Chair of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Party and former Minister for Care Services, the Rt Hon Paul Burstow MP, will be visiting Worthing on Wednesday 01^st May to endorse the hard working Liberal Democrat team ahead of Thursday’s County Council elections.

Mr Burstow will be visiting Guild Care day centre and Worthing Town Centre with Hazel Thorpe, Lib Dem spokesperson for Worthing West, to see Worthing for himself. .

Paul Burstow will be available for interviews, comments and photo opportunities throughout the day.

To arrange these please contact Bob Smytherman on 07867 562 538 or email bob.smytherman@wor-ld.org.uk

Agenda

·        Guilds Care Centre in North Street from 11am to meet staff and customers

·        Worthing Band stand at 2.30pm with Town Centre manager Sharon Clarke to me local traders and visit the Wednesday market

Paul Burstow MP biography

Paul Burstow was born at St Helier Hospital, Carshalton on 13th May 1962. He comes from a family of tailors and seamstresses; his father was a Saville Row tailor.

Paul was educated at Glastonbury High School for Boys, Carshalton, and South Bank Polytechnic, London.

Prior to his election he headed up the Liberal Democrat’s Local Government Unit (ALDC) and was on Sutton Council – 1986-2002.

Since 1991, when he was appointed to chair the Council’s Disability Forum, Paul has taken an active interest in disability issues. He was responsible for establishing a multi-agency group on disability issues and for pushing through the Council a comprehensive disability policy for the Borough.

Paul is married to Mary and has three children. He enjoys cooking, reading and working out at the gym.

Election

Paul stood as a Liberal Democrat Parliamentary candidate for Sutton and Cheam in 1992 achieving the biggest swing to the Liberal Democrats in Greater London. He fought the seat again in 1997 defeating the incumbent Conservative MP and won again in 2001, 2005 and 2010.

On election to Parliament, Paul became a junior frontbench spokesman on Local Government. In the autumn of 1997, Paddy Ashdown appointed him to lead the party’s local government team in the Commons. In 1999 Charles Kennedy offered him the older people brief, outside the Shadow Cabinet. After the 2001 General Election Paul joined the Shadow Cabinet with the cross-cutting brief of older people and social services. The brief involved shadowing Government policy and performance on a wide range of matters effecting the vulnerable. From October 2003 to May 2005 Paul headed the party’s Health Team as Shadow Secretary of State for Health, and between July 2005 and March 2006 he held the position of Shadow Minister for London. In March 2006 Paul was elected by his parliamentary colleagues to take on the role of Liberal Democrat Chief Whip.

As well as his front bench responsibilities, Paul was a member of the House of Commons Health Select Committee from July 2005 to 2010, and was also on this committee between June 2003 and October 2004.

In 2010, he was elected for the fourth time with 25 ,156 (47.5%) votes, and a majority of 1,608.

After the formation of the Coalition Government, Paul was appointed Minister of State for Care Services which he served until September 2012. His areas of responsibility were care for the elderly, adult social care, mental health services, and learning disability programmes. He was also responsible for reforming social care law and funding, and for promoting parity of esteem for mental health, in particular pioneering the development of new talking therapy services for children and young people.

Paul is currently Chair of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Party. He has just finished chairing the Joint Committee on the Draft Care and Support Bill and is now chairing a year- long independent commission on mental health with the think-tank CentreForum.

   Leave a comment