Simon Glen Watts is a New Zealand politician. he is an elected
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 ...
in the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
for the
National Party.
Early life and career
Watts was born in
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
, Waikato, where his family were orchardists. He has two younger brothers.
Watts has bachelor's degrees in management, accounting and finance, and health science. He has worked in both the private and public sector roles in New Zealand, Asia and the United Kingdom. During the
Global Financial Crisis
Global means of or referring to a globe and may also refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003
* ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007
* ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 1989
* ''Global'' (Todd Rundgren album), 2015
* Bruno ...
he was working for the
Royal Bank of Scotland
The Royal Bank of Scotland plc (RBS; gd, Banca Rìoghail na h-Alba) is a major retail and commercial bank in Scotland. It is one of the retail banking subsidiaries of NatWest Group, together with NatWest (in England and Wales) and Ulster Bank ...
in London in various management roles. He is a chartered accountant and was later deputy chief financial officer at the
Waitematā District Health Board
The Waitemata District Health Board (Waitemata DHB) was a district health board with the focus on providing healthcare to people living in the area that used to be covered by North Shore city, Rodney District, and Waitakere City in New Zealand. ...
.
He also has a Bachelor of Paramedicine from the
Auckland University of Technology
Auckland University of Technology (AUT) ( mi, Te Wānanga Aronui o Tāmaki Makau Rau) is a university in New Zealand, formed on 1 January 2000 when a former technical college (originally established in 1895) was granted university status. AUT ...
, and at one point worked as a front-line ambulance officer for
St John.
Political career
In 2018 Watts attempted to gain the
National
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, ce ...
nomination in the
Northcote by-election to replace former Cabinet Minister
Jonathan Coleman, but lost to
Dan Bidois
Daniel Michael Bidois (born 1983) is a New Zealand politician and economist who sat as the National Party Member for Northcote in the New Zealand House of Representatives. Bidois was elected on 9 June 2018 as the Member for Northcote. He was a ...
.
Watts was selected as the National candidate for the
North Shore electorate in March 2020, ahead of four other nominees including former Devonport-Takapuna Local Board member Joe Bergin and Kaipātiki Local Board member Danielle Grant.
Watts stated his objectives in politics are giving more government support to the health sector and building more roads and new infrastructure.
He is also concerned about improving wastewater networks to improve water quality at beaches.
During the
2020 New Zealand general election
The 2020 New Zealand general election was held on Saturday 17 October 2020 to determine the composition of the 53rd parliament. Voters elected 120 members to the House of Representatives, 72 from single-member electorates and 48 from closed ...
, he was elected to the North Shore seat by a margin of 3,734 votes, defeating
Labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
's candidate Romy Udanga.
Personal life
Watts is married with two sons. His wife works in marketing.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watts, Simon
Living people
New Zealand accountants
New Zealand National Party MPs
New Zealand MPs for Auckland electorates
Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives
21st-century New Zealand politicians
Year of birth missing (living people)