Alun Cairns

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Alun Cairns AM
Shadow Minister for Local Government
Incumbent
Assumed office  22 October 2008
Leader	Nick Bourne
Preceded by	Nick Ramsay
Shadow Minister for Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills
In office 11 July 2007 – 14 June 2008
Leader	Nick Bourne
Preceded by	Janet Ryder
Succeeded by	Andrew R. T. Davies
Member of the Welsh Assembly for South Wales West
Incumbent
Assumed office  6 May 1999
Preceded by	New Assembly
Born	30 July 1970 (1970-07-30) (age 39) Swansea, Wales
Political party	Conservative

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.

Contents 1 Background 2 Professional career 3 Political career 4 National Assembly for Wales 5 Controversy, resignation and reinstatement 6 Offices held 7 References 8 External links

[edit] 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.^[1]

[edit] Professional career

Cairns has experience in the business sector, having worked for the Lloyds Bank Group as a Business Development Consultant before being elected to the National Assembly.^[1]

[edit] 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.

[edit] National Assembly for Wales

First elected to the assembly as AM for South Wales West in 1999 ^[1], 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 11 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. He was re-appointed to the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Minister for Local Government on 22 October 2008.^[2]

[edit] Controversy, resignation and reinstatement

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 amend 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".^[3] In September 2008, Alun Cairns admitted that he asked for a National Assembly rule to be "clarified" to determine whether he could claim expenses for a second home in Cardiff. A rule change introduced in late 2006 by the Assembly's House Committee allowed him to claim expenses related to a flat in Cardiff even though his main home was reclassified as being situated in the Vale of Glamorgan through no fault of his own.^[4] 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'.^[5] He subsequently resigned from his post in the Shadow Cabinet.^[6] On 14 June 2008 Cairns was suspended as the parliamentary candidate for the Vale of Glamorgan while the party carried out an investigation.^[7] Cairns was reinstated as the parliamentary candidate on 22 October 2008 upon completion of the investigation.^[2]

Canadian politician Ed Havrot also controversially used anti-Italian slurs while serving in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, referring to one of his Italian-Canadian opponents as a "wop". This insult was recently used by Welsh Assembly Member Alun Cairns on a live broadcast from Radio Cymru on Friday 13th, June 2008, when he referred to the Italian Euro 2008 football team as "Greasy Wops". As a consequence, he resigned from office.

[edit] Offices held

National Assembly for Wales
Preceded by (new post)	Assembly Member for South Wales West 1999–present	Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Janet Ryder	Shadow Minister for Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills 2007-2008 11 July 2007 to 14 June 2008	Succeeded by Andrew R. T. Davies
Preceded by Nick Ramsay	Shadow Minister for Local Government 2008- from 22 October 2008	Succeeded by Incumbent

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Alun Cairns AM Website
• Member Profile at the National Assembly for Wales
• Alun Cairns Page at the Welsh Conservatives website