- Damian Collins
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Damian Collins MP 
Member of Parliament
for Folkestone and HytheIncumbent Assumed office
6 May 2010Preceded by Michael Howard Majority 10,112 (19.2%) Personal details Born 4 February 1974
NorthamptonNationality British Political party Conservative Spouse(s) Sarah Richardson Children 1s, 1d Alma mater St Benet's Hall, University of Oxford Damian Noel Thomas Collins[1] (born 4 February 1974, Northampton) is a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. He was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Folkestone and Hythe in the 2010 general election.
Contents
Education
Collins was educated at St Mary's Roman Catholic High School, a voluntary aided Roman Catholic comprehensive school in Herefordshire, and Belmont Abbey School, a co-educational independent school in the same county, followed by St Benet's Hall, at the University of Oxford, from 1993 to 1996, from which he graduated in modern history. He was president of the Oxford University Conservative Association in Hilary Term 1995.
Early career
Between 1999 and 2008, Collins worked for the M&C Saatchi advertising agency. In 2005, whilst still at M&C Saatchi, he set up Influence Communications within the group which specialised in issues based marketing campaigns. Before joining M&C Saatchi he worked in the Conservative Research Department. In 2008 he joined Lexington Communications, where he was Senior Counsel, before leaving to fight the 2010 general election.[2]
Political career
In 2002 he was the political officer of the centre-right think tank, the Bow Group and a contributor to its 2006 publication Conservative Revival (Politico's Publishing, 2006). In the September 2007 edition of Esquire magazine, he was featured along with six other Conservative parliamentary candidates, as one of the new faces of the party.
In the 2005 general election he came second when standing in Northampton North.[3] In May 2006 Collins was included on the "A-list" of Conservative parliamentary candidates, created following the election of David Cameron as leader of the party.[4]
On 13 July 2006 he was selected as prospective parliamentary candidate for Folkestone and Hythe constituency.[5] He was the successor as Conservative candidate for this seat to Michael Howard, a former Home Secretary and latterly leader of Conservative party, who stepped down in 2010.
In November 2007 he was included on The Observer's Future 500 list as one of the 50 people to watch in British public life. He was also listed in Insight Public Affairs profiles of the 'Next Generation' of MPs to watch[6] and was interviewed by Sky News for its meet the new MPs series.[7]
In Parliament
Damian Collins made his maiden speech in the House of Commons on 27 May 2010 in the debate on energy and the environment in the Queens's Speech debate. He spoke about his support for a new nuclear power station at Dungeness in his constituency.[8]
In July 2010 he was elected as a member of the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee.
Expenses
It was revealed Collins claimed £4,440.90 over three months in rent for a house in London, despite declaring that he already owned a home in the capital. In his defence he claimed the property belonged to his wife and was "too small to provide accommodation for my young family, and even if that was not the case, as a new member of parliament I wouldn't be able to claim any accommodation allowance against the mortgage on the property."[9]
Personal life
Damian and his wife Sarah have two children, a daughter Claudia (born 2007) and a son Hugo (born 2009).
References
- ^ http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whoswho/U251239
- ^ http://www.debretts.com/people/biographies/browse/c/26956/Damian%20Noel+COLLINS.aspx
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/election2005 BBC election results coverage 2005
- ^ http://conservativehome.blogs.com/goldlist/2006/05/as_promised_thi.html
- ^ http://conservativehome.blogs.com/goldlist/2006/07/damian_collins_.html
- ^ http://www.insightpa.com/InsightPA_PPCGuide.pdf
- ^ http://blogs.news.sky.com/boultonandco/Post:5ba5b33a-4e99-466e-ba6d-fe8b4fa2aa9c
- ^ http://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/damian_collins/folkestone_and_hythe
- ^ http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/mps-who-own-london-homes-still-claim-rent-2151575.html
External links
- Damian Collins MP official constituency website
- Folkestone & Hythe Conservatives
- Profile at the Conservative Party
- Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
- Current session contributions in Parliament at Hansard
- Electoral history and profile at The Guardian
- Voting record at PublicWhip.org
- Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou.com
- Profile at Westminster Parliamentary Record
- Profile at BBC News Democracy Live
Parliament of the United Kingdom Preceded by
Michael HowardMember of Parliament for Folkestone and Hythe
2010–presentIncumbent Categories:- 1974 births
- Living people
- Alumni of St Benet's Hall, Oxford
- Conservative Party (UK) MPs
- Members of the United Kingdom Parliament for English constituencies
- UK MPs 2010–
- British Roman Catholics
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