Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 16:54, 2 October 2009

This biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living people that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately. Find sources: "Jeremy Browne" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (October 2008) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Jeremy BrowneMP
Lib Dem Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Incumbent
Assumed office 20 December2007
Leader	Nick Clegg
Preceded by	Julia Goldsworthy
Member of Parliament for Taunton
Incumbent
Assumed office 5 May2005
Preceded by	Adrian Flook
Majority	573 (1.0%)
Personal details
Born	(1970-05-17) 17 May 1970 (age 54) Islington
Nationality	British
Political party	Liberal Democrat
Alma mater	University of Nottingham

Jeremy Richard Browne (born 17 May 1970, Islington) is a British politician. He is the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Taunton.

Early life

Jeremy Browne is the son of diplomat Sir Nicholas Browne, and lived in many different countries during his childhood including Iran, Zimbabwe and Belgium. He was educated at a private school before gaining a place at the University of Nottingham to study politics. He became President of the Students' Union in 1992.

Early career

He became a researcher for the Liberal Democrat MP Alan Beith in 1993. He worked for financial-consultancy Dewe Rogerson and has also worked for a Public Relations (PR) firm. He has also worked for the Liberal Democrats nationally as their director of press and broadcasting.

Election

He contested the Enfield Southgate parliamentary constituency at the 1997 General Election, he came third, behind Labour's Stephen Twigg shock ousting of the then Secretary of State for Defence Michael Portillo. Browne was then chosen to contest the ultra marginal seat of Taunton which had been gained by the Conservative Adrian Flook in 2001 from the Liberal Democrat Jackie Ballard by just 235 votes. The 2005 General Election proved to be another close battle and Browne ousted Flook by 573 votes, against the national swing.. Taunton Deane became the only seat where the incumbent MP had lost at the last three elections. Browne made his maiden speech on 26 May 2005.

Parliamentary career

Following his election, Browne was appointed a spokesman on Foreign Affairs and as Member of the Home Affairs Select Committee. He is a member of the advisory board of the think tank Reform. During the 2006 Liberal Democrat leadership campaign, Jeremy was a strong supporter of Menzies Campbell as well as one of his campaign managers. He was later promoted to the front benches to become the Liberal Democrat spokesman for Home Affairs. In 2008 Jeremy became Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury.

Parliamentary expenses

Browne was not amongst the group of Westminster MPs to be named and shamed in the public row over inappropriate Parliamentary allowance claims as uncovered in a campaign by the national broadsheet newspaper the Daily Telegraph.

On expenses Browne told his local weekly newspaper, the Somerset County Gazette, “I’ve been scrupulous at maintaining a clear distinction between my Taunton home and London flat. I’ve never ‘flipped’ the designation of my main home, nor shifted household items between them. I’ve submitted receipts and substantially under-claimed in many areas, including for subsistence payments."

During the Parliamentary period, 2007-2008 Browne claimed £161,136 was the 84th (out of 646) most expensive MP, during 2006-2007 Browne claimed £143,176, and was the 208th (out of 646) most expensive MP, for staffing and running his constituency office, for London accommodation when he sits in The House and to cover transport costs between Parliament and his constituency. Full comparison of MP claims is published by TheyWorkForYou. Broken down the Daily Telegraph information showed that during 2007-2008 'Jeremy Browne claimed £5,088 for roof repairs, £3,975 for replacement windows, £972 on a sofa and rugs and £1300 on blinds for his South London flat at the taxpayer’s expense. In late June, Parliament published the receipts of the allowance and expenses claims made by MPs during the period 2005-2008. the Somerset County Gazette published that, Jeremy Browne had claimed a further £9.99 on a toilet brush holder, 38p on a Kit Kat Chunky, and £1 for a 75ml tub of Vaseline for his constituency office and £9.99 for a spineless Yucca plant for his London flat. The Somerset County Gazette also revealed that Mr Browne had ‘attempted to claim £16.50 to cover the costs of a poppy wreath’, which the MP laid at a Taunton War Memorial in November 2005.

Next election

Following the review of parliamentary representation in Somerset, the Boundary Commission for England has created a modified Taunton constituency with the name change Taunton Deane, to reflect the district name. The next election will be contested within these new boundaries and under this new name.

Personal life

Jeremy lives in the centre of Taunton, and is a keen supporter of Queens Park Rangers and Somerset County Cricket Club. Having a keen interest in international affairs, Jeremy was an early supporter of Barack Obama and invited to attend the Democratic National Convention in 2008. Jeremy also enjoys Real Ale, country walks, and the beaches of Cornwall. Jeremy married Charlotte in 2004 and they divorced in 2008.

In November 2007, Mr Browne was accused by the West Somerset Post of making "up to half-a-dozen" requests for a 19 year old woman to accept him as a "friend" on social networking site Facebook. The woman in question said "he must have made an effort to track me down." Browne replied by saying, "Two other people in the office have password access to it and it is possible and conceivable that one member of staff has asked somebody to be a friend of mine and it is possible that the other one also did. I have no interest in coercing people to be friends of mine on Facebook, that is not my nature.".

References

1. "Nation rejoices as Portillo loses seat" The Observer.
2. "2005 election results"
3. "Parliamentary Standards Investigation of donations to Taunton Conservatives", Select Committee on Standards and Privileges.
4. "Political Biography", Liberal Democrat people.
5. "Expenses coverage", The Daily Telegraph.
6. "‘My Expenses are scrupulous’ claims Taunton MP", Somerset County Gazette, 14 May 2009.
7. "Jeremy Browne MP: Parliamentary Expenses", They Work For You, 29 May 2009.
8. "Full MP list", They Work for You.
9. "MPs Expenses: Lib Dem MPs investigated by the Telegraph", The Daily Telegraph, 25 May 2009.
10. "Allowances by MP – Jeremy Browne", Parliament UK.
11. "Poppy wreath in Taunton MP's expenses - have your say", Somerset County Gazette, 23 June 2009.
12. "MP 'pesters' teenage woman over the internet" West Somerset Post, 12 November 2007.

External links

• Jeremy Browne MP official site
• Jeremy Browne MP profile at the site of Liberal Democrats
• Taunton Liberal Democrats
• Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Jeremy Browne MP
• TheyWorkForYou.com - Jeremy Browne MP
• The Public Whip - Jeremy Browne MP voting record
• Jeremy Browne MP Expenses Parliament
• Jeremy Browne MP Expenses Daily Telegraph
• BBC Politics page

• Unreferenced BLPs from October 2008
• 1970 births
• Living people
• UK MPs 2005-
• Members of the United Kingdom Parliament for English constituencies
• Liberal Democrat MPs (UK)
• Alumni of the University of Nottingham
• Politics of Somerset