Simon Clarke clashes with Charlie Stayt
Sir Simon Clarke may have only been an MP since 2017 but as the second-tallest MP – standing at a dizzying six feet, seven inches, he has quickly become a giant of the Westminster scene.
This morning he grabbed national attention after becoming the second Tory MP to demand his colleagues oust Rishi Sunak, warning that the Prime Minister is now the “main obstacle to our recovery”.
In the Telegraph, he warns Rishi Sunak will usher in a “decade or more” of Keir Starmer Labour government, and changing leader now in a snap contest would “give our country and party a fighting chance”.
The public call for Mr Sunak to go will be a personal blow to the Prime Minister, not just because of the vote of no confidence, but the personal relationship he has with Sir Simon Clarke.
The pair are constituency neighbours, with Rishi Sunak winning the safe North Yorkshire seat of Richmond (Yorks) in 2015, followed two years later by Sir Simon taking the bellwether Teesside seat of Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland.
READ MORE: Rishi Sunak blasted by Tory MP Simon Clarke demanding he resign
Sir Simon called on Rishi Sunak to quit last night (Image: The Treasury)
Sir Simon’s election in 2017 was one of the few Tory victories experienced during the night of Theresa May’s disastrous snap election against Jeremy Corbyn, though foreshadowed the crumbling of the Red Wall seen two years later under Boris Johnson’s leadership.
While Sir Simon may have increased his majority from 1,020 to 11,626, the current polls show him on course to lose his seat, along with every other Red Wall Tory.
Early life
Sir Simon was born in Stockton, and grew up in the Teesside town of Marton that he would later go on to represent in Parliament.
He was privately educated at both Red House School and the £16,000-a-year Yarm School, whose other political alumni include former minister James Wharton and Femi Oluwole the anti-Brexit campaigner.
He went on to study history at Oxford, during which time he chaired the university’s Conservative Association.
The pair have rarely seen eye-to-eye (Image: Getty)
He failed to get elected while standing in the safe Labour seat of Middlesbrough in 2015, during which time he became an aide to the current Net Zero minister Graham Stuart.
He won his constituency from Labour with a nine-point swing.
Political career
Within a year of being elected, Sir Simon marked himself out as a free-thinking MP, submitting a letter of no confidence against Theresa May in 2018 after Boris Johnson and David Davis quit over her so-called ‘Chequers Plan’ to leave Britain aligned with the EU.
He later faced criticism after withdrawing his letter of no confidence, getting cold feet over the prospect of a leadership vote.
Sir Simon rapidly climbed the ranks in Westminster, with his loyalty to Boris Johnson paying off after the 2019 election.
He was appointed Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury in 2019, while Sajid Javid was still Chancellor.
After that, he was rapidly promoted, becoming Minister of State for local government, before finally reaching the Cabinet in 2021 as Chief Secretary to the Treasury.
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Sir Simon was a keen backer of Liz Truss and Boris Johnson (Image: Getty)
Aged just 37, Sir Simon was the youngest member of Mr Johnson’s Government.
While Sir Simon worked under Rishi Sunak at the Treasury, it was believed Sir Simon had been given the role so Boris Johnson had eyes and ears in his next-door neighbour’s camp.
Sir Simon was rewarded with his first Secretary of State role under Liz Truss, after having been an early and vocal supporter of hers throughout the 2022 summer leadership contest.
He served as Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities throughout her short premiership, before returning to the backbenches upon her resignation.
A strong Brexiteer, and supporter of small government and low taxes, Sir Simon went on to form the Trussite ‘Conservative Growth Group’ to push Rishi Sunak to back a free market agenda.
Since Rishi Sunak became PM, Sir Simon has proved a frequent rebel, joining other senior MPs to oppose both the Windsor Framework and this month’s Rwanda Bill.
Simon Clarke was given a knighthood in Boris Johnson’s resignation honours (Image: PA)
What’s Sir Simon said about Rishi Sunak?
In an op-ed for the Telegraph last night, Sir Simon blasted Rishi Sunak’s “uninspiring leadership”, warning he would bring about a “decade or more” of Keir Starmer and Labour in Government.
He described Mr Sunak as going “from asset to anchor”.
Sir Simon warned: It is now beyond doubt that whilst the Prime Minister is far from solely responsible for our present predicament, his uninspiring leadership is the main obstacle to our recovery.
“Rishi Sunak has sadly gone from asset to anchor. He lags Keir Starmer — himself no Tony Blair — by double digits on the ‘Best Prime Minister’ metric.”
“We have a clear choice. Stick with Rishi Sunak, take the inevitable electoral consequences, and give the Left a blank cheque to change Britain as they see fit.
Or we can change leader, and give our country and party a fighting chance.”
Personal life
Sir Simon lives in Guisborough with his second wife. He also has a son. The Tory MP divorced his previous partner, Hannah, in 2020 after falling in love with a Westminster college, a romance that saw him quit his Government post after advice from the Chief Whip.
Sir Simon was also notable for not appearing in the Chancellor’s famous pre-Budget photoshoot on the step of No. 11 Downing Street, owning to his agoraphobia.
He was awarded a knighthood in Boris Johnson’s 2022 resignation honours.
