A South Essex Member of Parliament has been promoted to a ministerial role in the Government after the resignation of Mark Simmons, MP for Boston and Skegness

James Duddridge, Tory MP for Southend East, has been appointed to Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs.

From https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers/parliamentary-under-secretary-of-state–23

Responsibilities

The minister is based at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office. Responsibilities include:

Africa

overseas territories (not Falklands, SBAs or Gibraltar)

conflict issues

climate change

international energy

consular

protocol

ministerial oversight for FCO services

the Caribbean (not including Dominican Republic, Haiti or Cuba)

James Duddridge was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office on 11 August 2014.

He first entered Parliament in 2005 and is the Conservative MP for Rochford & Southend East. Background

James was educated at Essex University. He had a business career in the private sector, as well as in the banking industry in London and Africa for 10 years. He has vast experience on Africa affairs, a keen interest in financial matters and industry, and was a founding member of the polling form YouGov.

Political Career

James entered the House of Commons in 2005. He was subsequently re-elected in 2010 with a majority of 11,050. During this time, he has held the following positions:

Chairman, All Party Parliamentary Group Africa

Chairman, Regulator Reform Committee

Member of Commons Environment Select Committee

Member of International Development Select Committee

Opposition Whip, responsible for Cabinet Office and Department for Work and Pensions, Jan – Dec 2008

Opposition Whip, responsible for HM Treasury, Dec 2008 – May 2010

Lord Commissioner and Government Whip, responsible for Foreign & Commonwealth Office and Department of Education, May 2010 – October 2011

Home Office Whip, October 2011 – September 2012

Personal life

James is married and has 3 children, and 2 cats.

More about this person

Previous holders of this role

Mark Simmonds MP

2012 to 2014

Henry Bellingham MP

2010 to 2012

Policies

under the responsibility of James Duddridge MP as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

Supporting international action on climate change

Supporting British nationals overseas

Supporting the Overseas Territories

Preventing conflict in fragile states

Related story:

Britain’s new Foreign Office Minister told the EU to ‘Sod Off’

From The Huffington Post UK

Britain’s new Foreign Office minister once told the European Commission to “sod off” in a row over whether the UK would have to pay benefits to Bulgarian and Romanian migrants.

James Duddridge was made Africa minister on Monday following the resignation of Mark Simmonds. In March, the then backbench MP, was unhappy with the prospect of the EU fining the UK if it refused to give benefits to poor migrants from Eastern Europe.

“Please, please, please: just say no, tell the Commission to sod off and do not pay the fine,” he told work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith in the Commons.

Duncan Smith replied: “If my hon. Friend does not mind, I will skip the language and keep to the sentiment.”

Commons Speaker John Bercow was not impressed with Duddridge’s language. “I have the impression that perhaps something rather tasteless was said. I trust that the person concerned will wash his or her mouth out without delay,”

In light of that exchange, many eurosceptic Tory MPs will no doubt be delighted to see Duddridge installed at the Foreign Office. Even if it is not as Europe minister.

IMAGE: JAMES DUDDRIDGE

For more on this story go to: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/08/11/james-duddridge-sod-off_n_5667934.html