Political Career
Kirby was an elected councillor at various times from 1992 on Brighton and Hove City Council, Mid Sussex District Council and East Sussex County Council, where he was cabinet member with responsibility for Economic Development.
He stood down as a Cabinet member on East Sussex County Council in 2009 to concentrate full time on winning back the parliamentary seat in Brighton Kemptown. He was elected to the House of Commons as MP for Brighton, Kemptown in the May 2010 general election, with a majority of 1,328, gaining the seat from Labour.
Kirby delivered his maiden speech in the House of Commons on 3 June 2010, in which he paid tribute to his predecessors and spoke of his pride in representing the exciting and diverse constituency of Brighton Kemptown. He was recently listed as one of twenty Conservative MPs with "true grit" by the Conservative Home website and is recognised for his work on LGBT and animal welfare issues as well as taking a close interest in issues affecting older people.
Since his election Kirby has been elected to both the Business, Innovation and Skills and Administration Select Committees. He is also Vice Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on HIV/AIDS.
Kirby was recently appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to Minister for Sport and Tourism, the Rt Hon Hugh Robertson MP.
Since becoming a Member of Parliament he has also taken on responsibility as patron of the Sussex Beacon, the Sussex ME society.
Read more about this topic: Simon Kirby
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