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| Simon Kirby | |
|---|---|
| Name | Simon Kirby |
| Birth date | 1964 |
| Birth place | Brighton, East Sussex, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Politician; business executive |
| Party | Conservative Party (UK) |
| Alma mater | University of Sussex |
| Office | Member of Parliament for Brighton Kemptown |
| Term start | 2010 |
| Term end | 2017 |
Simon Kirby
Simon Kirby is a British former politician and business executive who served as the Conservative Member of Parliament for Brighton Kemptown from 2010 to 2017 and as a junior minister in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Treasury. He was a figure in national debates on housing, small business policy, and taxation, and later returned to roles in the private sector and public appointments. Kirby’s career spans local government in East Sussex, national politics in Westminster, and executive positions in finance and infrastructure.
Kirby was born in Brighton and raised in Brighton and Hove, within the ceremonial county of East Sussex. He attended local state schools before studying at the University of Sussex, where he read for a degree in social sciences and developed an interest in regional development, urban policy and public administration. During his student years he engaged with community groups in Brighton and nearby Hove, and later maintained links with civic organisations across Sussex.
Before entering national politics, Kirby pursued a career in the private sector and local commerce. He worked in financial services and was a director at entities involved in retail and property within the United Kingdom regional market. Kirby served with the Federation of Small Businesses-adjacent networks and held leadership roles in chambers of commerce in Brighton and Sussex Coast bodies, advocating for small and medium-sized enterprises and regional investment. His business background included roles touching on financial planning, corporate governance, and commercial property, connecting him to networks across London’s financial services community and south coast industry groups.
In the 2010 general election Kirby was elected as the Conservative MP for the Brighton Kemptown constituency, overturning a long-standing Labour majority and participating in the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition era of British politics. In Parliament he served on committees and engaged with legislation affecting the Treasury, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, and local government matters impacting Brighton and Hove City Council. Kirby campaigned on constituency-specific issues including coastal infrastructure, housing development in Sussex, transport links to Brighton railway station, and support for local healthcare providers tied to National Health Service trusts serving the region.
Kirby’s parliamentary voting record reflected alignment with mainstream Conservative positions on fiscal policy, taxation, and deregulation measures promoted during the coalition government led by David Cameron. He supported austerity-era measures concerning public expenditure and backed reforms to business taxation and incentives championed by the Treasury under successive Chancellors. On social and local matters he took positions attentive to constituency concerns, including stances on housing policy, local planning frameworks tied to Brighton and Hove, and policing resources in the coastal constituencies. Kirby also voted in ways consistent with Conservative positions on welfare reforms and on measures related to the European Union prior to the 2016 referendum, reflecting the party’s internal diversity on EU membership questions.
Kirby was appointed as a Parliamentary Private Secretary and subsequently served in ministerial junior roles. He was Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills where he engaged with small business policy, entrepreneurship initiatives and enterprise zones promoted by the Cabinet Office and business agencies. Later he served in the HM Treasury as a Treasury minister with responsibilities linked to tax policy and corporate finance, participating in ministerial working groups with officials from the Office for Budget Responsibility and liaising with trade bodies. In ministerial capacities he represented the government at business conferences and parliamentary debates, and worked on implementing policies from Whitehall aimed at stimulating growth in regional economies.
After losing his parliamentary seat in the 2017 general election, Kirby transitioned back to the private sector and to roles in public appointments. He took on advisory and board-level roles in finance, regional development and infrastructure organisations, engaging with private equity, investment funds and development trusts operating in England’s south coast. Kirby participated in non-executive director roles, provided consultancy to firms on public policy and regulatory strategy, and worked with local economic partnerships in Sussex and nearby counties. He remained active in civic life in Brighton and Hove and contributed to think-tanks and policy fora addressing regional housing and transport challenges.
Kirby lives in Brighton and Hove with his family and has been involved with local charities and voluntary organisations. Outside politics and business he has interests in coastal conservation, regional cultural institutions in Sussex and community development projects. He has kept an active presence in local civic networks, attending constituency events and engaging with alumni organisations at the University of Sussex.
Category:1964 births Category:Conservative Party (UK) MPs Category:Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Category:People from Brighton and Hove Category:Alumni of the University of Sussex