Alex Burghart

Alex Burghart

MP
Alex Burghart; MP
	Burghart in 2017
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Apprenticeships and Skills
	Incumbent
	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
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 8 June 2017
Preceded by	Sir Eric Pickles
Majority	29,065 (54.9%)
Personal details
Born	7 September 1977 (age 44); Wimborne Minster, Dorset, England
Nationality	British
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Hermione Eyre
Alma mater	Christ Church, University of Oxford; King's College London
Profession	Politician
Website	www.alexburghart.org.uk

Michael Alex Burghart^[1] (born 7 September 1977) is a British Conservative Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Brentwood and Ongar since 2017. He was formerly a teacher, university lecturer and special adviser to Johnson's predecessor, Theresa May.^[2]

Early life[]

Burghart was born in Dorset in 1977, the son of two state-school teachers.^[3]^[4] 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".^[5]

Career[]

Academic[]

After university, Burghart taught history at Warwick School before becoming a history tutor at King's College, London.^[6] In 2005 he was the lead researcher for the King's College, London project on interrogating Anglo-Saxon charters using digital technologies.^[7]

Policy Adviser[]

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^[8]

In 2012 Burghart became Director of Policy at the Centre for Social Justice.^[9] In February 2016 Burghart was appointed Director of Strategy and Advocacy for the Children's Commissioner for England, Anne Longfield.^[10] Later that year he became part of Prime Minister Theresa May's policy team.^[2]

Parliamentary[]

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]

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 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]

Writing[]

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]

Personal life[]

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]

References[]

^ "No. 61961". The London Gazette. 19 June 2017. p. 11781.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "Who is Who in Theresa May's Downing Street". The Debate. 30 September 2016. Archived from the original on 12 October 2017. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
^ "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
^ "Alex Burghart". Brentwood & Ongar.
^ "EThOS". British Library. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
^ "Michael Burghart – Research Portal, King's College, London". kclpure.kcl.ac.uk.
^ "AsChart: Anglo-Saxon Charters". Completed projects A-Z. King's College London. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
^ "Munro review reports – GOV.UK". www.gov.uk.
^ "Alex Burghart, Director of Policy, Centre for Social Justice". socialintegrationcommission.org.uk. Archived from the original on 30 March 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
^ "Children's Commissioner appoints Alex Burghart as new strategy chief". 1 February 2016. Archived from the original on 28 April 2017. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
^ Dean, Jon. "Alex Burghart".
^ "Islington Council: 2015 General Election results for Islington". www.islington.gov.uk.^{[permanent dead link]}^{[dead link]}
^ "Alex Burghart wins the Brentwood and Ongar selection contest – Conservative Home".
^ "Ministerial appointments: September 2021". 16 September 2021.
^ Alex Burghart, Edited by Matthew Oakley (September 2016). "A better start in life" (PDF). PolicyExchange. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
^ "August issue out now". Archived from the original on 18 March 2017. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
^ "New members join Yarlington Housing Group Board". 16 December 2015.
^ "Welcome to Queensmill School". www.queensmillschool.info. Archived from the original on 21 September 2017. Retrieved 18 May 2017.

External links[]

Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
Contributions in Parliament at Hansard
Voting record at Public Whip
Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou
Appearances on C-SPAN

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Sir Eric Pickles	Member of Parliament for Brentwood and Ongar 2017–present	Incumbent

[1] "No. 61961". The London Gazette. 19 June 2017. p. 11781.

[webershandwick.co.uk-2] Jump up to: ^a ^b "Who is Who in Theresa May's Downing Street". The Debate. 30 September 2016. Archived from the original on 12 October 2017. Retrieved 18 May 2017.

[3] "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 9 June 2017.

[4] "Alex Burghart". Brentwood & Ongar.

[5] "EThOS". British Library. Retrieved 25 October 2017.

[6] "Michael Burghart – Research Portal, King's College, London". kclpure.kcl.ac.uk.

[ABonASdox-7] "AsChart: Anglo-Saxon Charters". Completed projects A-Z. King's College London. Retrieved 9 June 2017.

[8] "Munro review reports – GOV.UK". www.gov.uk.

[9] "Alex Burghart, Director of Policy, Centre for Social Justice". socialintegrationcommission.org.uk. Archived from the original on 30 March 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2017.

[10] "Children's Commissioner appoints Alex Burghart as new strategy chief". 1 February 2016. Archived from the original on 28 April 2017. Retrieved 18 May 2017.

[11] Dean, Jon. "Alex Burghart".

[12] "Islington Council: 2015 General Election results for Islington". www.islington.gov.uk.^{[permanent dead link]}^{[dead link]}

[13] "Alex Burghart wins the Brentwood and Ongar selection contest – Conservative Home".

[14] "Ministerial appointments: September 2021". 16 September 2021.

[15] Alex Burghart, Edited by Matthew Oakley (September 2016). "A better start in life" (PDF). PolicyExchange. Retrieved 9 June 2017.

[16] "August issue out now". Archived from the original on 18 March 2017. Retrieved 18 May 2017.

[17] "New members join Yarlington Housing Group Board". 16 December 2015.

[18] "Welcome to Queensmill School". www.queensmillschool.info. Archived from the original on 21 September 2017. Retrieved 18 May 2017.

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Prime Minister's Office
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