Simon Richard James Fell (born 9 February 1981) is an English

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

politician, who has been 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 of ...

(MP) for

Barrow and Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. In 2023 the ...

since the 2019 general election.

Early life and career

Fell was born in Preston in 1981, the son of Peter and Meriel Fell. He graduated with honours from the

University of Warwick The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands (county), West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded i ...

with a bachelor's degree in

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

. After his studies, he worked in the telecommunications sector, running a communications business, Irton-Fell Consultants, from 2006 to 2008. He was then a regulatory affairs manager for Hutchison H3g from 2008 to 2011. He then began a period working for

Cifas Cifas is a fraud prevention service in the United Kingdom. It is a not-for-profit membership association representing organisations from across the public, private and voluntary sectors. Cifas states its mission is ‘to detect, deter and preven ...

, a not-for-profit anti-fraud organisation. From 2011 to 2019, he was assistant director of strategy and policy, and in 2019, became director of external relations. Fell was chair of Barrow and District Credit Union from 2017 to 2019.

Political career

Fell contested the

marginal seat A marginal seat or swing seat is a constituency held with a small majority in a legislative election, generally one conducted under a single-winner voting system. In Canada, they may be known as target ridings. The opposite is a safe seat. The ...

at the

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

and 2017 general elections, before winning the seat at his third attempt in 2019. At a 2015 hustings in

Ulverston Ulverston is a market town and a civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 11,524, increasing at the 2011 census to 11,678. Historically in Lancashire, it lies a few mi ...

, he described himself as 'mildly-

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 reform ...

'. However, he has since made clear that he supports

Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or ...

, stating before his election in 2019 that "Brexit was the right decision for

– it now needs a

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 i ...

majority to see it delivered". He is the first Conservative MP to be elected for the seat since 1987. In 2020, Fell supported the

Transport Secretary The Secretary of State for Transport, also referred to as the transport secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the policies of the Department for Transport. The incumbent i ...

's decision to revoke the franchise of

Arriva Rail North Arriva Rail North, branded as Northern by Arriva (legal name Arriva Rail North Limited) was a train operating company in Northern England which began operating the Northern franchise on 1 April 2016 and inherited units from the previous operato ...

"after years of poor performance." In 2020, Fell organised a successful petition to prevent the closure of the Askam GP Practice. Fell has served on the

Home Affairs Select Committee The Home Affairs Select Committee is a Departmental Committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Remit The Home Affairs Committee is one of the House of Commons Select committees related to government departments: its ...

since March 2020. Fell Withdrew support of Former Prime Minister

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 ...

on July 6, 2022 due to the recent controversies including Partygate Scandal and the

Chris Pincher scandal The Chris Pincher scandal is a political controversy in the United Kingdom related to allegations of sexual misconduct by the former Conservative Party Deputy Chief Whip, Chris Pincher. In early July 2022, allegations of Pincher's misconduct ...

Personal life

In 2009, Fell married Pippa; the couple have a son and daughter. Outside politics, he lists his recreations as

hill walking Walking is one of the most popular outdoor recreational activities in the United Kingdom, and within England and Wales there is a comprehensive network of rights of way that permits access to the countryside. Furthermore, access to much uncultiv ...

and writing. In December 2021, Fell tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

References

External links

* Living people 1981 births UK MPs 2019–present Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Alumni of the University of Warwick Cumbria MPs British Eurosceptics {{England-Conservative-UK-MP-stub