Conor Burns
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Conor Burns (born 24 September 1972) is a British politician who has served 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 Bournemouth West since 2010. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as
Minister of State for Trade Policy The Minister of State for Trade Policy is a mid-level role at the Department for International Trade in the Government of the United Kingdom. It is currently held by Greg Hands, who took the office on 9 October 2022. The minister deputizes for ...
from 2019 to 2020 and again in 2022 and
Minister of State for Northern Ireland The Minister of State for Northern Ireland is a mid-level position in the Northern Ireland Office in the British government. It is currently held by Steve Baker, who took the office on 7 September 2022. Responsibilities The minister has the ...
from 2021 to 2022. Born in
Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
, Burns moved to Hertfordshire aged eight. He worked in finance and communications before being elected for Bournemouth West at the 2010 general election. He served as Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Owen Paterson from 2010 to 2012, when he resigned due to his opposition to the House of Lords Reform Bill 2012. He served as PPS to
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Seen as ...
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 ...
, before resigning from the post in 2018 because he wanted to speak more openly on other areas of policy. Following Johnson's appointment as Prime Minister, Burns served as Minister of State for Trade Policy. He resigned from the post in 2020, after a Commons Select Committee on Standards inquiry found that he had threatened to use parliamentary privilege to intimidate a member of the public for his family's gain during a financial dispute involving his father. In the 2021 cabinet reshuffle Johnson re-appointed Burns to his government as Minister of State for Northern Ireland. He returned as Minister of State for Trade Policy after
Liz Truss Mary Elizabeth Truss (born 26 July 1975) is a British politician who briefly served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from September to October 2022. On her fiftieth day in office, she stepped down ...
became Prime Minister in September 2022. Truss dismissed Burns from the post the following month when he had the whip suspended following an allegation of misconduct at the 2022 Conservative Party Conference. He was later cleared of misconduct and the whip was restored on 3 December 2022.


Early life and career

Burns was born on 24 September 1972 in
Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
and moved with his family to Hertfordshire in 1980. He was educated at the independent St Columba's College, St Albans, and read Modern History and Politics at the
University of Southampton , mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour , type = Public research university , established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...
. While at university, he was chairman of Southampton University Conservative Association from 1992 to 1993, and chairman of Wessex Area Conservatives from 1993 to 1994. He held a number of jobs in the communications and finance sectors, including as director of the Policy Research Centre for Business Ltd, company secretary for DeHavilland Global Knowledge Distribution plc, manager for Zurich Advice NetworkProfile
, Westbourne.info; accessed 18 May 2015.
and associate director of the public affairs company PLMR.


Early political career

Burns stood unsuccessfully as the
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 ...
candidate in the Peartree ward of
Southampton City Council Southampton City Council is the local authority of the city of Southampton. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. It provides a full range of local government services including c ...
in 1994 and the Woolston ward in 1995. In the run-up to the 1994 election Burns was criticised for referring to hecklers as "spastics" and calling a woman a "hunchback". He subsequently faced a students union disciplinary hearing as the vice-president of the Southampton Conservative Association. He again stood unsuccessfully for the Conservatives in the Peartree ward in 1996, before being elected in the St Luke's ward in 1999. He was Conservative Group Leader from 2001. However, in May 2002, the whole council was up for re-election and Burns came off the council after being defeated in Bassett ward. He stood unsuccessfully as the Conservative Party candidate for
Eastleigh Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the 2011 census. The town lies on the River Itchen, ...
at the 2001 general election. He was an unsuccessful candidate at the Hedge End Town Council elections in Eastleigh in 2005. He stood again as the Conservative Party candidate for the Eastleigh constituency at the 2005 general election, but was again defeated. He was the vice-president of the Young Britons' Foundation, an Anglo-American conservative training and education organisation, before the 2010 general election. He went on to be awarded the Young Britons' Foundation Golden Dolphin award "for his stoic support for the Young Britons' Foundation since its creation in 2003".


Parliamentary career

Burns was a member of the
A-List An A-list actor is a major movie star, or one of the most bankable actors in a film industry. The A-list is part of a larger guide called ''The Hot List'', which ranks the bankability of 1,400 movie actors worldwide, and has become an industry ...
of candidates and was selected in September 2008 as the Conservative Party candidate for Bournemouth West. He was elected for the seat at the 2010 general election. Burns was appointed as Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to
Hugo Swire Hugo George William Swire, Baron Swire, (born 30 November 1959) is a British politician. He served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for East Devon from 2001 until 2019. A member of the Conservative Party, he has had several ministerial roles, ...
, the
Minister of State for Northern Ireland The Minister of State for Northern Ireland is a mid-level position in the Northern Ireland Office in the British government. It is currently held by Steve Baker, who took the office on 7 September 2022. Responsibilities The minister has the ...
, in 2010, before which he briefly sat on the
Education Select Committee The Education 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 Education and any asso ...
. On 10 July 2012 he resigned as PPS to Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Owen Paterson to vote against the Coalition's House of Lords Reform Bill, of which he had been a consistent critic. He has also served in Parliament as a member of the Administration Committee and the Culture, Media and Sport Committee. In 2011, he abstained on the military intervention in Libya. In 2014, Burns referred the charity Oxfam to the Charity Commission, stating that a tweet from the charity was "overtly political". He later criticised a letter from
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...
bishops urging Christians to engage with the 2015 election as "naive" and "factually wrong". Alongside his work as an MP, Burns works as a consultant for Trant Engineering Ltd., earning £10,000 quarterly for 10 hours' work a month. He acts as a consultant for the Quantum Group, real estate developers, working six hours a month for a quarterly fee of £6,250. In 2015, an article in '' Private Eye'' implied that Burns' opposition to Navitus Bay Windfarm and subsidies for renewables was due to his connections to the oil and gas industry through Trant Engineering. He has chaired the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Bahrain; he has written articles defending the Kingdom's human rights record. He accepted all-expenses paid trips to Bahrain while it was facing mass pro-democracy protests which were later repressed. In August 2017, he said his Twitter account was hacked after it sent a series of aggressive posts to Michel Barnier's account demanding how the UK's Brexit bill was legally calculated. Burns resigned as PPS to
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Seen as ...
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 9 July 2018 because he wanted to speak more openly on other areas of policy. In October 2018, Burns was investigated by his party over allegations of racist remarks about travellers in a letter to his local newspaper, following the arrival of a traveller encampment in the centre of Bournemouth. Burns said: "These people think the normal rules of civilised society do not apply to them” and stated those involved in the encampment had turned the town into "a no go area for local residents and visitors." Burns was appointed as
Minister of State for Trade Policy The Minister of State for Trade Policy is a mid-level role at the Department for International Trade in the Government of the United Kingdom. It is currently held by Greg Hands, who took the office on 9 October 2022. The minister deputizes for ...
following the appointment of Johnson as Prime Minister. He resigned from this position on 4 May 2020 after a Commons Select Committee on Standards investigation led by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards found he had intimidated a member of the public. He had written a letter on House of Commons notepaper in February 2019 in which he threatened to use parliamentary privilege to reveal the name of the director of a company which owed his father money as part of a long-running financial dispute and who had previously held a senior position in local government. Burns initially denied the claim as he stated he was allowed to use parliamentary privilege for such matters but the committee found Burns guilty of threatening to use parliamentary privilege to intimidate a member of the public for his family's gain. Following the findings of the committee and subsequent vote by MPs, he was suspended from Parliament on 11 May for a period of seven days. On 23 August 2021, Johnson appointed Burns as the UK's trade envoy to Canada. On 16 September, Burns was appointed Minister of State for Northern Ireland during the second cabinet reshuffle 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 25 January 2022, during the Westminster lockdown parties controversy, in an interview with ''
Channel 4 News ''Channel 4 News'' is the main news programme on British television broadcaster Channel 4. It is produced by ITN, and has been in operation since Channel 4's launch in November 1982. Current productions ''Channel 4 News'' ''Channel 4 News'' ...
'', Burns defended Johnson over an alleged surprise birthday get-together on 19 June 2020. Burns said that, rather than being a pre-planned party, Johnson was "ambushed with a cake". Burns' comments were ridiculed online in a series of
memes A meme ( ) is an idea, behavior, or style that spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural i ...
. Following the appointment of
Liz Truss Mary Elizabeth Truss (born 26 July 1975) is a British politician who briefly served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from September to October 2022. On her fiftieth day in office, she stepped down ...
as Prime Minister, Burns was appointed to his former post of
Minister of State for Trade Policy The Minister of State for Trade Policy is a mid-level role at the Department for International Trade in the Government of the United Kingdom. It is currently held by Greg Hands, who took the office on 9 October 2022. The minister deputizes for ...
. He was dismissed from the position on 7 October, when he had the whip suspended following an allegation of misconduct at the 2022 Conservative Party Conference. He was also suspended as a patron of
LGBT+ Conservatives LGBT+ Conservatives is an organisation for LGBT conservatism in the United Kingdom. It is affiliated and is the official LGBT wing of the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party. The current advocacy group can trace its roots back to the T ...
. He was unable to vote in the
October 2022 Conservative Party leadership election The October 2022 Conservative Party leadership election was triggered by Liz Truss's announcement that she would resign as Leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, amid an economic and political crisis. Rishi ...
. On 3 December 2022, he had the whip restored after being cleared of misconduct.Sacked Tory minister Conor Burns cleared of misconduct
''
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
''. 3 December 2022.
The internal investigation had concluded with no further action. Burns commented he felt he had been targeted due to showing approval for
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 ...
, a Conservative leadership rival to Liz Truss who was prime minister when Burns was dismissed. He said: "I think this all had become more to do with nice things I had said about the trade secretary than about being up late at the conference. It felt and smelt like a stitch-up and that is what it was."


Political views


Foreign affairs

Writing in 2008, Burns called for the international community to prepare a contingency plan for the governance of
Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
after the eventual departure from office of
Robert Mugabe Robert Gabriel Mugabe (; ; 21 February 1924 – 6 September 2019) was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and then as President from 1987 to 2017. He served as Leader of the ...
. He was outspoken in calling on former
Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national s ...
Jacqui Smith Jacqueline Jill Smith (born 3 November 1962) is a British broadcaster, political commentator and former Labour Party politician. She was Member of Parliament (MP) for Redditch from 1997 to 2010. She served as Home Secretary from 2007 to 2009 ...
to grant asylum to young gay Iranian student
Mehdi Kazemi Mehdi Kazemi (مهدی کاظمی, born 1989) is an Iranian man who is wanted in Iran for sodomy. Originally in the UK to study, he was granted asylum by Britain in 2008. Background Since the 1979 Iranian revolution, the legal code has been based ...
. A friend of Captain James Philippson, who died in
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
, Burns has been critical of the perceived failure of the Ministry of Defence to provide troops with appropriate equipment, stating that many troops "would be alive today had they had the most basic of equipment".


European Union

A strong Eurosceptic, Burns was critical of the electoral system used to choose and rank Conservative candidates to run on lists to be Members of the European Parliament and the impact of
UK Independence Party The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of Parliament and was the largest par ...
candidates in denying victory to Conservative candidates. In the 2017 election this was not a problem for him personally as
UKIP The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of Parliament and was the largest p ...
opted not to place a candidate in his constituency due to his strong Eurosceptic stance.


Religious issues

Before voting for the
Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 (c. 30) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which introduced same-sex marriage in England and Wales. Background Civil partnerships were introduced in the United Kingdom in 2004, allowin ...
he stated that he needed "cast iron guarantees" that religious organisations would not be forced into conducting same-sex marriages. Burns voted in favour of the bill at its second reading, but did not vote at its third and final reading.


Personal life

Burns is
openly gay Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...
. A practising Roman Catholic, he said in 2014 he feels unable to take communion since Bishop
Philip Egan Philip Anthony Egan (born 14 November 1955) is a prelate of the Catholic Church and serves as the eighth Bishop of Portsmouth. Early life Egan was born in Altrincham, a suburb of Manchester. He was educated at St Ambrose College, a boys' gra ...
, of the diocese in which Burns resides, stated that those politicians who voted for same-sex marriage, even with the caveats upon which Burns had insisted (i.e. "guarantees that... churches would not ultimately be forced under human rights legislation to conduct such ceremonies"), should refrain from taking the sacrament. Burns was a friend of
Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...
in the later years of her life and spoke in the House of Commons debate on 10 April 2013 following her death. Burns is a keen snooker fan, and was previously chair of the All-Party Parliamentary snooker group.


References


External links


Bournemouth West Conservatives
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Burns, Conor 1972 births Living people Alumni of the University of Southampton British Roman Catholics Catholic Unionists Conservative Party (UK) councillors Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Councillors in Hampshire Gay politicians Independent members of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom LGBT members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom LGBT politicians from England People educated at St Columba's College, St Albans People from Hertfordshire Politicians from Belfast UK MPs 2010–2015 UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs 2017–2019 UK MPs 2019–present Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom British Eurosceptics 21st-century LGBT people Politicians from Bournemouth Politicians affected by a party expulsion process