Alex Burghart | |
|---|---|
Official portrait, 2017 | |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Apprenticeships and Skills | |
| Assumed office 17 September 2021 | |
| Prime Minister | Boris Johnson |
| Preceded by | Gillian Keegan |
| Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister | |
| In office 26 July 2019 – 16 September 2021 Serving with Trudy Harrison | |
| Prime Minister | Boris Johnson |
| Preceded by | Andrew Bowie |
| Succeeded by | Andrew Griffith Sarah Dines |
| Member of Parliament for Brentwood and Ongar | |
| Assumed office 8 June 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Sir Eric Pickles |
| Majority | 29,065 (54.9%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 7 September 1977 Wimborne Minster, Dorset, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | Christ Church, Oxford King's College London |
| Profession | Politician |
| Website | www.alexburghart.org.uk |
Michael Alex Burghart[1] (born 7 September 1977) is a British politician, academic and former teacher who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Brentwood and Ongar since 2017. A member of the Conservative Party, he was formerly a special adviser to Theresa May.
Burghart was born in Dorset in 1977, the son of two state-school teachers.[2][3] He attended Millfield School in Somerset, having gained a scholarship to the school. Burghart read History at Christ Church, Oxford. He completed his PhD at King's College London in 2007 entitled "The Mercian polity, 716–918".[4]
After university, Burghart taught history at Warwick School before becoming a history tutor at King's College, London.[5] In 2005 he was the lead researcher for the King's College, London project on interrogating Anglo-Saxon charters using digital technologies.[6]
Burghart became a political and policy adviser to Tim Loughton MP, 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[7]
In 2012 Burghart became Director of Policy at the Centre for Social Justice.[8] In February 2016 Burghart was appointed Director of Strategy and Advocacy for the Children's Commissioner for England, Anne Longfield.[9] Later that year he became part of Prime Minister Theresa May's policy team.[10]
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)."[11] Although he was not elected, Burghart increased the Conservative share of the vote from 14.2% to 17.2%.[12] Corbyn become leader of the Labour Party a few months later.
He was selected for the Brentwood and Ongar seat under by-election rules on 28 April 2017 following the decision by Sir Eric Pickles to stand down at the 2017 general election.[13] Burghart was re-elected on 12 December 2019 with an increased majority of 29,065.
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.[citation needed]
In July 2019, at the formation of the first Johnson ministry, Burghart was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
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.[14]
Burghart is the author of 'A Better Start in Life: Long-term approaches for the most vulnerable children', published by Policy Exchange in 2013.[15] Burghart has written extensively about early medieval England, writing for The Times Literary Supplement for over 12 years, The Spectator and BBC History.[16]
Alex moved to the constituency in May 2017. He and his family now live near Ongar. He is married to Hermione Eyre, the daughter of Sir Reginald Eyre, former Conservative MP for Birmingham Hall Green, and has two children.[citation needed]
Burghart has sat on the Board of the Yarlington Housing Group[17] and was Vice Chair of Governors at Queensmill School for children with autism.[18]
