Simon Milton (politician)

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific-prefix = Sir

| name = Simon Henry Milton

| honorific-suffix =

| image = Simon Milton statue (20080648775).jpg

| caption = Statue of Sir Simon Milton, Paddington Basin, London

| office = Deputy Mayor of London for Policy and Planning

| leader =

| term_start = 2008

| term_end = 2011

| predecessor =

| successor = Edward Lister

| office2 = Leader of Westminster City Council

| term_start2 = 2000

| term_end2 = 2008

| predecessor2 = Melvyn Caplan

| successor2 = Colin Barrow

| office3 = Councillor, Lancaster Gate Ward

| term_start3 = 1988

| term_end3 = 2008 {{Smaller|(resigned)}}

| predecessor3 = Peter Hartley {{Smaller|(resigned; Con)}}

| successor3 = Andrew Smith {{Smaller|(Con)}}

| birth_date = {{birth date|1961|10|2|df=yes}}

| birth_place = London, England

| death_date = {{death date and age|2011|04|11|1961|10|2|df=yes}}

| death_place =

| nationality = British

| partner = {{marriage|Robert Davis|2007}}

| party = Conservative

| relations =

| children =

| residence =

| alma_mater = Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge

| occupation =

| profession = Public relations

}}

Sir Simon Henry Milton (2 October 1961 – 11 April 2011) was a British Conservative politician.{{cite news|first=Tony|last=Travers|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2011/apr/12/sir-simon-milton-obituary|title= Obituary: Sir Simon Milton|work=The Guardian|location=London|date=12 April 2011|accessdate=27 November 2013}} 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.{{cite news|title=Tobacco Advertising: Lobby firm 'helped block smoking Bill'|first=Chris|last=Blackhurst|work=The Independent|location=London|date=14 May 1994}}{{cite news|title=The Cash-for-Questions Affair: Major rocked as payments scandal grows|first=Donald|last=Macintyre|date=21 October 1994|work=The Independent|location=London|accessdate=28 November 2013|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/the-cashforquestions-affair-major-rocked-as-payments-scandal-grows-minister-resigns-over-cash-for-questions-pm-reveals-he-knew-of-allegations-by-harrods-owner-three-weeks-ago-1444057.html}}{{cite news|title=Cover story: The Westminster boys Lady Shirley Porter is about to take centre-stage in the inquiry into the Westminster homes-for-votes scandal.|last=Hill|first=Dave|work=The Guardian|location=Manchester|date=5 November 1994}}

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.{{cite news|title=Sir Simon Milton|date=12 April 2011|work=The Daily Telegraph|location=London|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/politics-obituaries/8446352/Sir-Simon-Milton.html|accessdate=28 November 2013}} 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.

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.{{cite news|title=New Year's honours|work=The Guardian|location=London|date=4 January 2006|page=10}}

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.{{cite news|title=Mayor names Cabinet members including his four deputies|last1=Barney|first1=Katharine|last2=Waugh|first2=Paul|work=London Evening Standard|location=London|date=6 May 2008|page=6}} 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 advisers, 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. 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.{{cite news|url=http://www.newstatesman.com/200706250062|title=Thatcher the gay icon|first=Brian|last=Coleman|date=25 June 2007|accessdate=10 July 2007|work=New Statesman}}

He was a member of the West London Synagogue.{{cite web|url=http://www.thejc.com/node/47749|title=Boris Johnson aide Sir Simon Milton mourned|first=Jennifer|last=Lipman|date=12 April 2011|accessdate=13 April 2011|work=The Jewish Chronicle}}

Milton died on 11 April 2011, aged 49.{{cite news|first=Jessica|last=Geen|url=http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/04/12/out-gay-london-deputy-mayor-simon-milton-dies/|title=Out gay London deputy mayor Simon Milton dies|work=Pink News|date=12 April 2011}}

The Sir Simon Milton Foundation

File:Statue of Simon Milton, Southwark (02).jpg

Christabel Flight, the wife of Howard Flight, and a protégée 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.{{cite web|title=Our Trustees & Management|url=https://www.sirsimonmiltonfoundation.com/about-us/our-trustees-management|website=www.sirsimonmiltonfoundation.com|publisher=Sir Simon Milton Foundation|accessdate=21 December 2017|language=en}} 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.{{cite web|url=http://opencharities.org/charities/1149166|title=Sir Simon Milton Foundation|publisher=Open Charities|accessdate=11 February 2016}}

Statues and plaques

There are five statues and plaques dedicated to Milton in public in Westminster.{{cite web |url=https://londonist.com/london/art-and-photography/multimilton |title=Simon Milton: A Man With Five London Memorials |date=November 9, 2018 |website=Londonist |access-date=March 2, 2021}}