Simon Fell
MP
Official portrait, 2019
Member of Parliament
for Barrow and Furness
Assumed office
12 December 2019
Preceded byJohn Woodcock
Majority5,789 (12.6%)
Personal details
Born (1981-02-09) 9 February 1981
Preston, Lancashire, England
Political partyConservative
Alma materUniversity of Warwick
Websitesimonfell.org

Simon Richard James Fell (born 9 February 1981)[1] is an English Conservative Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Barrow and Furness since the 2019 general election.[2][3]

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 with a bachelor's degree in English literature.[4][5] After his studies, he worked in the telecommunications sector, running a communications business, Irton-Fell Consultants, from 2006 to 2008.[2]

He was then a regulatory affairs manager for Hutchison H3g from 2008 to 2011. He then began a period working for Cifas, a not-for-profit anti-fraud organisation.[6][5] 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.[2]

Political career

Fell contested the marginal seat of Barrow and Furness at the 2015 and 2017 general elections, before winning the seat at his third attempt in 2019. At a 2015 hustings in Ulverston, he described himself as 'mildly-Eurosceptic'. However, he has since made clear that he supports Brexit, stating before his election in 2019 that "Brexit was the right decision for Barrow and Furness – it now needs a Conservative majority to see it delivered".[7] He is the first Conservative MP to be elected for the seat since 1987.

In 2020, Fell supported the Transport Secretary's decision to revoke the franchise of Arriva Rail North "after years of poor performance."[8]

In 2020, Fell organised a successful petition to prevent the closure of the Askam GP Practice.[9]

Fell has served on the Home Affairs Select Committee since March 2020.[10]

Fell withdrew support of Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson on 6 July 2022 due to the recent controversies including Partygate and the Chris Pincher scandal[11]

In June 2023, Fell was appointed as the UK’s first ever Rural Connectivity Champion. [12]

Personal life

In 2009, Fell married Pippa; the couple have two sons and a daughter. Outside politics, he lists his recreations as hill walking and writing.[2]

In December 2021, Fell tested positive for COVID-19.[13]

References

  1. ↑ Brunskill, Ian (19 March 2020). The Times guide to the House of Commons 2019 : the definitive record of Britain's historic 2019 General Election. p. 90. ISBN 978-0-00-839258-1. OCLC 1129682574.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Fell, Simon Richard James, (born 9 Feb. 1981), MP (C) Barrow and Furness, since 2019". WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. 2020. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u293908. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  3. ↑ "Barrow & Furness". BBC. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  4. ↑ "About Simon". Simon Fell. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  5. 1 2 "About Simon". Simon Fell MP. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  6. ↑ "Class of 2019: Meet the new MPs". Politics Home. 25 February 2020. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  7. ↑ "Brexit was the right decision for Barrow and Furness - it now needs a Conservative majority to see it delivered". BrexitCentral. 24 November 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  8. ↑ "News". Simon Fell. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  9. ↑ "Saving Askam's GP Surgery". Simon Fell. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  10. ↑ "Parliamentary career for Simon Fell - MPs and Lords - UK Parliament". members.parliament.uk. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  11. ↑ @simonfell (6 July 2022). ""Chris's Fell Annocuement on Boris Johnson"" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  12. ↑ "First Rural Connectivity Champion announced to help drive growth". GOV.UK. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  13. ↑ "MPs Bridget Phillipson and Simon Fell miss Covid vote". BBC News. 14 December 2021. Retrieved 27 December 2021.


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