Jeremy Browne

Jeremy Richard Browne (born 17 May 1970) is a British Liberal Democrat politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Taunton Deane from 2005 to 2015.

He worked for the Liberal Democrats nationally and rose to be their Director of Press and Broadcasting under the leadership of Paddy Ashdown and Charles Kennedy.

[7] Shortly after the 2001 general election Browne was chosen to contest the more winnable marginal seat of Taunton which had been gained by the Conservative Adrian Flook from the Liberal Democrat Jackie Ballard by just 235 votes.

[14] His appeal was successful, with Sir Paul Kennedy accepting that the arrangement cost the taxpayer less than the alternative options and saying that Browne had acted "openly and honestly, and for the very purpose for which ACA was established".

[17] Following the 2010 general election as part of the new coalition government Browne was appointed Minister of State with the responsibility for South East Asia & Far East, Caribbean, Central & South America, Australasia & Pacific, human rights, consular, migration, drugs and international crime, public diplomacy and the Olympics at the Foreign Office.

He is a classical liberal: a believer in free-market economics, free trade, low taxation, small government and individual empowerment.

It details a warning to British political classes of the urgent necessity to get fit for the global race against the new powerhouses of Asia and Latin America.

The task today is to push power, money, information and choice down to the individual citizen, so that everyone can enjoy the opportunities that a fortunate few take for granted.

"[24] Several of his proposed policy ideas received broad media attention, including calls for the top rate of tax to be returned to 40%, the introduction of portable school vouchers allowing parents to choose their child's school, allowing free schools to function for profit, reduction of the state to 35–38% of GDP, the removal of ring-fencing of public spending in areas including health, more patient choice and the creation of new sources of revenue including insurance payments, abolition of the Department for Energy and Climate Change, big increases in infrastructure spending on new housing, roads, high-speed rail and a new hub airport in the Thames Estuary, and reform of the House of Lords.

[25] Jeremy Browne was nominated for the Stonewall Politician of the Year Award in 2011 for his work to support equality for lesbian, gay and bisexual people.

Browne speaking in 2013