Damian Collins

Damian Collins
MP
Chairman of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee
Assumed office
19 October 2016
Preceded by Jesse Norman
Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
In office
22 July 2014 – 23 June 2015
Prime Minister David Cameron
Preceded by Keith Simpson
Succeeded by Chris Pincher
Member of Parliament
for Folkestone and Hythe
Assumed office
6 May 2010
Preceded by Michael Howard
Majority 15,411 (26.2%)
Personal details
Born (1974-02-04) 4 February 1974
Northampton, Northamptonshire, England
Nationality British
Political party Conservative
Spouse(s) Sarah Richardson
Children 2
Alma mater St Benet's Hall, Oxford

Damian Noel Thomas Collins[1] MP (born 4 February 1974, Northampton) is a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. He was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Folkestone and Hythe at the 2010 general election.

On 10 September 2012, Collins was made PPS to Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Theresa Villiers.[2]

Education

Collins was educated at St. Mary’s [R.C.] High School, a state voluntary aided comprehensive school in the village of Lugwardine in Herefordshire, followed by Belmont Abbey School, a former boarding independent school in Hereford, where he studied for his A Levels. He then went up to St Benet's Hall at the University of Oxford, from which he graduated in Modern History in 1996. The previous year, he became President of the Oxford University Conservative Association.[3]

Early career

Between 1999-2008, Collins worked for the M&C Saatchi advertising agency. In 2005, whilst still working at M&C Saatchi, he set up Influence Communications within the group which specialised in issues based marketing campaigns. Before joining M&C Saatchi, he worked in the Conservative Research Department. In 2008, he joined Lexington Communications, where he was Senior Counsel, before leaving to stand at the 2010 general election.[4]

Political career

In 2002, he was the political officer of the centre-right think tank, the Bow Group and a contributor to its 2006 publication Conservative Revival (Politico's Publishing, 2006). In the September 2007 edition of Esquire magazine, he was featured along with six other Conservative parliamentary candidates, as one of the new faces of the party.

At the 2005 general election, he stood in Northampton North; where he finished in second place to sitting Labour MP Sally Keeble who was re-elected with a majority of 3,960 votes over Collins.[5] In May 2006, Collins was included on the "A-list" of Conservative parliamentary candidates, created following the election of David Cameron as Leader of the Conservative Party.[6]

On 13 July 2006, he was selected as prospective parliamentary candidate for the Folkestone and Hythe constituency.[7] He was the successor as Conservative candidate for this seat to Michael Howard, a former Home Secretary and Leader of Conservative Party, who stepped down from Parliament in 2010.

In November 2007, he was included on The Observer's Future 500 list as one of the 50 people to watch in British public life. He was also listed in Insight Public Affairs profiles of the 'Next Generation' of MPs to watch[8] and was interviewed by Sky News for its meet the new MPs series.[9]

In Parliament

Damian Collins made his maiden speech in the House of Commons on 27 May 2010 in the debate on Energy and the Environment in the Queens's Speech debate. He spoke about his support for a new nuclear power station at Dungeness in his constituency.[10]

In July 2010, he was elected as a member of the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, of which he was later made Chair.[11]

Collins was opposed to Brexit prior to the 2016 referendum.[12]

Expenses

It was revealed Collins claimed £4,440.90 over three months in rent for a house in London, despite declaring that he already owned a home in the capital. In his defence, he claimed the property belonged to his wife and was "too small to provide accommodation for my young family, and even if that was not the case, as a new Member of Parliament I wouldn't be able to claim any accommodation allowance against the mortgage on the property."[13]

Minimum Wage Controversy

In September 2012, he came under fire for suggesting that jobless youths should work for less than minimum wage and for suggesting that they should busk to raise money for fares to find work.[14]

Personal life

Collins and his wife Sarah have two children, a daughter, Claudia (born 2007), and a son, Hugo (born 2009).[15]

Author

Collins is the author of Charmed Life: The Phenomenal World of Philip Sassoon[16] first published in hardback in June 2016 by William Collins and republished in paperback in February 2017. Philip Sassoon was himself elected as MP for Hythe in 1912.

References

  1. ↑ "Damian Noel Thomas Collins". Who's Who.
  2. ↑ Walker, Stephen (12 September 2012). "NIO roles for Damian Collins and Alec Shelbrooke" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  3. ↑ "Damian Collins - Member of Parliament for Folkestone and Hythe". Conservative Party. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
  4. ↑ http://www.debretts.com/people/biographies/browse/c/26956/Damian%20Noel+COLLINS.aspx
  5. ↑ "BBC NEWS | Election 2005 | Results | Northampton North". news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2018-02-08.
  6. ↑ "ConservativeHome's Seats & Candidates blog: Who is on the A-list?". ConservativeHome.
  7. ↑ "ConservativeHome's Seats & Candidates blog: Damian Collins selected for Folkestone & Hythe". ConservativeHome.
  8. ↑ http://www.insightpa.com/InsightPA_PPCGuide.pdf
  9. ↑ http://blogs.news.sky.com/boultonandco/Post:5ba5b33a-4e99-466e-ba6d-fe8b4fa2aa9c
  10. ↑ "Damian Collins MP, Folkestone and Hythe". TheyWorkForYou.
  11. ↑ "The most dangerous aspect of Trump's 'fake news' drive, according to an MP taking on the phenomenon". 1 March 2017. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  12. ↑ Goodenough, Tom (16 February 2016). "Which Tory MPs back Brexit, who doesn't and who is still on the fence?". The Spectator. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  13. ↑ Brady, Brian (5 December 2010). "MPs who own London homes still claim rent". The Independent.
  14. ↑ Mulholland, Hélène (20 September 2012). "Tory MP tells jobless youth to work for less than minimum wage". The Guardian.
  15. ↑ "Damian Collins Conservative Candidate". Folkestone & Hythe. Retrieved 2018-02-08.
  16. ↑ "Charmed Life by Damian Collins - Paperback | HarperCollins". HarperCollins UK. Retrieved 2018-02-08.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Michael Howard		 Member of Parliament for Folkestone and Hythe
2010–present		 Incumbent
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