Jeremy Browne

For the peer, seeJeremy Browne, 11th Marquess of Sligo.For people with a similar name, seeJeremy Brown (disambiguation).

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	(1970-05-17)17 May 1970 Islington,London, England
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.

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.

Early life and education

Born inIslington,Browne is the son of BritishdiplomatSir Nicholas Browne,and, as a child, lived in many different countries, includingIran,Zimbabwe,and Belgium.

Browne was educated atBedales School,and theUniversity of Nottinghamwhere hestudied politics.He became Editor of the University Newspaper and was elected President of theStudents' Unionin 1992.

Political career

Early career

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.

1997 candidature

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.

Becoming an MP

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,against the nationalswing.

Opposition MP

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.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.

Browne presented aprivate member's billentitled the Organ Donation (Presumed Consent) Bill 2008–09.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.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.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".In the final report, Browne was not required to repay anything.

In2010after some boundary changes, Browne defended his renamed seat,Taunton Deane,with an increased majority of 3,993.

Coalition government

Browne speaking in 2013

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.

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.

Other interests

Browne became a vice president of the charityParkinson's UKin 2007.Browne is a supporter ofQueens Park Rangers Football Club.

Political views

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.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. 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."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.

Polls and awards

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.On 5 February 2013 he voted in favour in the House of Commons Second Reading vote on marriage equality in Britain.

External links

• 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