Simon Milton (politician)

Sir Simon Henry Milton (2 October 1961 – 11 April 2011) was a British Conservative politician.[1] He lately served as London's Deputy Mayor for Policy and Planning, and before that was a leader of Westminster City Council and Chairman of the Local Government Association. Milton was a director of Ian Greer Associates, a parliamentary lobbying company "with close links to the Tory party" which was at the centre of the Cash-for-questions scandal in the 1990s.[2][3][4]

Sir Simon Henry Milton
Statue of Sir Simon Milton, Paddington Basin, London
Deputy Mayor of London for Policy and Planning
In office 2008–2011
Leader of Westminster City Council
In office 2000–2008
Preceded by	Melvyn Caplan
Succeeded by	Colin Barrow
Councillor, Lancaster Gate Ward
In office 1988 – 2008 (resigned)
Preceded by	Peter Hartley (resigned; Con)
Succeeded by	Andrew Smith (Con)
Personal details
Born	(1961-10-02)2 October 1961 London, England
Died	11 April 2011(2011-04-11) (aged 49)
Nationality	British
Political party	Conservative
Domestic partner	Robert Davis ​ ( m. 2007; his death 2011)
Alma mater	Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
Profession	Public relations

Early life

Milton was the son of Clive and Ruth Milton and was raised in Cricklewood, London. His father was one of the Jewish children rescued by the Kindertransport mission and brought to Britain in 1939.[5] Milton was educated at St Paul's School, London, and Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where he was Chairman of the Cambridge University Conservative Association and President of the Cambridge Union.[1]

He started his working career in Sharaton's, his father's business, a chain of patisserie shops and bakers with about twenty shops in North London. The business was sold to Ponti's on his father's retirement.

He stood for Parliament unsuccessfully for the Conservative Party in Leicester East in the 1997 General Election.

Knighthood

Milton was named a Knight Bachelor in the 2006 New Year's honours list for services to local government.[6]

Mayor Boris Johnson's administration

With effect from 6 May 2008, Milton was appointed to the position of Senior Adviser, Planning, in the administration of London Mayor Boris Johnson.[7] This led to his resignation as a councillor. From September 2008 he became a full-time politician as the administration's Deputy Mayor for Policy and Planning. In that role, he was responsible for overseeing policies for the built environment. In June 2009, Milton was also appointed Chief of Staff to the Mayor, with responsibility for managing the Mayoral advisors, as well as the Greater London Authority budgets and administration.

Personal life

Milton was diagnosed with leukaemia in 1990. In 1998 he underwent a bone-marrow transplant. As a result, his immune system was weakened, leading to a bout of pneumonia which seriously damaged his lungs. His health never fully recovered.[1] He and his partner Robert Davis, fellow Westminster Councillor and former Lord Mayor of Westminster, were together for over 20 years and entered into a civil partnership in June 2007.[8]

He was a member of the West London Synagogue.[9]

Milton died on 11 April 2011, aged 49.[10]

The Sir Simon Milton Foundation

Christabel Flight, the wife of Howard Flight, and a protegé and fellow Councillor of Milton at the City of Westminster, proposed setting up a foundation in his name. It has brought together a number of prominent trustees, mainly from the Conservative Party, many with links to Westminster Council. These include Baroness Eaton and Tony Pidgley, with John Barradell, Town Clerk of London as the chair.[11] The purpose of the charity is the promotion of Simon Milton's vision to help both young and older people in the City of Westminster, and elsewhere across London.[12]

Statues and Plaques

There are five statues and plaques dedicated to Sir Simon Milton in public in Westminster [13], more than for Sir Winston Churchill. His partner Councillor Robert Davis was leader of the Westminster Planning Committee for 16 years.

See also

• Homes for votes scandal
• Westminster cemeteries scandal

References

1. Travers, Tony (12 April 2011). "Obituary: Sir Simon Milton". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
2. Blackhurst, Chris (14 May 1994). "Tobacco Advertising: Lobby firm 'helped block smoking Bill'". The Independent. London.
3. Macintyre, Donald (21 October 1994). "The Cash-for-Questions Affair: Major rocked as payments scandal grows". The Independent. London. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
4. Hill, Dave (5 November 1994). "Cover story: The Westminster boys Lady Shirley Porter is about to take centre-stage in the inquiry into the Westminster homes-for-votes scandal". The Guardian. Manchester.
5. "Sir Simon Milton". The Daily Telegraph. London. 12 April 2011. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
6. "New Year's honours". The Guardian. London. 4 January 2006. p. 10.
7. Barney, Katharine; Waugh, Paul (6 May 2008). "Mayor names Cabinet members including his four deputies". London Evening Standard. London. p. 6.
8. Coleman, Brian (25 June 2007). "Thatcher the gay icon". New Statesman. Retrieved 10 July 2007.
9. Lipman, Jennifer (12 April 2011). "Boris Johnson aide Sir Simon Milton mourned". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
10. Geen, Jessica (12 April 2011). "Out gay London deputy mayor Simon Milton dies". Pink News.
11. "Our Trustees & Management". www.sirsimonmiltonfoundation.com. Sir Simon Milton Foundation. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
12. "Sir Simon Milton Foundation". Open Charities. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
13. https://londonist.com/london/art-and-photography/multimilton. Missing or empty |title= (help)

Political offices
Preceded by Lord (Sandy) Bruce-Lockhart	Chair of the Local Government Association 2007–2008	Succeeded by Margaret Eaton