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Paul Scully

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For the Australian politician, seePaul Scully (Australian politician).

Paul Scully
Official portrait, 2020
Minister for London
In office
13 February 2020 – 13 November 2023
Prime Minister
Preceded byChris Philp
Succeeded byGreg Hands
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Tech and the Digital Economy
In office
27 October 2022 – 13 November 2023
Prime MinisterRishi Sunak
Preceded byDamian Collins
Succeeded bySaqib Bhatti
Minister of State for Local Government and Building Safety
In office
8 July 2022 – 27 October 2022
Prime Minister
Preceded byKemi Badenoch
Succeeded byLee Rowley
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Small Business, Consumers and Labour Markets
In office
13 February 2020 – 8 July 2022
Prime MinisterBoris Johnson
Preceded byKelly Tolhurst
Succeeded byJane Hunt
Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party
In office
26 July 2019 – 13 February 2020
LeaderBoris Johnson
Preceded byHelen Whately
Succeeded byRanil Jayawardena
Member of Parliament
forSutton and Cheam
In office
7 May 2015 – 30 May 2024
Preceded byPaul Burstow
Succeeded byLuke Taylor
Personal details
Born
Paul Stuart Scully

(1968-04-29)29 April 1968(age 56)
Rugby,Warwickshire,England[1]
Political partyConservative(since 1997)
Alma materUniversity of Reading
Websitewww.scully.org.uk

Paul Stuart Scully(born 29 April 1968) is a former British politician who served as theMember of Parliament(MP) forSutton and Cheamfrom2015to2024.A member of theConservative Party,he served as Minister for London from February 2020 andParliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Tech and the Digital Economyfrom October 2022.[2]He was sacked from both roles in November 2023.[3]

Scully served as Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party for theLondonregion from 2017 to 2019, having been appointed byTheresa Mayto replaceStephen Hammondwho had the Conservativewhip withdrawnfor rebelling against the government over the EU withdrawal bill.[4][5][6]AfterBoris Johnsonwas appointed prime minister in July 2019, Scully was promoted to Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party. He was appointedParliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Small Business, Consumers and Labour MarketsandMinister for Londonin theFebruary 2020 reshuffle.In July 2022, he became Minister of State at theDepartment for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

In May 2023, Scully announced he would "pause" his ministerial role to seek the Conservative Party's nomination in theupcoming London mayoral election,[7]but failed to even make the shortlist.[8]

Early life

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Scully was born inRugbyon 29 April 1968. His father's family was originally fromBurma.He was privately educated atBedford School.He later studied at theUniversity of Reading.[9]He moved to London after graduating and ran a number of small businesses.[10]Scully joined theConservative Partyafter the1997 general election,and had previously voted for theReferendum Party.[11]

Political career

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Local government

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Scully unsuccessfully stood as a Conservative candidate in the Wallington South ward of theLondon Borough of SuttonCouncilelections in2002,but was subsequently elected in the Carshalton Central ward in2006.[12]He was the Leader of the Opposition on Sutton Council for three of his four years as a councillor.[13]Scully lost his seat to theLiberal Democratsat the following local election in2010.[14]

In addition to his work as a local councillor, Scully worked as a parliamentary aide for Conservative MPsAndrew Pelling,Shailesh VaraandAlok Sharma,and set up a public relations company called Nudge Factory Ltd in 2011.[15]

Member of Parliament

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Scully was selected as the Conservative Party candidate for themarginalSutton and Cheamseat at the2015 general election.The constituency is part of the borough in which he had been a councillor. Scully defeated the Liberal Democrat incumbent,Paul Burstow,who had represented the seat since1997,and was elected as itsMember of Parliament(MP).[5]Scully was elected with 41.5% of the vote and a majority of 3,921.[16][17]

In a parliamentary debate on 22 October 2015, Scully stated, "I am, I believe, the first Member of the British Parliament to be of Burmese heritage."[18]He is reportedly "very proud" of his Burmese heritage.[19]

He visitedMyanmarfor the first time in February 2016.[20]He has been active in human rights issues in Burma, especially theRohingyarefugee situation and is the Co-Chair of theAll-Party Parliamentary Groupfor Burma. He has written about his experience of being one of the first British MPs to visit theKutupalong refugee campduring the 2017 mass movement.[21]

In May 2016, it was reported that Scully was one of a number of Conservative MPs being investigated by police in theUnited Kingdom general election, 2015 party spending investigation,for allegedly spending more than the legal limit on constituency election campaign expenses.[22]In May 2017, the Crown Prosecution Service said that, while there was evidence of inaccurate spending returns, it did not "meet the test" for further action.[23]

Scully campaigned for a Leave vote in the2016 EU referendum,[24][25]and was a supporter of the campaign groupLeave Means Leave.[26]

At the snap2017 general election,Scully was re-elected with an increased vote share of 51.1% and a majority of 12,698.[27][28]

In June 2017, comments made by Scully at an election hustings event and on a regional BBC politics programme relating to building a new hospital in Sutton were criticised by health campaigners as representing an acceptance of closing some existing local medical facilities, such as theSt Helier Hospital.Scully said that he was still committed to retaining facilities at the St Helier Hospital, where he had previously volunteered.[29]

In September 2017, he was appointed as the Prime Minister'sTrade EnvoytoBrunei,Thailandand Burma, and was theParliamentary Private SecretarytoBaroness Evans,the Leader of the House of Lords between November 2017 and January 2018.

Scully as Trade Envoy meets theSultan of BruneiHassanal Bolkiahwhile on a trade visit toBrunei(November 2018)

On 15 December 2017, Scully was confirmed as the Conservative Party's new Vice Chairman for London, following the sacking ofStephen Hammondtwo days earlier for his failure to vote with the Government on a key vote relating to the United Kingdom departing the European Union.[30]He helped manage the Conservative Party's campaign in the2018 London local elections,in which the party registered its lowest-ever number of seats in the capital, but made a number of gains on Sutton Council.[31]

At the2019 general election,Scully was again re-elected, with a decreased vote share of 50% and a decreased majority 8,351.[32][33]

In February 2020, Scully joined theDepartment for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategyas theParliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Small Business, Consumers and Labour Markets,succeedingKelly Tolhurst.He was also appointed to the position ofMinister for London,succeedingChris Philp.

In July 2021, in response to a question aboutvaccine passports,Scully described himself as alibertarian conservative.[34]

On 22 October 2021, Scullyfilibustereda bill which would outlaw the practice of sacking employees and hiring them back on worse terms and conditions, which resulted in the bill failing. Scully said that he did not disagree with the intent of the bill, but did not think it was the best means to achieve it. He said: "The unambiguous message is that bully-boy tactics of fire-and-rehire, for use as a negotiating tactic, is absolutely inappropriate."[35]

On 7 July 2022, he was appointed a Minister at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities as part of the caretaker government by outgoing Prime Minister Johnson, succeedingKemi Badenoch.[36]Scully remained in this role and as Minister for London in theTruss ministry.[37]In October 2022, under Prime MinisterRishi Sunak,Scully was appointed asParliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Tech and the Digital Economy.[2]He also remained in his post asMinister for London.[38]He was removed from both ministerial roles in theNovember 2023 British cabinet reshuffle.[39][40]

On 11 June 2023, Scully applied for, but failed to make the shortlist for the2024 London mayoral election.[41]

In February 2024, Scully was accused ofIslamophobiaafter he made unsubstantiated claims about the existence of "no-go areas" in theLondon Borough of Tower Hamletsand theSparkhilldistrict of Birmingham, both of which have large Muslim populations. He subsequently apologised for the comments.[42]

In March 2024, Scully announced that he would not seek re-election as MP forSutton and Cheamat the next general election.[43]

Personal life

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Scully is divorced and has two grown-up children.[44]

References

[edit]
  1. ^MyParliament.
  2. ^ab"Ministerial Appointments commencing: 25 October 2022".GOV.UK.Retrieved28 October2022.
  3. ^"Rishi Sunak's reshuffle: David Cameron makes surprise return as foreign secretary - here's who is in and out of cabinet".Sky News.13 November 2023.Retrieved13 November2023.
  4. ^"Scully replaces Hammond as Party Vice-Chair for London".Conservative Home.16 December 2017.
  5. ^ab"Conservative Paul Scully elected to Sutton and Cheam after defeating Lib Dem Paul Burstow"(Sutton Guardian,8 May 2015).Archived copy.
  6. ^Sutton & Cheam Parliamentary constituency(BBC News).
  7. ^"MP pauses ministerial role to run as London mayor".BBC News.18 May 2023.Retrieved22 May2023.
  8. ^Penna, Dominic; Hope, Christopher (11 June 2023)."Frontrunner in Tory London mayor race fails to make the shortlist".The Telegraph.Retrieved12 June2023.
  9. ^"SCULLY, Paul Stuart",Who's Who 2016,A & C Black.
  10. ^"About Paul".Personal website. 6 January 2013.Retrieved8 July2018.
  11. ^HC Deb, 22 January 2018 vol 635 c1WH (Hansard).
  12. ^"Sutton Council Election Results 1964–2010"(PDF).Plymouth University.Retrieved8 July2018.
  13. ^"Sutton council website"(London Borough of Sutton,21 January 2018)
  14. ^"Sutton Council Election Results 1964–2010"(PDF).Plymouth University.Retrieved8 July2018.
  15. ^"About Paul".Party website.Retrieved8 July2018.
  16. ^"Election Data 2015".Electoral Calculus.Archived fromthe originalon 17 October 2015.Retrieved17 October2015.
  17. ^"Election Results - Sutton Council".Archived fromthe originalon 15 May 2015.
  18. ^HC Deb, 22 October 2015 vol 600 c1263 (Hansard).
  19. ^"British MP-Elect ‘Proud’ of Burma Heritage"(The Irrawaddy,13 May 2015).Archived copy.
  20. ^"British MP traces family footsteps in first-ever Myanmar visit"(Coconuts Yangon,15 February 2016).Archived copy.
  21. ^"The refugees trapped in no man’s land"(The Times,21 September 2017).
  22. ^"Election Expenses Exposed".Channel 4 News.23 June 2016.Retrieved8 July2018.
  23. ^"Sutton and Cheam MP Paul Scully will not be prosecuted over Conservative's undeclared election spending".Sutton Guardian.10 May 2017.Retrieved8 July2018.
  24. ^"EU referendum: Six 2015 Conservative MPs back leaving EU"(BBC News,4 January 2016).Archived copy.
  25. ^"Paul Scully: I'll be voting to leave the undemocratic, bureaucratic EU"(YouTube,29 April 2016).
  26. ^Leave Means Leave: Who We Are.Archived copy.
  27. ^"Sutton & Cheam parliamentary constituency".BBC News.
  28. ^Research briefing[dead link]
  29. ^"Video: Conservative candidate for Sutton and Cheam, Paul Scully's 'third hospital' plans stoke campaigners' fears of Epsom and St Helier closures".Epsom Guardian.6 June 2017.Retrieved8 July2018.
  30. ^"Scully replaces Hammond as Party Vice-Chair for London"(ConservativeHome), 16 December 2017).
  31. ^"By-election results 2018".Local Government Association.Retrieved8 July2018.
  32. ^Council, Sutton."Statement of Persons Nominated & Notice of Poll - Sutton & Cheam 2019 | Sutton Council".www.sutton.gov.uk.Retrieved19 November2019.
  33. ^"Sutton & Cheam parliamentary constituency".BBC News.
  34. ^Sparrow, Andrew (20 July 2021)."UK Covid live news: minister stresses people pinged by NHS app can choose not to isolate".The Guardian.Retrieved20 July2021.
  35. ^Walker, Peter (22 October 2021)."Anger as ministers block 'fire and rehire' bill in Commons".The Guardian.Retrieved24 October2021.
  36. ^"Ministerial appointments: July 2022".GOV.UK.7 July 2022.Retrieved7 July2022.
  37. ^"Ministerial Appointments: September 2022".GOV.UK.Retrieved7 September2022.
  38. ^Weakley, Kirsty (28 October 2022)."Paul Scully leaves DLUHC".Local Government Chronicle (LGC).Retrieved7 March2023.
  39. ^Joshi, Jitendra (16 November 2023)."Former Tory Party chairman Greg Hands becomes minister for London after Paul Scully ousted".Evening Standard.Retrieved20 November2023.
  40. ^Simister, George (14 November 2023)."Minister for Tech and the Digital Economy Paul Scully sacked".UK Tech News.Retrieved20 November2023.
  41. ^Lydall, Ross (11 June 2023)."Shock as 'frontrunner' MP fails to make Tory mayoral candidate shortlist".Evening Standard.Retrieved11 June2023.
  42. ^Badshah, Nadeem (26 February 2024)."Tory MP Paul Scully claims there are 'no-go' areas in Birmingham and London".The Guardian.Retrieved3 March2024.
  43. ^Burford, Rachael (4 March 2024)."Ex London minister Paul Scully to quit as Tory MP before general election".Evening Standard.Retrieved4 March2024.
  44. ^"Register of Members Interests 2016–17".Parliament.Retrieved8 July2018.
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Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament
forSutton and Cheam
2015–2024 		Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party
2019–2020 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Minister for London
2020–2023 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Small Business, Consumers and Labour Markets
2020–2022 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister of State for Local Government and Building Safety
2022–2023 		Succeeded by
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