Julian Smith (politician)

Julian Richard Smith CBE PC (born 30 August 1971) is a British politician who served as Government Chief Whip from 2017 to 2019 and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 2019 to 2020. A member of the Conservative Party, he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Skipton and Ripon since 2010.

The Right Honourable Julian Smith CBE MP
Smith in 2017
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
In office 24 July 2019 – 13 February 2020
Prime Minister	Boris Johnson
Preceded by	Karen Bradley
Succeeded by	Brandon Lewis
Chief Whip of the House of Commons Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury
In office 2 November 2017 – 24 July 2019
Prime Minister	Theresa May
Preceded by	Gavin Williamson
Succeeded by	Mark Spencer
Government Deputy Chief Whip in the House of Commons Treasurer of the Household
In office 13 June 2017 – 2 November 2017
Prime Minister	Theresa May
Preceded by	Anne Milton
Succeeded by	Esther McVey
Vice-Chamberlain of the Household
In office 17 July 2016 – 13 June 2017
Prime Minister	Theresa May
Preceded by	Kris Hopkins
Succeeded by	Chris Heaton-Harris
Member of Parliament for Skipton and Ripon
Incumbent
Assumed office 6 May 2010
Preceded by	David Curry
Majority	23,694 (40.4%)
Personal details
Born	Julian Richard Smith 30 August 1971 Stirling, Stirlingshire, Scotland
Nationality	British
Political party	Conservative
Alma mater	University of Birmingham
Website	Official website

In 2010, Smith was elected as MP with 27,685 votes (50.6% of the votes cast), giving him a majority of 9,950 votes.[1][2] Smith retained the seat in 2015, in 2017 and in 2019. He was the Vice-Chamberlain of the Household from 2016 to 2017 and Government Deputy Chief Whip in 2017. He served in Prime Minister Theresa May’s Cabinet as Chief Whip of the House of Commons from November 2017 to July 2019.

He served in Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Cabinet as Northern Ireland Secretary from 2019 to 2020. He successfully negotiated the New Decade, New Approach agreement with Tánaiste Simon Coveney which restored the power-sharing government of the Northern Ireland Executive after three years without devolution at Stormont.[3]

Early life

Smith was born in the city of Stirling[4] in Scotland on 30 August 1971.[5] He was educated at Balfron High School, a comprehensive school to the west of Stirling, followed by a sixth-form bursary to Millfield School, an independent school in South West England, and the University of Birmingham, where he read English and History.[4]

Parliamentary career

Smith was elected as MP for Skipton and Ripon in 2010 with a majority of 9,950. In Parliament, he served on the Scottish Affairs Committee for a brief period in 2010[6] and was Parliamentary Private Secretary to Sir Alan Duncan MP, Minister of State for International Development, from September 2010 to 2012. Smith was subsequently Parliamentary Private Secretary to Justine Greening MP, Secretary of State for International Development, from 2012 to May 2015. After the 2015 General Election, Smith was appointed an Assistant Government Whip in David Cameron's Second Ministry.[7]

He was returned to the House of Commons in 2015 with an increased majority of 20,761. Following the European Union membership referendum on 23 June and David Cameron's resignation as Prime Minister, Smith was one of six MPs who led the leadership campaign on behalf of the Home Secretary, Theresa May.[8] After May became Prime Minister on 13 July 2016, four days later Smith was appointed Vice-Chamberlain of the Household, a senior position within the Government Whips' Office.[9] He served as Deputy Chief Whip to Gavin Williamson from June 2017 to November 2017 and then, on 2 November 2017, he was appointed Chief Whip of the House of Commons.

Smith was strongly critical of Theresa May's cabinet's behaviour after the 2017 election, saying the government should have made clear that it would "inevitably" have to accept a softer Brexit.[10] He accused ministers of trying to destabilise and undermine May.[10]

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

Smith was made Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when Boris Johnson assumed the role of Prime Minister. Under his tenure devolved power-sharing was restored in January 2020. Smith was sacked as Northern Ireland Secretary in Johnson's post-Brexit reshuffle. He had lasted 204 days in the role.[11]

Smith (left) and Prime Minister Johnson (right) visit Northern Ireland in July 2019

The decision to dismiss Smith as Northern Ireland Secretary was criticised by a number of prominent political figures in Northern Ireland, including SDLP leader Colum Eastwood who described the move as showing "dangerous indifference" by the Prime Minister.[12] Smith had been widely seen as instrumental in securing a cross-party deal to restore the Northern Ireland Executive, after three years without a devolved government in Stormont.[13] Tributes to Smith's tenure as Northern Ireland Secretary were paid by NI First Minister Arlene Foster and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar. Both praised him for his role in ending the political deadlock.[14][15]

Some political commentators expressed their surprise at Smith's dismissal, given his perceived success during his time as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. It was suggested that Smith's testimony to the Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee in October 2019, in which he described a potential no-deal Brexit as being "a very, very bad idea for Northern Ireland",[16] had influenced the decision to remove him from his position.[17] Stephen Bush, political editor of the New Statesman, speculated that the consequence of Johnson's removal of Smith would be the destabilisation of the new power-sharing agreement and increased difficulty in negotiating the details of the "New Protocol".[18]

Security

In October 2013 The Guardian alleged that Smith may have breached national security by posting an image on his website of himself alongside military personnel.[19] Smith had previously asked questions in Parliament about whether The Guardian's handling of intelligence material leaked by Edward Snowden had breached national security. He reported the newspaper to the police.[19] Smith argued the newspaper should be investigated as it had "endangered" British security personnel by publishing leaked information.[20]

Pairing allegations

On 19 July 2018, Smith was reported to be resisting calls to resign his position as Government Chief Whip, following allegations that he had instructed five Conservative MPs to break "pairing" agreements in an important parliamentary vote the previous day. Only one MP, Conservative party chairman Brandon Lewis, complied with the instruction. Subsequent reports indicated that Smith had given similar instructions to five MPs, but Lewis had been the only one willing to break what one commentator described later as "a centuries old ‘code of honour’". Before it became known that the affair had involved approaches by Smith to more than one MP, the Prime Minister Theresa May backed Lewis by stating that "The breaking of the pair was done in error. It wasn't good enough and will not be repeated."[21]

References

1. "No. 59418". The London Gazette. 13 May 2010. p. 8744.
2. "Skipton and Ripon". BBC. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
3. "Deal To See Restored Government In Northern Ireland Tomorrow". GOV.UK. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
4. Julian Smith: Biography Publisher: Politics.co.uk Retrieved: 14 March 2013.
5. "Julian Smith". Who's Who. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
6. "Julian Smith". Parliament UK. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
7. "Her Majesty's Government". Gov.UK. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
8. "Interview: Chief Whip Gavin Williamson MP on his factory worker beginnings and recent promotion". Express & Star. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
9. "Skipton MP Julian Smith given key promotion in the Government of new Prime Minister Theresa May". Craven Herald & Pioneer. 17 July 2016. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
10. "Chief whip attacks cabinet's Brexit strategy". 1 April 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
11. "Julian Smith sacked as NI Secretary by Boris Johnson". BBC News. 13 February 2020. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
12. "Julian Smith sacked as NI Secretary by Boris Johnson". BBC News. 13 February 2020. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
13. Elliott, Francis; Swinford, Steven (13 February 2020). "Boris Johnson fires Julian Smith, minister who secured Stormont deal". The Times. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
14. Edwards, Mark (13 February 2020). "Julian Smith sacked from Northern Ireland post in Boris Johnson's Cabinet reshuffle". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
15. @LeoVaradkar (13 February 2020). "In 8 months as Secretary of State, Julian you helped to restore powersharing in Stormont, secured an agreement with us to avoid a hard border, plus marriage equality. You are one of Britain's finest politicians of our time. Thank you" (Tweet). Retrieved 13 February 2020 – via Twitter.
16. Mairs, Nicholas (23 October 2019). "Julian Smith breaks ranks with Boris Johnson to brand no-deal Brexit 'very bad' for Northern Ireland". PoliticsHome. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
17. Forrest, Adam (13 February 2020). "Boris Johnson news – live: PM axes Tory minister who helped secure Stormont deal, as fresh questions raised over £15,000 Caribbean holiday". The Independent. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
18. Bush, Stephen (13 February 2020). "Boris Johnson has already made the most important sacking of today's reshuffle". New Statesman. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
19. "Did Conservative MP Julian Smith endanger national security?". Guardian. 25 October 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
20. Smith, Julian (22 October 2013). "Julian Smith MP: The Guardian's impact on national security". Politics Home. Archived from the original on 15 April 2015. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
21. Joe Murphy; Nicholas Cecil (19 July 2018). "Tory chief whip Julian Smith urged to quit over pairing deal 'error'". Evening Standard, London. Retrieved 19 July 2018.

External links

• Official website
• Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Contributions in Parliament at Hansard
• Voting record at Public Whip
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou