Michael Alex Burghart (born 7 September 1977) is a British politician, academic and former teacher who has served as

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 Brentwood and Ongar since

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 ...

. A member of the Conservative Party, he was formerly a special adviser to

Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Lady May (; née Brasier; 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 in David Cameron's cabi ...

. He has been serving as

Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office The Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office is a junior ministerial role at the Cabinet Office of the United Kingdom. History Responsibilities The office holder has the following responsibilities: * Supporting the Minister for the ...

since October 2022.

Early life

Burghart was born in

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

in 1977, the son of two state-school teachers. He attended

Millfield School Millfield is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) located in Street, Somerset, England. It was founded in 1935. Millfield is a registered charity and is the largest co-educational boarding s ...

in Somerset, having gained a scholarship to the school. Burghart read History at Christ Church, Oxford. He completed his PhD at King's College London in 2007 entitled ''"The Mercian polity, 716–918"''.

Career

Academic

After university, Burghart taught history at

Warwick School Warwick School is a selective, independent day and boarding school in Warwick, England in the public school tradition. Known until about 1900 as King's School, Warwick, it is believed to have been founded by Æthelflæd of Mercia in 914 AD ...

before becoming a history tutor at King's College, London. In 2005 he was the lead researcher for the

King's College, London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King G ...

project on interrogating Anglo-Saxon charters using digital technologies.

Policy Adviser

Burghart became a political and policy adviser to

Tim Loughton Timothy Paul Loughton, (born 30 May 1962) is a British politician and former banker who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for East Worthing and Shoreham since the 1997 general election. A member of the Conservative Party, he was Parl ...

MP, then Shadow Minister for Children and Young People in 2008. He moved on to the Department for Education, where he worked on the Munro Review of Child Protection In 2012 Burghart became Director of Policy at the

Centre for Social Justice The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) is an independent centre-right think tank based in the United Kingdom, co-founded in 2004 by Iain Duncan Smith, Tim Montgomerie, Mark Florman and Philippa Stroud. Political positions The organisation's stated ...

. In February 2016 Burghart was appointed Director of Strategy and Advocacy for the

Children's Commissioner for England The Office of the Children's Commissioner for England is a non-departmental public body in England responsible for promoting and protecting the rights of children as set out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, as well ...

Anne Longfield Anne Elizabeth Longfield (born 1960) is a campaigner for children who formerly served as the Children's Commissioner for England. She was formerly chief executive of the charity 4Children. She was appointed the Children's Commissioner for Englan ...

. Later that year he became part of Prime Minister

's policy team.

Parliamentary

Burghart stood against

Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the political left of the Labour Party, Corbyn describes himself as a socialist ...

Islington North Islington North () is a constituency in Greater London represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 1983 by Jeremy Corbyn. He served as Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of Her Majesty's Opposition from 2015 to 2020. Cor ...

in 2015. He told the ''

Islington Gazette The ''Islington Gazette'' is a weekly paid-for newspaper covering the borough of Islington in north London, England. It was established in 1856 and was owned by Independent News & Media until the early 21st century when it was bought by Archant. ...

'' that, if elected, the first thing he would do would be to " nce a jig (and try to resuscitate Jeremy Corbyn)." Although he was not elected, Burghart increased the Conservative share of the vote from 14.2% to 17.2%. Corbyn became leader of the Labour Party a few months later. He was selected for the Brentwood and Ongar seat under by-election rules on 28 April 2017 following the decision by Sir

Eric Pickles Eric Jack Pickles, Baron Pickles, (born 20 April 1952) is a British Conservative Party politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Brentwood and Ongar from 1992 to 2017. He served in David Cameron's Cabinet as Secretary of State for ...

to stand down at the 2017 general election. Burghart was re-elected on 12 December 2019 with an increased majority of 29,065. Burghart has been a member of the

Joint Committee on Human Rights The Joint Committee on Human Rights is a joint committee of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the committee is to consider human rights issues in the United Kingdom. Membership As at November 2022, the members of the committee ...

and the

Work and Pensions Select Committee The Work and Pensions Select 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 of the Department for Work and Pensi ...

. He chairs the APPG on

Adverse Childhood Experiences Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) encompass various forms of physical and emotional abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction experienced in childhood. The harms of ACEs can be long-lasting, affecting people even in their adulthood. ACEs have be ...

and was made PPS to the

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

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 ...

in July 2019. He was previously Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Attorney General, Geoffrey Cox, and to the Northern Ireland Secretary of State,

Karen Bradley Karen Anne Bradley (''née'' Howarth, born 12 March 1970) is a British Conservative Party politician who served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 2018 to 2019, and has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Staffordshire Moorland ...

. In July 2019, at the formation of the

first Johnson ministry The first Johnson ministry began on 24 July 2019 when Queen Elizabeth II invited Boris Johnson to form a new administration, following the resignation of the predecessor Prime Minister Theresa May. May had resigned as Leader of the Cons ...

, Burghart was appointed

Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister The Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister is a Parliamentary Private Secretary serving the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The holder of the office is widely viewed as the Prime Minister's "eyes and ears" on the backbenche ...

. On 17 September 2021, Burghart was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Apprenticeships and Skills at the

Department for Education The Department for Education (DfE) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for child protection, child services, education (compulsory, further and higher education), apprenticeships and wider skills in England. A Department ...

during the second

cabinet reshuffle A cabinet reshuffle or shuffle occurs when a head of government rotates or changes the composition of ministers in their cabinet, or when the Head of State changes the head of government and a number of ministers. They are more common in parli ...

of the

second Johnson ministry The second Johnson ministry began on 16 December 2019, three days after Boris Johnson's audience with Queen Elizabeth II where she invited him to form a new administration following the 2019 general election, in which the Conservative Party ...

. On 6 July 2022, Burghart resigned from government, citing

's handling of 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 ...

in a joint statement with fellow Ministers

Kemi Badenoch Olukemi Olufunto Badenoch ( ; née Adegoke, 2 January 1980) is a British politician serving as Secretary of State for International Trade, President of the Board of Trade and Minister for Women and Equalities since 2022. She previously served i ...

Neil O'Brien Neil John O'Brien (born 6 November 1978) is a British politician who was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Primary Care and Public Health in September 2022. He was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Harborough in 2017. ...

Lee Rowley Lee Benjamin Rowley (born 11 September 1980) is a British politician and former management consultant serving as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Local Government and Building Safety since 2022. A member of the Conservative Party, he ...

and Julia Lopez. On 21st September 2022, Burghart was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Pensions and Growth at the

Department for Work and Pensions , type = Department , seal = , logo = Department for Work and Pensions logo.svg , logo_width = 166px , formed = , preceding1 = , jurisdiction = Government of the United Kingdom , headquarters = Caxton House7th Floor6–12 Tothill Stree ...

Writing

Burghart is the author of 'A Better Start in Life: Long-term approaches for the most vulnerable children', published by

Policy Exchange Policy Exchange is a British conservative think tank based in London. In 2007 it was described in ''The Daily Telegraph'' as "the largest, but also the most influential think tank on the right". ''The Washington Post'' said Policy Exchange's re ...

in 2013. Burghart has written extensively about early medieval England, writing for ''

The Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...

'' for over 12 years, ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...

'' and ''

BBC History ''BBC History Magazine'' is a British publication devoted to both British and world history and aimed at all levels of knowledge and interest. The publication releases thirteen editions a year, one per month and a Christmas special edition, an ...

''.

Personal life

Alex moved to the constituency in May 2017. He and his family now live near Ongar. He is married to

Hermione Eyre Hermione Eyre (born 1980) is a British journalist, novelist, and former child actor. Early life Hermione Eyre was born in 1980. Her parents were Sir Reginald Eyre, a British Conservative party politician, and Anne Clements. Her godmother was th ...

, the daughter of Sir Reginald Eyre, former Conservative MP for Birmingham Hall Green, and has two children. Burghart has sat on the Board of the Yarlington Housing Group and was Vice Chair of Governors at Queensmill School for children with autism.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Burghart, Alex 1977 births Living people People educated at Millfield Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Alumni of King's College London UK MPs 2017–2019 UK MPs 2019–present Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Parliamentary Private Secretaries to the Prime Minister