Robert Halfon

The Right Honourable
Robert Halfon
MP
Chair of the Education Select Committee
Assumed office
12 July 2017
Preceded by Neil Carmichael
Minister of State for Skills
In office
17 July 2016 – 12 June 2017
Prime Minister Theresa May
Preceded by Nick Boles
Succeeded by Anne Milton
Minister without Portfolio
In office
11 May 2015 – 17 July 2016
Prime Minister David Cameron
Preceded by Grant Shapps
Succeeded by Brandon Lewis (2018)
Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party
In office
11 May 2015 – 17 July 2016
Leader David Cameron
Theresa May
Preceded by Sarah Newton
Succeeded by Anthea McIntyre
Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Chancellor of the Exchequer
In office
18 July 2014 – 11 May 2015
Prime Minister David Cameron
Preceded by Rob Wilson
Succeeded by Chris Skidmore
Member of Parliament
for Harlow
Assumed office
6 May 2010
Preceded by Bill Rammell
Majority 7,031 (15.6%)
Personal details
Born Robert Henry Halfon
(1969-03-22) 22 March 1969
Westminster, London, England[1]
Political party Conservative
Domestic partner Vanda Colombo
Alma mater University of Exeter
Website Official website

Robert Henry Halfon MP (/ˈhælfɒn/) (born 22 March 1969) is a British Conservative Party politician and former Conservative Party worker. He was first elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Harlow in 2010, being re-elected in 2015,[2] and 2017.

Between May 2015 and July 2016 Halfon served as Minister without Portfolio (attending Cabinet)[3] and Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party.[4] From July 2016 to June 2017 he was Minister of State at the Department for Education.[5] Since July 2017 Halfon has been the Chair of the Education Committee.[6]

Early life and career

Halfon was born on 22 March 1969 in Westminster to a British Jewish family living in Hampstead, London.[7][8] His grandfather was an Italian Jew, living in Libya until forced to leave in 1968, after which he joined his son who had already moved to England.[9] Halfon was born with a moderate version of spastic diplegia, a form of cerebral palsy, and underwent several major operations as a child, causing osteoarthritis in his early thirties.[10]

He was privately educated at Highgate School, an independent school in London. He attended the University of Exeter, where he read for a Bachelor of Arts degree in politics before a Master of Arts in Russian and East European politics. Along with David Burrowes, Sajid Javid and Tim Montgomerie, he took over Exeter University's Conservative Association, turning Conservative Future from social to political activities.[8] At Exeter he took the issue of compulsory membership of the National Union of Students to the European Human Rights Court, where he won.[10]

After graduating, Halfon worker for a period selling hotel memberships at an upmarket London hotel, before he got a job as a part-time researcher for the then Conservative MP for Blackpool North Harold Elletson and subsequently worked for various Conservative MPs, including Michael Fabricant.[10] He worked as chief of staff for the Conservative MP Oliver Letwin before becoming political director for Conservative Friends of Israel.

Parliamentary career

Halfon unsuccessfully contested the seat of Harlow for the Conservative party at the 2001 general election and 2005 general elections, losing by just 97 votes on the second occasion.[11]

His third run for Harlow was successful and after the 2010 general election, he was elected to the executive of the 1922 Committee of backbench Conservative MPs.[12] He delivered his maiden speech in the House on 2 June 2010.[13] He was re-elected at the 2015 general election and 2017 general election.

On 19 July 2010 he hosted the launch of the Friends of Israel Initiative at the House of Commons.[14][15]

On 18 July 2014 he was chosen by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, to be his Parliamentary Private Secretary.[16] Announcing the appointment, Osborne described Halfon as "a brilliant campaigner".[17]

Between May 2015 and July 2016 Halfon served as Minister without Portfolio (attending Cabinet)[3] and Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party.[4] From July 2016 he was Minister of State at the Department for Education, before being unexpectedly sacked on 12 June 2017 by the Prime Minister Theresa May.[5]

In the House of Commons he sits on the Liaison Committee (Commons) and Education Committee and has previously sat on the Public Administration Select Committee.[18]

Campaigns

Trade unions

Halfon is a member of Prospect[19] and a campaigner for Conservative supporters to become more involved in trade unions.[20][21] In 2012, he published a pamphlet through the thinktank Demos called Stop the Union Bashing: Why Conservatives Should Embrace the Trade Union Movement, which relayed the history of trade unionism in the Conservative Party, and called for these links to be revived.[22] However, his voting record in Parliament has been for more restrictive regulation of trade union activity.[23]

Cost of living

After becoming an MP, Halfon founded the Petrol Promise campaign,[24] an online website and petition calling for lower fuel tax and an official inquiry into the oil market due to the suspected manipulation of petrol prices.[25] He is a supporter of the FairFuelUK[26] pressure group and has raised the issue of cheaper petrol in Parliament. He also presented a petition calling for an inquiry into price-fixing at the Office of Fair Trading signed by 30,000 motorists in 2013.[27] This led to Chancellor George Osborne calling him a "champion of the people he represents".[28] He won The Spectator's Campaigner of the Year Award in 2013 for his work fighting to keep petrol duty low.[29] In comparison, he has consistently voted against slowing the rise in rail fares.[30]

Halfon has campaigned against privatised utility companies making 'excessive profits'. In 2013, he published a study of water companies in the Eastern region examining their profits, and called for an inquiry.[31] He has called for a windfall tax to be imposed on energy companies who are found to be unnecessarily putting up prices to customers.[32]

Halfon has also campaigned for reducing the tax rate on low paid workers, arguing in 2013 that a near living wage could be achieved if the Government reintroduced the 10p band of income tax or increased the National Insurance threshold, citing this as an alternative to the living wage which he said could damage small, local businesses.[33]

Apprenticeships

Halfon is a supporter of apprenticeships, and campaigned for a new university technical college to be built in Harlow, which was to open in September 2014.[34] He set up the Parliamentary Academy, which encourages MPs to employ apprentices in Parliament.[35] He had the first MP's apprentice in the House of Commons, and as of 2013 was on his third apprentice, who came from Harlow College.[36] For his work on apprenticeships, Robert Halfon was also named Avanta's Politician of the Year in 2013.[37]

Other

Halfon has signed several early day motions in support of National Health Service funding for homeopathy sponsored by Conservative MP David Tredinnick.[38] Although Halfon signed these motions in 2010, he has since campaigned no further on these issues.

Halfon has been critical of donations received by UK universities from abroad, in particular the London School of Economics and Political Science.[39]

In July 2018, following the deaths of two children while playing on bouncy castles, Halfon called for an "urgent investigation" into the regulation of the inflatables. He argued that 'There should be a temporary ban on bouncy castles in public areas until we can ensure they are safe'. Earlier, in 2016, a seven-year-old girl died after a bouncy castle broke free from its moorings in Halfon's constituency of Harlow.[40]

Controversies

In 2014 Halfon was challenged in Parliament over money paid to his constituency office by a close associate of a Ukrainian magnate, Dmitry Firtash, recently arrested amid allegations of bribery. Firtash’s close associate Robert Shetler-Jones, a Briton who was the former CEO of the Ukrainian’s business empire Group and was currently deputy chairman of the group’s supervisory council had donated £35,000 to Halfon’s constituency office. Halfon rejected the accusations of connections with Firtash and said that he had fully declared the money in the Register of Members’ Interests.[41]

In 2015 Halfon admitted an affair with a 22 year old party activist he had been working with, after he was warned that a Conservative aide was trying to blackmail him over the relationship.[42] Halfon alleged that the controversial former Conservative Parliamentary candidate Mark Clarke, dubbed the "Tatler Tory", was attempting to attempt to blackmail him to further his own career advancement within the Party.[43] He was further criticised after it was revealed by The Guardian and The Mirror newspapers that had claiming over £30,000 in expenses to ilicitly meet the woman he was having the affair with in stays at the East India Club in London. However, Halfon's spokeswoman responded that the woman with whom Halfon had an affair had not stayed at the club overnight. He was further criticised, after having previously voted to cut legal aid, for having his lawyer’s bills of £6,043 paid by Conservative supporting legal firms.[44] [45]

In January 2017, Halfon`s former assistant (Ms. Maria Strizzolo[46]) was recorded being wined-and-dined by former Israeli Embassy staffer Shai Masot. Masot was recorded suggesting to her that he should like to "take down" Robert Halfon. Immediately after reports from the documentary were carried by UK news networks, censure was attempted. The media outlet which conducted the sting-operation covering Israeli meddling in UK Politics was reported to Ofcom in January 2017. The sting-operation was part of an Al Jazeera exposé about Israeli diplomatic corp irregularities and influence peddling amongst political and student groups in the UK, titled "The Lobby".[47][48] After investigations over the course of eight months, Ofcom reported that Al Jazeera had not breached journalism standards.[49]

Personal life

Halfon's partner, Vanda Colombo, is Brazilian.[50] Halfon supports Chelsea F.C.[51] and is a member of the M.C.C.

References

  1. ↑ "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  2. ↑ Gardner, Gemma; Mata, William (8 May 2015). "Record-breaking victory for conservative Robert Halfon". Harlow Star. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  3. ↑ "Ministerial appointments". Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  4. ↑ "Privy Council Orders of 14 May 2015" (PDF). Privy Council Office. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  5. ↑ Evening Standard (12 June 2017). Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  6. ↑ "Robert Halfon elected as Chair - News from Parliament". UK Parliament.
  7. ↑ Jessica Elgot (14 May 2010). "New Jewish ministers and the Miliband rivalry". Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  8. 1 2 Michael Mosbacher (April 2014). "Underrated: Robert Halfon". Standpoint. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  9. ↑ Halfon, Robert (28 August 2011). "You CAN drop democracy from a B-52 bomber... and how I wish my grandfather had lived to see Gaddafi's demise". Daily Mail. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  10. 1 2 3 Janet Murray (9 November 2011). "Robert Halfon ~ his story". FE Week. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  11. ↑ "Biography". telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  12. ↑ Leon Symons (27 May 2010). "1922 Committee success for Halfon". Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  13. ↑ "House of Commons Debates 02 June 2010 - Education and Health". Hansard. London. 2 June 2010. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
  14. ↑ "The Friends of Israel Initiative was launched to a rapturous reception at the British Parliament on Monday, July 19". Friends of Israel Initiative. 19 July 2010. Archived from the original on 31 July 2010. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  15. ↑ "Friends of Israel Initiative - speeches". Henry Jackson Society. 19 July 2010. Archived from the original on 24 November 2010. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  16. ↑ "Harlow Star". Retrieved 30 August 2014.
  17. ↑ "Twitter - George Osborne". Retrieved 30 August 2014.
  18. ↑ "Robert Halfon". Parliament UK. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  19. ↑ http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-committees/public-administration/Formalminutes2010-11.pdf
  20. ↑ "ConservativeHome comment". Retrieved 18 June 2011.
  21. ↑ "Rob's Blog: Conservatives and Trade Unions". Retrieved 18 June 2011.
  22. ↑ Halfon, Robert. "Stop the Union Bashing". Demos. Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  23. ↑ "Robert Halfon votes". They work for you. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  24. ↑ "Petrol Promise campaign".
  25. ↑ "Are Retailers Just IGNORING an Oil Price Fall? - PetrolPrices.com". www.petrolprices.com.
  26. ↑ "Fair Fuel UK campaign".
  27. ↑ "PETROL RETAILERS' SUPPORT MP'S DECISION TO HAND PETITION TO THE OFT". Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  28. ↑ Osborne, George. "Rt Hon". Hansard. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  29. ↑ Payne, Sebastien. "Parliamentarian of Year Awards 2013: the winners". The Spectator. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  30. ↑ "Robert Halfon votes". They work for you. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  31. ↑ "Water firms in East of England 'rip off' customers, claims MP". BBC News. 26 July 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  32. ↑ "Robert Halfon: Energy windfall tax the right thing to do". Politics Home. Archived from the original on 23 October 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  33. ↑ Halfon, Robert. "Robert Halfon MP: How Conservatives should champion the living wage". Conservative Home. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  34. ↑ Harlow College. "New University Technical College for Harlow". Harlow College. Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  35. ↑ Summers, Nick. "FE Week visits parliament to meet the apprentices working in MP's offices". FE Week. Archived from the original on 24 April 2017. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  36. ↑ Harlow College. "You're Hired!". Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  37. ↑ "Training provider names Robert Halfon as their politician of the year". Your Harlow. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  38. ↑ Tredinnick, David (29 June 2010). "Early Day Motion #342 British Medical Association Motions on Homeopathy".
  39. ↑ Young, Alexander (10 January 2011). "Conservative MP decries LSE's "blood money"". Archived from the original on 16 July 2012.
  40. ↑ "Death prompts bouncy castle ban plea". BBC News. 2018-07-02. Retrieved 2018-07-02.
  41. ↑ "Tory MP challenged on cash received from associate of Ukrainian tycoon Dmitry Firtash". Independent. 18 March 2014. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  42. ↑ Mason, Rowena (16 November 2015). "Tory minister Robert Halfon admits cheating on partner amid blackmail claims". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  43. ↑ "Tatler Tory scandal: 22-year-old activist's 'lost night' with MP". \Daily Telegraph. 2015-11-22. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  44. ↑ Halliday, Josh (22 November 2015). "Tory minister claimed expenses for room at club where he met lover". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  45. ↑ "Grasping MPs claim £800,000 in freebies in the last 12 months alone". The Mirror. 13 February 2016. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  46. ↑ "Maria Strizzolo :Written question - 59731". UK Parliament.
  47. ↑ "Al Jazeera: Israel seeks to shut offices and take network off air". BBC News. 6 August 2017. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  48. ↑ Dearden, Lizzie (12 January 2017). "Israel embassy scandal: Shai Masot resigns after discussing 'take down' of pro-Palestinian British politicians". The Independent. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  49. ↑ Ruddick, Graham (9 October 2017). "Ofcom clears al-Jazeera of antisemitism in exposé of Israeli official". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  50. ↑ Doreen Wachmann (2011). "The Tories find new Israel hero in Robert". Jewish Telegraph. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  51. ↑ David Wilkes, Jason Groves (12 May 2015). "White van Tory who forced cut in fuel duty: Cameron rewards campaigning MP with place in the Cabinet". Daily Mail. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Bill Rammell		 Member of Parliament
for Harlow
2010–present		 Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by
Grant Shapps		 Minister without Portfolio
2015–2016		 Vacant
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