John Glen (politician)

Not to be confused with John Glenn.

For other people named John Glen, see John Glen.

John Glen MP
File:John Glen MP.jpg
Member of Parliament for Salisbury
Incumbent
Assumed office 6 May 2010
Preceded by	Robert Key
Majority	20,421 (40.3%)
Personal details
Born	(1974-04-01) 1 April 1974 Bath, Somerset, England
Nationality	British
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Emma Glen
Alma mater	Mansfield College, Oxford Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge King's College London
Religion	Christian
Website	http://www.johnglenmp.com

John Philip Glen (born 1 April 1974 in Bath) is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Salisbury in Wiltshire since the general election in May 2010.

Early life and education

Glen was brought up in a small family horticultural business in rural Wiltshire. He was educated at King Edward's School, Bath where he was Head Boy, and Mansfield College, University of Oxford, where he read Modern History and was elected President of Mansfield College JCR. He later entered the University of Cambridge, where he studied for an MBA at Fitzwilliam College. He was the first person in his family to go to university.

Career

After graduating from Oxford, Glen worked for two Ministers in 1996-1997.

He went on to campaign in Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland for Michael Bates (now Lord Bates) in the 1997 general election, following which he joined the Strategy practice of Accenture, a large management consultancy firm. Whilst there he worked on projects for Glaxo Wellcome, BP and the Post Office.

After three years in consulting, Glen worked for Rt Hon William Hague MP's team (then Leader of the Conservative Party). In his role as Head of the Political Section of the Conservative Research Department, he helped prepare Hague for Prime Minister's Question Time and briefed the Shadow Cabinet for media appearances.

Glen was one of the youngest candidates at the 2001 general election, when he stood in Plymouth Devonport. He came second, achieving 27.1% of the vote and a 2.9% swing. Following this election, he took an MBA at Cambridge University and worked in the oil and gas industries in the UK and in the US for the next few years.

Early in 2004, he returned to the Conservative Party to work as Deputy Director of the Conservative Research Department in the run up to the 2005 general election. He then became Director of the Department and set up the secretariat for the Policy Review that was established after David Cameron became Leader.

He returned to business in 2006, managing his firm's relationship with the World Economic Forum.

He became a Magistrate (JP) at Horseferry Road, Westminster in 2006.

In 2015 he completed a MA in International Security and Strategy, with distinction, at King's College London through the Royal College of Defence Studies.

Parliamentary career

Glen was elected to Parliament in the General Election of May 2010 with an increase in the percentage share of the vote compared with the Conservative result in 2005.

From June 2010 to September 2012, he sat on the House of Commons Defence Select Committee.

In the September 2012 reshuffle, he was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to Rt Hon Eric Pickles MP, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. He was succeeded by Henry Smith in May 2015.

Glen sits on the Downing Street Policy Board with responsibility for constitutional affairs.

According to a survey by WriteToThem.com, a non-campaigning website which enables constituents to contact their MP, Glen was ranked as the second most responsive MP. Overall, MPs responded to only 56 per cent of mail sent to them through the site; John Glen responded to 95 per cent.

He won the recent 2015 election with 55.6% of the vote – an increase of 6.4% from 2010. After the 2015 General Election, Glen was made PPS to Business Secretary Sajid Javid MP.

Interests

Glen has a wide variety of interests including Defence, Foreign Policy, poverty and inclusive economic growth, and beginning and end of life matters.

APPG Membership

Glen sits on a number of All-party parliamentary groups (APPGs). He is the Chair of the APPG on Global Uncertainties which exists to inform parliamentarians of the activities of the UK Research Councils in response to global security challenges which help governments, businesses and societies to better predict, detect, prevent and mitigate threats to security. Recent meetings have included topics such as Ebola, UK Human Trafficking and Religious Literacy in World Affairs.

Furthermore, Glen is vice-chair of the Carpet Industry APPG, which is funded by The Carpet Foundation. Glen also played a significant contributory role in the APPG Hunger and Food Poverty’s Inquiry, Feeding Britain. Additionally, he is Secretary for British Council APPG which took him on a visit to Kabul as being a member of APPG Egypt and APPG Parents and Families.

His website lists his memberships:

• Archives and History
• British Council - Appointed Secretary in 2011
• British-Maldives Parliamentary Group
• Carpet Industry – Vice Chair
• Complex Needs and Dual Diagnosis
• Constitution, Parliament and Citizenship
• Global Uncertainties - Chair
• Historic Churches
• Malaysia
• Nuclear Energy
• Parents and Families
• Runaway and Missing Children and Adults
• Suicide and Self Harm Prevention
• Voice UK

Beliefs

Times columnist Tim Montgomerie of ConservativeHome described John Glen as a "full spectrum Conservative":

For want of a better expression, he's what I think of as a full spectrum Conservative. On the one hand he's a Eurosceptic; he's a believer in low taxation; he supports a tough approach to crime and strictly controlled immigration. But there's also a commitment to the greener, gentler conservatism of David Cameron. John was helping me with the social justice project ten years ago when we worked together in the Conservative Christian Fellowship. In his campaign video he makes it clear that, in fixing Labour's deficit, we mustn't balance budgets on the backs of the poor. He's a practical environmentalist; strongly committed to recycling, better use of energy and protecting the countryside.

• Anti-mitochondrial donation therapy - Glen described himself as "instinctively cautious about technologies that, while noble in intent, could potentially open the door to the development of 'genetically modified babies'"
• Armed Forces - Glen is committed to supporting the armed forces and ensuring that defence commitments are matched by funding for equipment
• Education - Glen welcomed the government's education reforms, and believes in the role of competition in schools and increased rigour in qualifications
• Food poverty - Glen took part in the APPG on Hunger and Food Poverty inquiry, and argued that prosperity needs to be shared, and that the Department for Work and Pensions should improve benefit payment reliability in order to prevent the need for foodbank use. Trussell Trust Chairman Chris Mould and CEO David McAuley said that Glen "been very supportive of The Trussell Trust and has played an important role as a key member of the APPG Inquiry Panel"
• Living wage - Glen welcomed the rise in the minimum wage and supports employers paying the living wage
• He is an advocate for religious education.

Glen’s top priorities are to encourage investment in the infrastructure of his constituency. In particular improving educational choices for young people and supporting the Armed Forces community. Glen has supported a new free Sixth Form and a University Technical College in Salisbury. These new institutions will capitalise on existing defence expertise in Wiltshire.

Glen has encouraged local community land trusts to secure a pioneering development opportunity on former Ministry of Defence land. Investment in the road network is long overdue, and he is fighting to secure a successful conclusion to the 20 year battle to upgrade the A303. Porton Down is rightly famous across the world, and Glen is campaigning to ensure Public Health England retains its base there. He wants to see greater support for the life sciences sector, and is working in partnership with the public sector, NHS and universities to establish a world leading research and development hub in his constituency.

Blood Stem Cell Donation

In June 2013 Glen joined the Delete Blood Cancer register at an event in Parliament. Despite the 1 in 1200 chance of being matched with a cancer sufferer, less than a year later he had been matched with a blood cancer patient.

On 28 January 2015, Glen donated his blood stem cells at The London Clinic, enabling the patient to have a second chance at life.

Glen said: "“It is a huge privilege to be asked to donate some of my blood stem cells to someone with a blood cancer who is in desperate need of them.

“There is a desperate need for more people to be on the register, as around 50% of patients each year who need a donor do not find one.

“On signing up myself I never thought I would hear from them again, but now I have this amazing opportunity for what is simply only a little discomfort to me.”

Free Enterprise Group paper

On 31 January 2013 Glen published a paper entitled 'Completing the Reform, Freeing the Universities' as a member of the Free Enterprise Group of MPs.

The paper advocated encouraging universities to build up endowments, which could then replace income from grants; reforms to the tuition fee cap towards "total course costs" instead of per-year caps, and allowing fee differentials by subject group; changes to the way in which research funding is allocated; and administrative savings from the Research Councils and the Office of Fair Access.

He wrote an op-ed for the Daily Telegraph about the policies advocated in the paper, entitled 'Tuition fees cannot be the last reform of university funding'.

The paper also received coverage in the Times Higher Education Magazine and was described as a possible basis for university policy in the next Conservative manifesto.

Presumption of Death Bill

Glen was 14th in the 2012 Ballot to introduce a Private Member's Bill.

He chose to introduce the Presumption of Death Bill, which would introduce a court-based process in the case of a presumed death to issue a certificate that would act like a death certificate, simplifying administrative and practical processes in the case of a missing person or a presumed death.

The Bill was supported by the Government, by the Shadow Justice Minister, and members of the Justice Select Committee, and received a unanimous Second Reading on 2 November 2012.

It was not amended in Public Bill Committee and received a unanimous Third Reading on 30 November 2012.

The Bill passed its Second Reading stage in the House of Lords unopposed on 1 February 2013. and became law at the end of March 2013

Speeches

• In February 2015, he spoke in a debate on Improving Cancer Outcomes focusing on the broader role public health has to play.
• With access to broadband being a major issue for many people in Salisbury, Glen spoke in a debate on Rural Phone and Broadband Connectivity to highlight the struggles of many of his constituents.
• In January 2015, he spoke in a Westminster Hall debate about Grammar School funding, using the examples of two Grammar schools in his constituency.
• In his maiden speech in May 2010, he paid tribute to his predecessor, Robert Key, and called on the government to reduce unnecessary bureaucracy for small businesses, to address rural poverty, and to support rural economies.

CARE

In 2012, Glen was listed by the Guardian as being one of a group of twenty MPs who provided placements for graduates on the Leadership Programme run by the charity Christian Action Research and Education. The charity's aim is "recognising the dignity and worth of every person from fertilisation to life’s natural end", and whose concerns include human trafficking, prostitution, family and tax and gambling.

Glen has accepted a payment from CARE for a speaking appointment which was donated to charity.

External links

• John Glen MP Website
• UK Conservative Party
• UK Conservative Party profile

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Robert Key	Member of Parliament for Salisbury 2010–present	Incumbent