born in
Lesbury
Lesbury is a small rural village in Northumberland in the north of England. It is built on the main coastal road southeast of Alnwick, on the north bank of the River Aln. Alnmouth railway station is about half a mile away.
History
The village ...
,
Northumberland
Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey.
It is bordered by land ...
, the son of Sir John Christopher Malcolm Baynes, 7th Baronet and Shirley Maxwell Baynes (''née'' Dodds). He grew up in
Montgomeryshire
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, where his father ran the Lake Vyrnwy Hotel. He and his father have since co-authored a book on the hotel.
He was educated at
Belhaven Hill Preparatory School and
Shrewsbury School
Shrewsbury School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13 –18) in Shrewsbury.
Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by Royal Charter, it was originally a boarding school for boys; girls have been admitted into ...
before going up to
Magdalene College, Cambridge, where he completed 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
This is a list of presidents of Cambridge Union since its foundation in 1815.
1815–1916
It was resolved at a Private Business Meeting held on Monday, May 8, 1916, to hold no elections for terminal officers in the Easter Term, nor subsequentl ...
. In 1982, he was Chairman of the
Cambridge University Conservative Association
The Cambridge University Conservative Association, or CUCA, is a long-established student political society founded 1921, as a Conservative Association for students at Cambridge University, although it has earlier roots in the late nineteenth ce ...
.
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
Shrewsbury.
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
dementia
Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...
. 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, community and electoral ward in a sparsely populated area in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales. Llanfyllin's community population in 2011 was 1,532, of whom 34.1% could speak Welsh. Llanfyllin means ''church or ...
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
Montgomeryshire
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, Government= Montgomeryshire County Council (1889–1974)Montgomeryshire District Council (1974–1996)
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in 2005, finishing second behind incumbent
Liberal Democrat
Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology.
Active parties
Former parties
See also
*Liberal democracy
*Lib ...
MP
Lembit Öpik
Lembit Öpik (, ; born 2 March 1965) is a former British politician. A former member of the Liberal Democrats, he served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of Montgomeryshire in Wales from 1997 until he lost his seat at the ...
. He unsuccessfully sought the Conservative nomination for the seat of
South Staffordshire
South Staffordshire is a local government district in Staffordshire, England. The district lies to the north and west of the West Midlands county, bordering Shropshire to the west and Worcestershire to the south. It contains notable settlement ...
in 2010, losing out to future cabinet minister
Gavin Williamson
Sir Gavin Alexander Williamson (born 25 June 1976) is a British politician who most recently served as Minister of State without Portfolio from 25 October to 8 November 2022. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for South Staffordshire s ...
. He then contested
Dwyfor Meirionnydd at the
2010 general election, and
the same seat in the
2011 National Assembly for Wales Election
Eleven or 11 may refer to:
*11 (number), the natural number following 10 and preceding 12
* one of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011, or any year ending in 11
Literature
* ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn
*' ...
, both times without success.
Baynes was a Conservative member of
Powys County Council
Powys County Council ( cy, Cyngor Sir Powys) is the local authority for Powys, one of the administrative areas of Wales. The County Hall is in Llandrindod Wells.
History
The county of Powys was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Govern ...
from
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
to
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...
, 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
Montgomeryshire
, HQ= Montgomery
, Government= Montgomeryshire County Council (1889–1974)Montgomeryshire District Council (1974–1996)
, Origin=
, Status=
, Start=
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town of
Llanfyllin
Llanfyllin ( – ) is a market town, community and electoral ward in a sparsely populated area in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales. Llanfyllin's community population in 2011 was 1,532, of whom 34.1% could speak Welsh. Llanfyllin means ''church or ...
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
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...
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
The Welsh Affairs Select Committee (or simply the 'Welsh Affairs Committee') is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the committee is to examine the expenditure, administration and policy ...
.
He endorsed
Priti Patel in the
July 2022 Conservative Party leadership election, but she did not end up standing. He then supported
Rishi Sunak.
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
2019 UK general election
2017 UK general election
2016 Welsh Assembly election
2011 Welsh Assembly election
2010 UK general election
2005 UK general election
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–present
Welsh Conservative Party politicians
People from Clwyd
Conservative Party (UK) MPs for Welsh constituencies