Simon Kirby

Biography

Simon Kirby served as Economic Secretary to the Treasury (City Minister) from July 2016 until June 2017.

He was elected as the MP for Brighton Kemptown in May 2010.

Education

Simon has a BSc(Hons) degree in Mathematical Modelling from the Open University and studied Operational Research at the London School of Economics.

Politics

Simon was first elected to represent the people of Kemptown in 1992 as a Councillor on East Sussex County Council. Following this, he served on both Brighton Borough and Brighton and Hove City Councils. He stood down as a Cabinet member on East Sussex County Council in 2009 to concentrate on winning back the marginal parliamentary seat in Brighton Kemptown and was successfully elected as the Member of Parliament for Brighton Kemptown in 2010. He has served on the BIS select committee and was appointed PPS in DCMS, the Foreign Office and the Department of Health. He also played a part in the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill and was Vice Chair of the HIV/AIDS APPG. Simon held the Brighton Kemptown seat in 2015 and was promoted to the Government Whips office.

Career before politics

Prior to his career in politics, Simon started, and jointly owned, a local leisure business called C-Side which appeared in the ‎Sunday Times Fast Track 100 List, as well as a local radio station, which today is Juice FM. He was also involved in campaigning for City status for Brighton & Hove.

Personal life

Simon is married to his wife Elizabeth and lives in Brighton. He has six children. Having been born in Hastings in 1964, Simon has lived in Sussex for nearly all of his life, giving him a real love of the area.

Previous roles in government