SHADOW Cabinet Office minister Alex Burghart has faced Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner at PMQs – but who is the MP?
It is Westminster tradition that if the Prime Minister is unavailable on PMQs day, they will be replaced by their deputy. Meanwhile, the Leader of the Opposition will have their second in command do the same.
Keir Starmer is currently attending the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro.
Burghart previously served as shadow secretary of state for Northern Ireland and now serves as the shadow chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster role along with the Northern Ireland portfolio. He is effectively Kemi Badenoch's deputy.
Early Life
Burghart, 47, was born in Wimborne Minster in Dorset, and is the son of two state school teachers.
He was gained a scholarship to the independent Millfield School in Somerset, and went on to study history at Christ Church, Oxford.
After university, Burghart taught history at Warwick School before becoming a history tutor at King's College London.
Political career
Burghart stood against then Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn in Islington North in 2015, and came second, increasing the Conservative share of the vote from 14.2% to 17.2%.
In 2017, he was selected for the Brentwood and Ongar safe seat, and was elected winning 65.8% of the vote.
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 Parliamentary Private Secretary to former prime minister Boris Johnson in July 2019.
At the 2019 general election, Burghart was re-elected as the MP for Brentwood and Ongar.
Alex Burghart with a dig at @RachelReevesMP lying about being an economist. "This morning, we had City economist... real economists M.r Speaker!"#PMQs pic.twitter.com/75c8UC9qrr
— Richard (@RedWallPleb) November 20, 2024
In 2021, Burghart was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Apprenticeships and Skills at the Department for Education, and in 2022 resigned from government, citing Boris Johnson's handling of the Chris Pincher scandal.
In 2022, he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office by former prime minister Rishi Sunak with responsibilities including the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, the Covid-19 Inquiry, the Government Digital Service and the Central Digital and Data Office.
Burghart now serves as the shadow chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster role along with his Northern Ireland portfolio.
Personal Life
He is married to journalist and write Hermione Eyre and the pair have one daughter.
She works at The Independent and is known for her long-form interviews with celebrities, publishing her works in the London Evening Standard Magazine, where she is a contributing editor.
She has also written for the New Statesman, and The Spectator.
