Robert Syms

Not to be confused with Robert Simms.

Sir Robert Syms
Lord Commissioner of the Treasury
In office
17 July 2016 – 15 June 2017
Prime MinisterTheresa May
Preceded byCharlie Elphicke
Succeeded byMark Spencer
Member of Parliament
for Poole
In office
1 May 1997 – 30 May 2024
Preceded byJohn Devereux Ward
Succeeded byNeil Duncan-Jordan
Personal details
Born (1956-08-15) 15 August 1956 (age 68)
Chippenham, Wiltshire, England
Political partyConservative
Spouses
Nicola Guy
​
​
(m. 1991; div. 1999)​
Fiona Mellersh
​
​
(m. 2000; div. 2016)​
Children2

Sir Robert Andrew Raymond Syms (born 15 August 1956) is a Conservative Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Poole from 1997 to 2024. He received a knighthood in 2017.

Early life and career

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Robert Syms was born on 15 August 1956 in Chippenham, Wiltshire, and went to Collegiate School, a private school in Bristol.[1][2]

He was leader of North Wiltshire District Council from 1984 to 1987 and a Wiltshire County Councillor from 1985 to 1997.[1]

Syms has also been managing director of his family's plant hire firm on Bristol Road in Chippenham, and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Building.[1][2] He retains a directorship and shareholding in Marden Holdings Ltd, headquartered in Bristol Road, Chippenham.[3]

Parliamentary career

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At the 1992 general election, Syms stood as the Conservative candidate in Walsall North, coming second with 39.4% of the vote behind the incumbent Labour MP David Winnick.[4][5]

Syms was elected to Parliament as MP for Poole at the 1997 general election with 42.1% of the vote and a majority of 5,298.[6] At the 2001 general election, Syms was re-elected as MP for Poole with an increased vote share of 45.1% and an increased majority of 7,166.[7] He was again re-elected at the 2005 general election, with a decreased vote share of 43.4% and a decreased majority of 5,988.[8]

In May 2009, The Daily Telegraph reported that Syms had claimed more than £2,000 of furniture for his designated second home in London which was delivered to his parents' address in Wiltshire.[9] Syms denied any wrongdoing, telling the Bournemouth Echo: "It was purely a matter of convenience from my point of view". Syms said the furniture was only delivered and assembled at his parents' home, then later transported to his London address.[10]

At the 2010 general election, Syms was again re-elected, with an increased vote share of 47.5% and an increased majority of 7,541.[11][12]

Syms was an assistant whip for the Coalition government between 2012 and 2013.[13] He has served on a variety of select committees, acting as chair of the Regulatory Reform Committee from July 2010 to September 2012 and the High Speed Rail select committee from April 2014 to February 2016.[13]

At the 2015 general election, Syms was again re-elected with an increased vote share of 50.1% and an increased majority of 15,789.[14]

Syms organised a letter signed by more than 80 fellow Eurosceptic Conservative MPs urging David Cameron to continue as Prime Minister regardless of the result of the EU referendum in 2016.[15] He backed Theresa May's leadership bid following Cameron's resignation,[16] and was appointed as a Government Whip and Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury upon May's succession.[17]

At the snap 2017 general election, Syms was again re-elected, with an increased vote share of 57.9% and a decreased majority of 14,209.[18]

In June 2017, Syms was criticised for using aggressive and unprofessional language on Twitter. He replied to a tweet calling the Conservative-DUP deal after the 2017 general election a "coalition" by calling the twitter user a "dick".[19][20]

At the 2019 general election, Syms was again re-elected, with an increased vote share of 58.7% and an increased majority of 19,116.[21]

In 2020, Syms became a "lockdown rebel" and a steering committee member of the lockdown-sceptic COVID Recovery Group alongside a group of Conservative MPs who opposed the UK government's December 2020 lockdown.[22] They have been seen as an "echo" of the Brexiteer European Research Group (ERG) of MPs, and a response by backbench Conservatives to Nigel Farage's anti-lockdown Reform UK party.[22]

At the 2024 general election, Syms lost his seat to Labour's Neil Duncan-Jordan by a margin of 18 votes.[23] Syms's vote share was reduced to 31.8%.[24] This was after multiple recounts.[25]

Personal life

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He is divorced and has two teenage children.[26][2] Syms was appointed Knight Bachelor in October 2017.[27]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Robert Syms". Politics.co.uk. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
  2. ^ a b c "Robert Syms bio". Conservatives. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
  3. ^ "House of Commons - The Register of Members' Financial Interests 5 Mar 2012". UK Parliament website. UK Parliament. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  4. ^ "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  5. ^ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
  6. ^ "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  7. ^ "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  8. ^ "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  9. ^ Gammell, Caroline (18 May 2009). "Robert Syms had furniture delivered to 'wrong home': MPs' expenses". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  10. ^ "Tory MP defends expenses claim". Bournemouth Echo. 19 May 2009.
  11. ^ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  12. ^ "BBC NEWS – Election 2010 – Poole". BBC News.
  13. ^ a b "Robert Syms". UK Parliament. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
  14. ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  15. ^ Dominiczak, Peter; Swinford, Steven (24 June 2016). "Eurosceptic Tory MPs and ministers sign letter urging David Cameron to continue as Prime Minister". The Telegraph.
  16. ^ "Conservative Party leadership: Who's backing who?". BBC News. 8 July 2016.
  17. ^ "Robert Syms". GOV.UK. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  18. ^ "Past election and referendum results". BCP. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
  19. ^ Nagesh, Ashitha (11 June 2017). "Tory MP calls member of public a 'd*ck' for mistakenly calling DUP deal a coalition". Metro. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  20. ^ Grassby, Jade. ""It's not a coalition, you d**k": Poole MP Robert Syms criticised for response to Corbyn supporter". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  21. ^ "SOPN" (PDF).
  22. ^ a b Hope, Christopher (10 November 2020). "Tory lockdown rebels unite to form Covid Recovery Group". The Telegraph.
  23. ^ "Recount drama in Poole as Dorset's Tory stalwarts lose seats". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  24. ^ "Poole - General election results 2024". BBC News.
  25. ^ "Six votes separate candidates as recount called". Bournemouth Echo. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  26. ^ "Tory MP's ex-wife rages at David Cameron over whip's sacking". The Guardian. 7 October 2013. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
  27. ^ "Knighthoods: Michael Penning and Robert Syms". GOV.UK. Prime Minister's Office. 12 October 2017. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
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