Jeremy Browne
Jeremy Browne | |
---|---|
![]() Official portrait, 2012 | |
Minister of State for Crime Prevention | |
In office 4 September 2012 – 7 October 2013 | |
Prime Minister | David Cameron |
Preceded by | The Lord Henley |
Succeeded by | Norman Baker |
Minister of State for Europe and the Americas | |
In office 13 May 2010 – 4 September 2012 | |
Prime Minister | David Cameron |
Preceded by | Office established |
Succeeded by | Hugo Swire |
Member of Parliament forTaunton Deane Taunton(2005–2010) | |
In office 5 May 2005 – 30 March 2015 | |
Preceded by | Adrian Flook |
Succeeded by | Rebecca Pow |
Liberal Democrat portfolios | |
2007–2010 | Deputy HM Treasury |
Personal details | |
Born | Islington,London, England | 17 May 1970
Political party | Liberal Democrats |
Alma mater | University of Nottingham |
Jeremy Richard Browne(born 17 May 1970) is a BritishLiberal Democratpolitician who was theMember of Parliament(MP) forTaunton Deanefrom2005to 2015. He served as bothMinister of State for Europe and the AmericasandMinister of State for Crime Prevention.[1][2]
In September 2015 Browne was appointed as a "Special Representative for theCity of London Corporation"in theEuropean Union,as part of the city's efforts to boost its presence in Brussels. Browne left this role in August 2018.
In July 2022 Browne became Chief Executive ofCanning House.[3]
Early life and education
[edit]Born inIslington,Browne is the son of BritishdiplomatSir Nicholas Browne,and, as a child, lived in many different countries, includingIran,Zimbabwe,and Belgium.[4]
Browne was educated atBedales School,[5]and theUniversity of Nottinghamwhere hestudied politics.He became Editor of the University Newspaper and was elected President of theStudents' Unionin 1992.[6]
Political career
[edit]Early career
[edit]Browne became a researcher for the Liberal Democrat MPAlan Beithin 1993. He worked for financial-consultancy Dewe Rogerson and has also worked for public relations firmsEdelmanand Reputationinc. He worked for the Liberal Democrats nationally and rose to be their Director of Press and Broadcasting under the leadership ofPaddy AshdownandCharles Kennedy.[6]
1997 candidature
[edit]Browne was chosen by hisEnfieldlocal party branch to contestEnfield Southgateparliamentary constituencyat the1997 general electionand followed the previous result for the party in achieving third position, behindLabour'sStephen Twiggwho on that date ousted theSecretary of State for Defence,Michael Portilloin one of the most surprising landslide results.[7]
Becoming an MP
[edit]Shortly after the2001general election Browne was chosen to contest the more winnablemarginal seatofTauntonwhich had been gained by theConservativeAdrian Flookfrom the Liberal DemocratJackie Ballardby just 235 votes. The2005 general electionwas again close in Taunton; however Browne beat the incumbent by 573 votes,[6]against the nationalswing.
Opposition MP
[edit]Following his election in 2005, Browne was appointed a spokesman onForeign Affairsand as Member of theHome Affairs Select Committee.
During the2006 Liberal Democrat leadership campaign,Browne was campaign press secretary toMenzies Campbell.[8]He was later promoted to theLiberal Democrat Frontbench Teamto become the Liberal Democrat spokesman forHome Affairs.
During the2007 leadership election,he was a supporter of Nick Clegg and a member of his campaign team. In 2008, Browne became Lib Dem ShadowChief Secretary to the Treasury.[9][10]
Browne presented aprivate member's billentitled the Organ Donation (Presumed Consent) Bill 2008–09.[11][12]The Bill aimed to address the problem of a lack of organs available for transplant in the UK. Over 1000 people a year die whilst on waiting lists for organs.
During the2009 expenses scandal,Browne was initially asked to pay back £17,894 in mortgage payments by theLegg Report,after re-mortgaging his London home to provide a deposit for a constituency home.[13]He appealed this decision, making him the first MP to do so, and argued that he was being penalised for using his own money instead of claiming a greater amount from the taxpayer.[14]His appeal was successful, withSir Paul Kennedyaccepting that the arrangement cost the taxpayer less than the alternative options and saying that Browne had acted "openly and honestly, and for the very purpose for which ACA was established".[15]In the final report, Browne was not required to repay anything.[16]
In2010after some boundary changes, Browne defended his renamed seat,Taunton Deane,with an increased majority of 3,993.[17]
Coalition government
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d7/Jeremy_Browne_MP.jpg/220px-Jeremy_Browne_MP.jpg)
Following the2010 general electionas part of the new coalition government Browne was appointedMinister of Statewith the responsibility for South East Asia & Far East, Caribbean, Central & South America, Australasia & Pacific, human rights, consular, migration, drugs and international crime, public diplomacy and the Olympics at theForeign Office.In the government reshuffle of September 2012 he was appointedMinister of Statefor crime prevention and drug policy in theHome Office.In the reshuffle of October 2013 he was returned to the back benches. Browne confirmed that he had been approached by senior Tories, such asGrant Shapps,in the hope he might be persuaded to defect to theConservative Party.Interviewed about those who said he was in the wrong party, Browne said: "I'd turn that on its head. I'd say my ambition for the Lib Dems is to attract the small 'l' liberals in the Conservative and Labour parties.[18]
Browne was the UK Government representative at the 30th anniversary of theFalklands War.
On 15 October 2014, Browne announced that he would stand down at the next general election.[19]
Other interests
[edit]Browne became a vice president of the charityParkinson's UKin 2007.[20]Browne is a supporter ofQueens Park Rangers Football Club.[21]
Political views
[edit]Browne is strongly associated with theOrange Bookwing of theLiberal Democrats.He is aclassical liberal:a believer infree-market economics,free trade,low taxation, small government and individual empowerment.[22]At the same time he is both culturally and socially liberal.
In 2014, following his years in the Foreign Office, he wrote a book calledRace Plan: An authentic liberal plan to get Britain fit for "The Global Race".It details a warning to British political classes of the urgent necessity to get fit for the global race against the new powerhouses of Asia and Latin America. It has been described as a tightly argued plea for a more ambitious liberalism.[23] Browne writes: "Britain must work with, rather than against, the forces of globalisation. We must champion our economic liberalism if we are to keep our markets open for business. In addition we need to rediscover the true meaning of social liberalism. The task today is to push power, money, information and choice down to the individual citizen, so that everyone can enjoy the opportunities that a fortunate few take for granted."[24]Several of his proposed policy ideas received broad media attention, including calls for the top rate of tax to be returned to 40%, the introduction of portable school vouchers allowing parents to choose their child's school, allowing free schools to function for profit, reduction of the state to 35–38% of GDP, the removal of ring-fencing of public spending in areas including health, more patient choice and the creation of new sources of revenue including insurance payments, abolition of the Department for Energy and Climate Change, big increases in infrastructure spending on new housing, roads, high-speed rail and a new hub airport in the Thames Estuary, andreform of the House of Lords.[25]
Polls and awards
[edit]Jeremy Browne was nominated for the Stonewall Politician of the Year Award in 2011 for his work to support equality for lesbian, gay and bisexual people. He was given a score of 79% in favour of lesbian, gay and bisexual equality by Stonewall.[26]On 5 February 2013 he voted in favour in the House of Commons Second Reading vote on marriage equality in Britain.[27]
References
[edit]- ^"Minister of State (Minister for Europe and the Americas)".GOV.UK.Retrieved7 October2022.
- ^Heaven, Will (7 October 2013)."MPs' reshuffle: as it happened".The Daily Telegraph.London. Archived fromthe originalon 7 October 2013.Retrieved2 April2018.
- ^"Canning House appoints Jeremy Browne as new CEO".Canning House.10 June 2022.Retrieved2 September2022.
- ^"Lib Dem front bench: Who's Who".BBC News.8 January 2009.Archivedfrom the original on 15 February 2009.Retrieved29 May2011.
- ^"Browne biographical details".Archived fromthe originalon 6 May 2012.
- ^abc"Jeremy Browne – Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury".Liberal Democrats.Archivedfrom the original on 30 April 2010.Retrieved7 May2010.
- ^"Nation rejoices as Portillo loses seat".The Observer.London. 12 September 1999.Archivedfrom the original on 19 February 2014.Retrieved7 May2010.
- ^Marriott, Hannah (12 January 2006)."Lib Dem Frontrunner Drafts in Browne".PR Week.Archivedfrom the original on 5 April 2012.Retrieved29 May2011.
- ^"404".Archived fromthe originalon 9 July 2009.Retrieved3 July2009.
{{cite web}}
:Cite uses generic title (help) - ^"Jeremy Browne".theyworkforyou.com.Archivedfrom the original on 10 April 2010.Retrieved1 September2017.
- ^"Bill could boost organ donations".BBC News.13 March 2009.Archivedfrom the original on 16 March 2009.Retrieved29 May2011.
- ^"Organ Donation (Presumed Consent) Bill 2008–09".Parliament of the United Kingdom.19 June 2009. Archived fromthe originalon 9 October 2010.Retrieved29 May2011.
- ^"MPs' expenses auditor Sir Thomas Legg under fire".BBC News.29 January 2010.Retrieved29 May2011.
- ^Webster, Philip (17 December 2009)."Liberal Democrat Jeremy Browne is first MP to fight expenses ruling".The Times.Archivedfrom the original on 26 September 2011.Retrieved29 May2011.
- ^Prince, Rosa (29 January 2010)."MPs' expenses: Jeremy Browne successfully appeals against repayment demand".The Daily Telegraph.London.Archivedfrom the original on 18 February 2013.Retrieved29 May2011.
- ^"Wells MP David Heathcoat-Amory pays back almost £30,000".BBC News.4 February 2010.Retrieved29 May2011.
- ^"Election 2010: UK, England, South West, Taunton Deane".BBC News.7 May 2010.Retrieved7 May2010.
- ^Patrick Wintour (18 October 2013)."Jeremy Browne: Lib Dems 'like a shopping trolley veering to left'".The Guardian.Archivedfrom the original on 4 March 2016.Retrieved14 December2016.
- ^Hardman, Isabel (15 October 2014)."Jeremy Browne to stand down as an MP".The Spectator.Archivedfrom the original on 17 October 2014.Retrieved15 October2014.
- ^“Vice Presidents”Archived2 December 2009 at theWayback MachineParkinson’s UK.
- ^White, Michael(19 May 2014)."Diary: Match of the day? Wembley's all set for a Michael Gove-Jeremy Browne love-in".The Guardian.Archivedfrom the original on 14 April 2016.Retrieved4 April2016.
- ^"Jeremy Browne on liberals, Tories and 'capitalist revolution'".Total Politics.Archived fromthe originalon 20 April 2013.
- ^Brogan, Benedict (7 April 2014)."Jeremy Browne: 'Under Nick Clegg we've turned timid'".The Daily Telegraph.London.Archivedfrom the original on 27 June 2017.Retrieved2 April2018.
- ^Browne, Jeremy (8 April 2014)."Britain must work with, rather than against, the forces of globalisation".The Independent.London.Archivedfrom the original on 22 May 2017.Retrieved1 September2017.
- ^"Book review: Jeremy Browne's 'Race Plan'".Liberal Democrat Voice.Archivedfrom the original on 12 April 2014.Retrieved9 April2014.
- ^"The UK's leading event on LGBT-inclusive education".Archivedfrom the original on 2 March 2013.Retrieved27 February2013.
- ^"House of Commons Hansard Debates for 05 Feb 2013 (pt 0004)".Parliament of the United Kingdom.Archivedfrom the original on 15 November 2014.Retrieved1 September2017.
External links
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Jeremy Browne MPofficial Liberal Democrats profile
- Taunton Liberal Democrats
- ProfileatParliament of the United Kingdom
- Contributions in ParliamentatHansard
- Contributions in ParliamentatHansard 1803–2005
- Voting recordatPublic Whip
- Record in ParliamentatTheyWorkForYou
- Allowances by MP – Jeremy Browneat Parliament.uk
- Jeremy Browne MP Expensesat The Daily Telegraph