David Burrowes
Burrowes in 2013
Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
In office
11 September 2012 – 14 July 2014
Prime MinisterDavid Cameron
Sec. of StateOwen Paterson
Preceded byMark Simmonds
Succeeded byRobin Walker
Member of Parliament
for Enfield Southgate
In office
5 May 2005 – 3 May 2017
Preceded byStephen Twigg
Succeeded byBambos Charalambous
Personal details
Born
David John Barrington Burrowes

(1969-06-12) 12 June 1969
Cockfosters, London, England
Political partyConservative
SpouseJanet Coekin
Children6
Alma materUniversity of Exeter
ProfessionSolicitor
WebsiteOfficial website
parliament..david-burrowes

David John Barrington Burrowes (born 12 June 1969) is a British politician. He was the Conservative Member of Parliament for Enfield Southgate from 2005 to 2017, is the co-founder of the Conservative Christian Fellowship. He has been the Chairman of the Equity Release Council since 2017 [1]

Early life

Burrowes was born in Cockfosters and was educated at Highgate School and the University of Exeter.[2] Whilst at Exeter, in 1990, Burrowes and Tim Montgomerie founded the Conservative Christian Fellowship. Before entering parliament he worked for Enfield solicitors, Shepherd Harris and Co, specialising in criminal law and was an advocate in police stations and courts in Enfield, Haringey and Hertfordshire.[2] He was an Enfield Borough Council councillor for 12 years.[2]

Parliamentary career

Burrowes contested the safe Labour seat of Edmonton at the 2001 general election achieving a 1.0 swing away from sitting MP Andy Love who won by a majority of 9,772. He was elected MP for Enfield Southgate in May 2005, defeating Minister of State for Education and Skills Stephen Twigg with a majority of 1,747 votes and a swing of 8.7%. He made his maiden speech on 20 June 2005.[3]

Labour regained the seat in the 2017 general election on a substantial 9.7% swing.

Select Committees and Interest groups 2005–2010

Burrowes has been a member of several Select Committees including: Public Administration Select Committee 2005–10, Armed Forces Bill 2005–06, Joint Committee on the Draft Legal Services Bill 2006, Joint Committee on the Draft Human Tissue and Embryos Bill 2007.[4] Based on the questions he asks, his main political topics of interest are Justice, Health, Home Department, Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, International Development,[5] though he includes family policy, drugs and alcohol policy and voluntary sector, umbilical cord blood banking, treatment and research in his Parliament biography.[4]

Burrowes was a member of a number of All Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs) including: Democracy in Burma, British-Cyprus All-Party Parliamentary Group (Chair), Asthma, Child and Youth Crime Group (Vice-Chair), Childcare, Christians in Parliament, Complex Needs and Dual Diagnosis (Chair), Justice for Equitable Life Policy Holders, Fatherhood, Holy See, Human Trafficking, Interest Rate Swap Mis-selling, Legal Aid, Poverty, Prison Health, Pro-Life Group, Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia, Stem Cell Transplantation (Vice-Chair), Sustainable Relationships (Secretary), Voice UK and Youth Affairs.[4] He is Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Protection of Cultural Heritage.[6]

In 2005-6 he contributed to debates on Violent Crime, Fatherhood, Criminal Legal Aid, Council Tax Revaluation, and Equalities. In 2007-8 he contributed to debates on Chase Farm Hospital, Drugs and Alcohol Addiction, Cyprus, Criminal Justice, Prisons, Hospital Acquired Infections (C.diff), Embryo Research, Burma, Council Tax, Hit and Run fatalities and Fatherhood. In July 2007 he was appointed to the frontbench as Shadow Justice Minister.[5]

Shadow Justice Minister

During the Conservative Party's social justice policy review headed by Iain Duncan Smith, Burrowes chaired the committee looking into addiction.[7] Their 111-page report which dealt with "The nature and extend of social breakdown and poverty today" and "The causes of poverty" was designed to provide policy for an incoming government to tackle "Britain's most acute social problems".[7]

Post 2010 Election

He was re-elected in 2010 with a majority of 7626, a swing of 7.2%. He was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to Francis Maude MP, Minister to the Cabinet Office and Oliver Letwin, Minister responsible for Government Policy.[4] In September 2010, Burrowes was reappointed as PPS to Letwin, providing support to Letwin's policy role across government and in particular in relation to drugs and alcohol treatment reform and future policy development.

In September 2012, Burrowes was made Parliamentary Private Secretary to Owen Paterson,[4] Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. He retained his advisory role with Oliver Letwin on the issue of drug and alcohol policy.

In 2013, he called for the Attorney General to review the sentence passed on former Cabinet Minister Chris Huhne which he regarded as too lenient.[8]

He was a prominent opponent of the Government's proposals to introduce same-sex marriage into England and Wales, and helped establish the Coalition for Marriage against its adoption.[9] He is reported as saying that it would risk leading to an "adulterer's charter", but his call for a referendum to be held on the issue was ignored.[10][11]

At the general election in 2015 Burrowes was elected for a third term and retained the same share of the vote won in 2010.[12] He was Co-Chair of the Complex Needs and Dual Diagnosis APPG (All-Party Parliamentary Group), Protection of Cultural Heritage APPG, and Stem Cell Transplantation. He was also an officer of the following APPGs – Cyprus, Human Trafficking, Religious Education, Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia, Refugees and Ending Homelessness. He is Co-Chair of the Complex Needs and Dual Diagnosis APPG, Protection of Cultural Heritage APPG, and Stem Cell Transplantation.

In 2015 Burrowes was elected to the Home Affairs Select Committee and re-elected as Executive Member of the Conservative MPs' backbench 1922 Committee and Chairman of its Justice Committee. He spoke on a number of issues which led to changes in Government policy and legislation: he called for more Syrian refugees to be accepted in the UK; he successfully led the cross party opposition to assisted suicide and the relaxation of Sunday Trading laws, and he supported the blanket ban on the supply of so-called 'legal highs'.

Burrowes supported leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum; his constituency voted Remain by 62.1%.[13][14]

Burrowes's registered members' interests are listed on Theyworkforyou.com, and local donations on Searchthemoney.com. Donors include Christian Action Research and Education.[15]

Constituency issues

Burrowes became a "major focal point of the high profile campaign to stop computer hacker Gary McKinnon," a constituent, being extradited to the United States.[16] The Home Secretary decided to stop the extradition order which Burrowes called "a victory for common sense and compassion".[17]

In February 2015 Burrowes was embarrassed to find himself canvassing for the 2015 United Kingdom general election on doorsteps in the home street of neighbouring MP Andrew Love after he and his campaign team accidentally strayed into the wrong constituency.[18]

Burrowes consistently opposed the Enfield "Mini Holland" scheme which was launched by the Council to promote cycling and safer streets in Enfield, but has given rise to many complaints by residents.[19][20][21]

2017 Election

Burrowes lost his seat in the 2017 general election to Labour's Bambos Charalambous with a 9.7% swing.[22]

2019 Election

Burrowes was reselected as prospective Conservative Parliamentary candidate for Enfield Southgate in December 2018.[23] Labour held the seat with a slightly increased majority on election night.[24]

Post-Parliamentary career

In May 2021 Burrowes co-authored an essay entitled "Family Matters – the Case for Strengthening Families" with Fiona Bruce MP, for inclusion in Common Sense: Conservative Thinking for a Post-Liberal Age published by the Common Sense Group, an informal group of Conservative MPs.[25]

Personal life

A keen cricketer and footballer, Burrowes married Janet Coekin in January 1996 in Havering. They have six children, twins Barnaby and Harriet, Dougal, Dorothy, Noah and Toby.[2] He is a supporter of Arsenal F.C.[2]

Burrowes serves as an LEA Governor at Broomfield School and St Paul's CE Primary School in Enfield. He is also a trustee and active participant in his local church.[26]

References

  1. ↑ "Home | Equity Release Council". Archived from the original on 6 April 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "David Burrowes:Member of Parliament for Enfield Southgate". Conservatives.com. Archived from the original on 27 November 2012. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
  3. ↑ "Orders of the Day – Violent Crime Reduction Bill". Theyworkforyou.com. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "David Burrowes". Parliament.co.uk. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
  5. 1 2 "David Burrowes :Conservative MP for Enfield, Southgate". TheyWorkForYou.com. Archived from the original on 3 December 2012. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
  6. ↑ "Register Of All-Party Parliamentary Groups [as at 29 March 2017]". Parliament of the United Kingdom. Archived from the original on 20 April 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
  7. 1 2 "Breakdown Britain:Interim report on the state of the nation" (PDF). Social Justice Policy Group. December 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  8. ↑ David Barrett (23 March 2013). "Chris Huhne: Disgraced ex-minister moved to open jail". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 26 March 2013. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
  9. ↑ "Prominent Tory disowns 'religious right' and supports gay marriage". Independent.co.uk. 6 February 2012. Archived from the original on 30 March 2017. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
  10. ↑ "Gay marriage referendum call from David Burrowes MP". BBC. 14 May 2013. Archived from the original on 14 February 2020. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  11. ↑ "Tory MP David Burrowes: The equal marriage bill will lead to an 'adulterer's charter'". Pink News. Archived from the original on 24 August 2013. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  12. ↑ "About David | David Burrowes MP - Member of Parliament for Enfield, Southgate". Archived from the original on 9 January 2017. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
  13. ↑ Goodenough, Tom (16 February 2016). "Which Tory MPs back Brexit, who doesn't and who is still on the fence?". The Spectator. Archived from the original on 3 February 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  14. ↑ "Brexit: Votes by Constituency". House of Commons Library. 6 February 2017. Archived from the original on 10 July 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  15. ↑ "DueDil". Archived from the original on 29 May 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  16. ↑ Christopher Hope (16 October 2012). "Gary McKinnon extradition: David Burrowes, MP who wears conscience on his sleeve". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  17. ↑ "Gary McKinnon decision: 'A victory for compassion'". BBC News. 16 October 2012. Archived from the original on 21 November 2012. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
  18. ↑ Murphy, Joe (19 February 2015). "Tory MP David Burrowes admits 'wrong turn' after canvassing in wrong constituency". London Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 3 April 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  19. ↑ Hill, Dave (17 January 2017). "The long war of mini-Holland in Enfield". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 5 August 2018. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
  20. ↑ "Furious row in north London election race over £42m cycle path scheme". 18 May 2017. Archived from the original on 5 August 2018. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
  21. ↑ "Has London's outer borough cycling scheme worked? Mini Holland, four years on | CityMetric". Archived from the original on 5 August 2018. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
  22. ↑ Enfield Southgate Parliamentary constituency Archived 6 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine, BBC News, . Retrieved 5 March 2019
  23. ↑ David Burrowes selected as Parliamentary Candidate for Enfield Southgate Archived 6 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine, Enfield Southgate Conservative Association website 10 December 2018. Retrieved 5 March 2019]
  24. ↑ "Enfield Southgate Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  25. ↑ Bruce, Fiona and Burrowes, David (May 2021). Family Matters – the Case for Strengthening Families in Hayes, John (ed.). Common Sense: Conservative Thinking for a Post-Liberal Age (pdf). Common Sense Group.
  26. ↑ "About David". Personal website. Archived from the original on 19 October 2012. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
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