Michael Alex Burghart [1] (born 7 September 1977) [2] is a British Conservative Party politician, academic and former teacher who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Brentwood and Ongar since 2017. He was formerly a special adviser to Theresa May and has served as Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland since July 2024. [3]
Alex Burghart was born on 7 September 1977 in Wimborne Minster in Dorset, the son of two state school teachers. [4] [5] He was educated at the independent Millfield School in Somerset, having gained a scholarship to the school. Burghart studied history at Christ Church, Oxford. He completed his PhD at King's College London in 2007 entitled "The Mercian polity, 716–918". [6]
After university, Burghart taught history at Warwick School before becoming a history tutor at King's College London. [7] In 2005 he was the lead researcher for the King's College London project on interrogating Anglo-Saxon charters using digital technologies. [8]
Burghart became a political and policy adviser to Tim Loughton, who was the then Shadow Minister for Children and Young People in 2008. He moved on to the Department for Education, where he worked on the Munro Review of Child Protection [9]
In 2012 Burghart became Director of Policy at the Centre for Social Justice. [10] In February 2016 he was appointed Director of Strategy and Advocacy for the Children's Commissioner for England, Anne Longfield. [11] Later that year he became part of Prime Minister Theresa May's policy team. [12]
Burghart is the author of A Better Start in Life: Long-term approaches for the most vulnerable children, published by Policy Exchange in 2013. [13] He has written extensively about early medieval England, writing for The Times Literary Supplement for over 12 years, The Spectator and BBC History . [14]
Burghart stood against Jeremy Corbyn in Islington North in 2015. He told the Islington Gazette that, if elected, the first thing he would do would be to "[d]ance a jig (and try to resuscitate Jeremy Corbyn)." [15] Although he was not elected, Burghart came second, increasing the Conservative share of the vote from 14.2% to 17.2%. [16]
He was selected for the Brentwood and Ongar safe seat on 28 April 2017 following the decision by Sir Eric Pickles to stand down at the 2017 general election. [17] At the election, Burghart was elected as MP for Brentwood and Ongar, winning 65.8% of the vote and a majority of 24,002. [18]
Burghart has been a member of the Joint Committee on Human Rights and the Work and Pensions Select Committee. He chairs the APPG on Adverse Childhood Experiences and was made PPS to the prime minister Boris Johnson in July 2019. He was previously Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Attorney General, Geoffrey Cox, and to the Northern Ireland Secretary of State, Karen Bradley.
In July 2019, at the formation of the first Johnson ministry, Burghart was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
At the 2019 general election, Burghart was re-elected as the MP for Brentwood and Ongar with an increased vote share of 68.6% and an increased majority of 29,065. [19]
On 17 September 2021, Burghart was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Apprenticeships and Skills at the Department for Education during the second cabinet reshuffle of the second Johnson ministry. [20]
On 6 July 2022, Burghart resigned from government, citing Boris Johnson's handling of the Chris Pincher scandal in a joint statement with fellow Ministers Kemi Badenoch, Neil O'Brien, Lee Rowley and Julia Lopez. [21]
On 21 September 2022, Burghart was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Pensions and Growth at the Department for Work and Pensions. He was appointed Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office on 27 October 2022, with responsibilities including the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, the Covid-19 Inquiry, the Government Digital Service and the Central Digital and Data Office. [22]
At the 2024 general election, Burghart was again re-elected, with a decreased vote share of 36.7% and a decreased majority of 5,980. [23]
Following the subsequent formation of the Starmer ministry, Burghart was appointed Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary in Rishi Sunak's caretaker Shadow Cabinet.
Burghart has sat on the Board of the Yarlington Housing Group [24] and was Vice Chair of Governors at Queensmill School for children with autism. [25] In 2012, he married the journalist and novelist Hermione Eyre. [26] They have one daughter, Sybilla, born in 2013. [27]
Sir David Roy Lidington is a former British politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Aylesbury from 1992 until 2019. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office from 2018 to 2019 and was frequently described as being Theresa May's de facto Deputy Prime Minister.
Gregory William Hands is a British politician who served as Minister for London and Minister of State for Trade Policy from November 2023 to July 2024. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Chelsea and Fulham, previously Hammersmith and Fulham, from 2005 to 2024. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as its Chairman from February to November 2023. Hands has served as Minister of State for Trade Policy under four prime ministers, holding the office on four occasions, and also served as Minister of State for Business, Energy and Clean Growth from 2021 to 2022.
Emily Anne Thornberry, Lady Nugee is a British Labour politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington South and Finsbury since 2005. She served as Shadow Attorney General for England and Wales from 2021 until the 2024 UK general election, and previously from 2011 to 2014. Thornberry has also served in a number of other senior positions on Labour's front bench, namely as Shadow Foreign Secretary from 2016 to 2020, Shadow First Secretary of State from 2017 to 2020 and Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade from 2020 to 2021.
Brentwood and Ongar is a constituency in Essex represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Alex Burghart, a Conservative, serving since October 2022 as Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office.
Shailesh Lakhman Vara is a Ugandan-British Conservative former politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for North West Cambridgeshire from 2005 until 2024. He also served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from July to September 2022.
David Michael Gauke is a British political commentator, solicitor and former politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for South West Hertfordshire from 2005 to 2019. He served in the Cabinet under Theresa May, most notably as Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor from 2018 to 2019. First elected as a Conservative, Gauke had the Conservative whip removed on 3 September 2019 and until the dissolution sat as an independent politician.
Damian Patrick George Hinds is a British Conservative Party politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for East Hampshire since 2010. He has served as Shadow Secretary of State for Education since July 2024. He previously served as Secretary of State for Education under Theresa May from 2018 to 2019; he has also held junior ministerial positions under four Prime Ministers.
The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury is a junior ministerial post in His Majesty's Treasury, ranked below the First Lord of the Treasury, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the Paymaster General and the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, and alongside the Economic Secretary to the Treasury. It ranks at Parliamentary Secretary level and the holder does not attend Cabinet.
Stephen Paul Barclay is a British politician who served in various cabinet positions under prime ministers Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak between 2018 and 2024, lastly as the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from 2023 to 2024. A member of the Conservative Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for North East Cambridgeshire since 2010 and Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs since July 2024.
Sir James Jacob Gilchrist Berry is a British Conservative Party politician and former solicitor who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Rossendale and Darwen in Lancashire first elected at the 2010 general election serving until defeat in the 2024 general election. He previously served as Chairman of the Conservative Party and Minister without Portfolio from 6 September to 25 October 2022. Before this, he served as Minister of State for the Northern Powerhouse and Local Growth from 2017 to 2020 in the governments of Theresa May and Boris Johnson.
Neil John O'Brien is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Harborough, Oadby and Wigston, previously Harborough, since 2017. He was the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Primary Care and Public Health from September 2022 to November 2023. He was previously a special adviser to Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne from 2012 to 2016 and Theresa May during her tenure as Prime Minister.
The Hampstead and Kilburn Conservative Party parliamentary primary of 2013 was the 1st open primary election used to select the Conservative Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for the North London constituency of Hampstead and Kilburn. The election was held on Wednesday 30 January 2013 under the first-past-the-post system. It was the third primary organised by a Conservative Association to select a PPC, after Totnes and Gosport. However, unlike previous primaries, voting took place at a public meeting rather than by postal ballot. At the time, the seat was held by Glenda Jackson, a long serving Labour MP and as due to the close race in 2010, was the Conservatives' number one target seat at the 2015 election.
Helen Olivia Bicknell Whately is a British politician who served as Minister of State for Social Care from October 2022 to July 2024, and previously from 2020 to 2021. She also served as Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury from 2021 to 2022. A member of the Conservative Party, she has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Faversham and Mid Kent since 2015 and Shadow Secretary of State for Transport since July 2024.
Major James Stephen Heappey is a British politician and former soldier who served as Minister of State for the Armed Forces from 2020 to 2024. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wells in Somerset from 2015 to 2024.
Miriam Jane Alice Davies, known as Mims Davies, is a British politician who has served as a Member of Parliament since 2015, for three successive constituencies. A member of the Conservative Party, she has served as Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities since July 2024. She previously served in various ministerial positions between 2018 and 2024.
Trudy Lynne Harrison is a British Conservative Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Copeland from the February 2017 by-election to the 2024 general election. Her election marked the first time Copeland had elected a Conservative MP since 1931, and the first time the constituency had elected a female MP. Three months after her by-election victory, Harrison was re-elected in the 2017 general election and held her seat in 2019.
Julia Louise Lopez is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hornchurch and Upminster since 2017. She has served as Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport since July 2024.
Sir Simon Richard Clarke is a British Conservative politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland from 2017 to 2024. He briefly served as Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities from September to October 2022 and Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 2021 to 2022.
Andrew John Griffith is a British Conservative Party politician and former senior media executive who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Arundel and South Downs since 2019. He has served as Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology since July 2024.
Gagan Mohindra is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for South West Hertfordshire since 2019. He has been Shadow Minister of State for Education since July 2024.
