Simon Burns

Conservative MP Chelmsford West

Date of birth

6 September 1952

Political profile

Simon Burns has been a Conservative MP since 1987, but has never made a huge impact on public consciousness.

He was not helped by his burgeoning ministerial career - he had served a few years as a whip and a junior minister at the Department of Health - being cut short by the Conservative electoral defeat in 1997.

During the leaderships of both Iain Duncan Smith and Michael Howard, he has worked as a shadow health minister.

On the mild Eurosceptic right of the Conservatives, he initially supported David Davis' bid for the leadership in 2001.

He is first and foremost a party loyalist, who delights in partisan attacks on Labour.

He alternates this with praise for his Chelmsford seat, and was an enthusiastic supporter of the town's unsuccessful bid for city status.

He successfully saw a private members' bill tightening up the laws against football hooligans through to royal assent; he is currently a junior health spokesman.

Contact

Constituency office 01245 352872