Alun Cairns

Infobox Politician
name=Alun Cairns AM

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imagesize=150px
birth_date =birth date and age|1970|07|30|df=y
birth_place = Swansea, Wales
office = Shadow Minister for Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills
constituency=
term_start = 07 July 2007
term_end = 14 June 2008
leader = Nick Bourne
predecessor = Janet Ryder
successor = Andrew R. T. Davies
office2 = Assembly Member for South Wales West
constituency2=South Wales West
term_start2 =1999
term_end2 =
predecessor2 = (new post)
successor2 = (incumbent)
office3 =Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Vale of Glamorgan
term_start3=
term_end3 =
predecessor3 =
successor3 =
office4 =
term_start4 =
term_end4 =
primeminister4 =
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office5 =
term_start5 =
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party = Conservative Party

Alun Cairns (born 30 July 1970) is a member of the National Assembly for Wales for the Welsh Conservative Party in the South Wales West region since the National Assembly for Wales election, 1999.

Background

Brought up in Clydach near Swansea, he attended Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Pontardawe and Ysgol Ddwyeithog Ystalyfera and is a fluent Welsh speaker. Gained a Masters Degree in Business Administration (MBA), specialising in corporate location and inward investment. cite web | title=BBC News AMs profile | work=BBC | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/uk/wales/13010.stm Alun Cairns| accessdate=1999-09-01]

Professional career

Cairns has extensive experience in the business sector, having worked for the Lloyds Bank Group as a Business Development Consultant before being elected to the National Assembly.

Political career

His political interests include economic development and transport, and boasts considerable experience within the Welsh Conservative Party. As a member of the assembly's economic development and audit committees, he has held the Welsh government to account over a range of issues from transport infrastructure, European regional aid, public spending, and the Welsh economy.

Alun has also been a vocal opponent of the Scarweather Sands offshore wind farm development near Porthcawl and has long been an active member of the Conservative Party in South West Wales.

Alun stood for Parliament in Gower in 1997 and was the Conservative Party's candidate for the Vale of Glamorgan at the 2005 General Election. He was re-selected as Parliamentary candidate for the Vale of Glamorgan in July 2007.

National Assembly for Wales

First elected to the assembly as AM for South Wales West in 1999 , he was re-elected in 2003 and 2007 and served as the party's spokesman on economic development and transport for eight years. In the Third Assembly he held the education and lifelong learning portfolio and also chaired the Assembly's Finance Committee. On 7 July 2007 he became the Shadow Minister for Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills in the National Assembly for Wales. On 14 June 2008 he resigned from his Cabinet positions after making controversial anti-Italian remarks on BBC Radio Cymru.

Controversy and Resignation

In March 2003, Alun Cairns faced an investigation by the National Assembly's standards committee following a complaint that he tried to alter his home address in order to add value to his property. It was alleged that in late 2002, he asked Royal Mail to ammend his address from "Ewenny Road, Ewenny, Bridgend" to simply "Ewenny, Bridgend." Ewenny is an up-market village where the price of property is significantly higher than in most nearby areas. Mr Cairns dismissed this complaint as "nonsensical". [http://www.newsuk.co.uk/newsuk/issueGotoPublicationDisplayRecord.do?ID=46611&day=21&month=03&year=13&pageSize=25&index=9] In September 2008, Alun Cairns admitted that he lobbied for a National Assembly rule to be "clarified" so he could carry on claiming thousands of pounds in expenses for a second home in Cardiff. The South West Wales AM benefited from a rule change introduced in late 2006 which allowed him to keep claiming £12,500 for expenses related to a flat in Cardiff even though his main home was in the Vale of Glamorgan. [http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/politics-news/2008/09/12/alun-cairns-admit-lobbying-over-expenses-on-bay-second-home-91466-21802680/] While taking part in Radio Cymru's weekly radio show, "Dau o'r Bae", on 13 June 2008, Cairns was asked to apologise on air for referring to Italians as 'greasy wops'. [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/jun/14/conservatives.wales Tory candidate apologises for 'greasy wops' comment | Politics | guardian.co.uk ] ] He subsequently resigned from his posts in the Shadow Cabinet. [http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/news/wales-news/2008/06/14/tory-resigns-over-greasy-wops-remark-91466-21075874] On 14 June 2008 Cairns was suspended as the parliamentary candidate for the Vale of Glamorgan while the party carried out an investigation.cite web| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7455520.stm | title = Tory suspended as party candidate | accessdate = 2008-06-15 | date = 2008-06-15| publisher = "BBC Online"] In September 2008, Alun Cairns admitted that he lobbied for a National Assembly rule to be "clarified" so he could carry on claiming thousands of pounds in expenses for a second home in Cardiff. The South West Wales AM benefited from a rule change introduced in late 2006 which allowed him to keep claiming £12,500 for expenses related to a flat in Cardiff even though his main home was in the Vale of Glamorgan. [http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/politics-news/2008/09/12/alun-cairns-admit-lobbying-over-expenses-on-bay-second-home-91466-21802680/]

External links

* [http://www.aluncairns.com/ Alun Cairns AM Website]
* [http://www.assemblywales.org/memhome/mem-profile/mem-south_wales_west-3.htm Member Profile] at the National Assembly for Wales
* [http://www.conservatives.com/tile.do?def=wales.people.person.page&personID=122785 Alun Cairns] Page at the Welsh Conservatives website

References

Offices held