Simon Jupp

British Conservative politician

Simon Jupp
MP
Member of Parliament
for East Devon
Incumbent
Assumed office
12 December 2019
Preceded bySir Hugo Swire
Majority6,708 (10.5%)
Personal details
Born (1985-09-08) 8 September 1985 (age 38)
Plymouth, Devon, England
Political partyConservative
OccupationPolitician
Websitewww.simonjupp.org.uk

Simon James Jupp[1] (born 8 September 1985)[2] is a British Conservative Party politician who was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for East Devon at the 2019 general election.[3]

Early life and career

Simon Jupp was born on 8 September 1985 in Plymouth at Freedom Fields Hospital.[4][5] As a teenager, he volunteered at a local radio station on weekends.[6]

After college, he worked as a presenter for commercial radio stations in Devon, later becoming a journalist and manager for the BBC and ITV, before entering politics.[7][8]

Political career

Jupp joined the Conservative Campaign Headquarters press office as the Head of Broadcast in 2017. He was appointed as Special Advisor to Tim Bowles, the Mayor of the West of England in 2018. In 2019, he joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as a Special Advisor to the First Secretary of State and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab.[9]

At the 2019 general election, Jupp was elected to Parliament as MP for East Devon with 50.8% of the vote and a majority of 6,708.[10]

Jupp was elected by MPs to be a member of the Transport Select Committee in February 2020 and the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee in September 2021. He previously served as a Parliamentary Private Secretary in the Department for Transport and Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

In November 2023, Jupp voted against a motion that would have called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza-Israel conflict.[11][12]

Due to boundary changes and the abolition of East Devon at the next general election, Jupp announced in early 2023 that he would be standing as a candidate in the new Honiton and Sidmouth constituency at the next general election.[13]

In August 2023, Jupp was criticised for sending out a promotional political campaign leaflet designed to look like a fictional local newspaper called the "East Devon Echo". Whilst appearing to be a local newspaper, complete with advertising, it instead contained a selection of articles showcasing Jupp’s activities and campaigns in East Devon, along with various items based on the Conservative party’s policies, whilst lacking any clear party branding. Information regarding the sender was limited to very small print at the bottom of the front page, indicating that it is being promoted by the EDCA (an abbreviation for the East Devon Conservative Association). The leaflet was posted to addresses in the new Sidmouth and Honiton constituency. Local newspapers, including the Midweek Herald and the Exmouth Journal quoted Jupp as having talked in about the importance of local news and ‘proper journalism’, while criticising ‘pseudo websites masquerading as legitimate sources of news’.[14][15]

In April 2024, Jupp was accused of deceiving potential voters and members of the public after the registration of a number of different websites using the name of Richard Foord, Jupp's Lib Dem opponent. Internet users typing in RichardFoord.uk, RichardFoord.co.uk or RichardFoord.com, or accidentally finding these websites via search wishing to reach Foord's genuine website, were instead redirected to Jupp's campaign website.[16][17] On 7 April, when asked, Jupp told the BBC he was "not responsible for the web domains".[17] The following day, the websites were found to have been disconnected.[18] Jupp later admitted on 18 April, that one of his campaign staffers had registered the websites in his opponent's name.[19][20] In response, Foord said that "links that look genuine but simply redirect to Conservative websites only serve to arouse suspicion and undermine trust. People deserve better from their MP."[17]

References

  1. ^ "Members Sworn". Hansard.parliament.uk. 18 December 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  2. ^ Brunskill, Ian (19 March 2020). The Times guide to the House of Commons 2019 : the definitive record of Britain's historic 2019 General Election. HarperCollins Publishers Limited. p. 169. ISBN 978-0-00-839258-1. OCLC 1129682574.
  3. ^ "Devon East Parliamentary constituency". BBC. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  4. ^ Sharp, Beth (27 November 2019). "General Election 2019: More GPs and reopening a railway station on Tory candidate's radar". Sidmouth Herald. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  5. ^ "About Simon Jupp". Simon Jupp MP. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  6. ^ "About Simon Jupp". Simon Jupp MP. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  7. ^ "From DJ to MP". Radio Exe. 14 December 2019.
  8. ^ "About Simon Jupp". Simon Jupp MP. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  9. ^ "General Election 2019: Conservative Simon Jupp elected East Devon MP". East Devon News. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  10. ^ "Statement of Persons Nominated" (PDF).
  11. ^ Voce, Antonio. "How did your MP vote on the Gaza ceasefire motion?". the Guardian. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  12. ^ LDRS, Alison Stephenson. "Devon MPs stances on call for ceasefire in Gaza". www.northdevongazette.co.uk. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  13. ^ "Simon Jupp MP - Candidate for Honiton & Sidmouth". Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  14. ^ "Simon Jupp defends 'fake newspaper' campaign leaflet". Midweek Herald. 29 August 2023. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  15. ^ "Simon Jupp defends 'fake newspaper' campaign leaflet". Exmouth Journal. 29 August 2023. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  16. ^ Parsley, David (5 April 2024). "The Tory MP accused of using his Lib Dem rival's name to campaign". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  17. ^ a b c "MP's misleading website links 'arouse suspicion'". BBC News. 7 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  18. ^ "Misleading Devon MP's website links disconnected". BBC News. 8 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  19. ^ Parsley, David (18 April 2024). "Tory MP admits campaign staffer set up websites in Lib Dem rival's name". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  20. ^ "MP Simon Jupp's campaign manager apologises for misleading websites". BBC News. 18 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.

External links

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Preceded by Member of Parliament
for Devon East
2019–present 		Incumbent
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