Simon James Jupp[1] (born 8 September 1985)[2] is a British Conservative Party politician who was Member of Parliament (MP) for East Devon from the 2019 general election until the constituency was abolished in 2024.[3]
Simon Jupp | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of Parliament for East Devon | |
| In office 12 December 2019 – 30 May 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Sir Hugo Swire |
| Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 8 September 1985 Plymouth, Devon, England |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Website | www |
Early life and career
Simon Jupp was born on 8 September 1985 in Plymouth.[4][5] As a teenager, he volunteered at a local radio station on weekends.[5]
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.[6][5]
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.[7]
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 over independent candidate Claire Wright.[8]
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 the Gaza–Israel conflict.[9][10]
Due to boundary changes and the abolition of East Devon at the 2024 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.[11] Honiton and Sidmouth also includes territory from Tiverton and Honiton.
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 about the importance of local news and ‘proper journalism’, while criticising ‘pseudo websites masquerading as legitimate sources of news’.[12][13]
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 Liberal Democrat opponent and the outgoing MP for Tiverton and Honiton. 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.[14][15] On 7 April, when asked, Jupp told the BBC he was "not responsible for the web domains".[15] The following day, the websites were found to have been disconnected.[16] Jupp later admitted on 18 April, that one of his campaign staffers had registered the websites in his opponent's name.[17][18][19] 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."[15]
In July 2024, Jupp lost his re-election bid in the Honiton and Sidmouth constituency to Richard Foord.[20][21][22]
References
- ^ "Members Sworn". Hansard.parliament.uk. 18 December 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Devon East Parliamentary constituency". BBC. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
- ^ Sharp, Beth (27 November 2019). "General Election 2019: More GPs and reopening a railway station on Tory candidate's radar". Sidmouth Herald. Archived from the original on 18 December 2019. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
- ^ a b c "About Simon Jupp". Simon Jupp MP. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
- ^ "From DJ to MP". Radio Exe. 14 December 2019. Archived from the original on 5 August 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
- ^ "General Election 2019: Conservative Simon Jupp elected East Devon MP". East Devon News. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
- ^ "Statement of Persons Nominated" (PDF). eastdevon.gov.uk. East Devon District Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 July 2022.
- ^ Voce, Antonio. "How did your MP vote on the Gaza ceasefire motion?". the Guardian. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
- ^ LDRS, Alison Stephenson (18 November 2023). "Devon MPs stances on call for ceasefire in Gaza". www.northdevongazette.co.uk. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
- ^ "Simon Jupp MP - Candidate for Honiton & Sidmouth". Retrieved 16 January 2024.
- ^ "Simon Jupp defends 'fake newspaper' campaign leaflet". Midweek Herald. 29 August 2023. Archived from the original on 29 August 2023. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
- ^ "Simon Jupp defends 'fake newspaper' campaign leaflet". Exmouth Journal. 29 August 2023. Archived from the original on 28 October 2023. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
- ^ Parsley, David (5 April 2024). "The Tory MP accused of using his Lib Dem rival's name to campaign". inews.co.uk. Archived from the original on 11 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
- ^ a b c "MP's misleading website links 'arouse suspicion'". BBC News. 7 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
- ^ "Misleading Devon MP's website links disconnected". BBC News. 8 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
- ^ Parsley, David (18 April 2024). "Tory MP admits campaign staffer set up websites in Lib Dem rival's name". inews.co.uk. Archived from the original on 18 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
- ^ "MP Simon Jupp's campaign manager apologises for misleading websites". BBC News. 18 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
- ^ Manning, Adam (19 April 2024). "Oliver Kerr, a Simon Jupp staffer, bought domains in rival's name". Exmouth Journal. Archived from the original on 19 April 2024. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
- ^ Reporter, Local Democracy (5 July 2024). "Lib Dem Richard Foord wins Honiton and Sidmouth MP seat". East Devon News. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
- ^ Davies, Phillipa (5 July 2024). "Victory for Lib Dem Richard Foord in Honiton & Sidmouth constituency". Sidmouth Herald. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
- ^ "Richard Foord - Parliamentary career". members.parliament.uk. UK Parliament. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
External links
