Join us on 19th April at 19:00 when we are joined by Conor Burns, Member of Parliament for Bournemouth West.
Born in Belfast, Conor is a passionate Unionist.
Before entering Parliament, Conor worked in the communications & financial services sectors.
Elected to Parliament in 2010 Conor was elected to serve as a member of the Education Select Committee. However, he relinquished this role when he was promoted by the Prime Minister to serve as a Parliamentary Private Secretary in the NI office.
Conor resigned from the Government in 2012 to vote against the House of Lords Reform Bill. Conor was returned to Westminster in 2015 with an increased majority. After the 2015 general election Conor was appointed as a Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Treasury. Following Theresa May's appointment as Prime Minister she asked Conor to serve as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy and then the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. Conor tendered his resignation as PPS alongside The Foreign Secretary, on the same day, and remained at his side up to and during the Party leadership election.
On 25th July 2019, Prime Minister Boris Johnson appointed Conor as Minister of State for International Trade. Conor was re-elected for the third time in December 2019, with a majority of over 10,000 votes.
Conor has gained a reputation for speaking his mind and has on occasion voted against a three-line whip in the House of Commons when he regards an issue he disagrees with as particularly important.
Since 1997, Conor became a close acquaintance of Lady Thatcher, and they remained good friends throughout her later years.
In his spare time, Conor goes to the gym and enjoys cooking. He is also a snooker fan and most years goes to the World Championship final at the Crucible in Sheffield and the Masters in London.