Julian Huppert
Encyclopedia
Julian Leon Huppert is a Liberal Democrat
politician in the United Kingdom and Member of Parliament for Cambridge
since 2010. He succeeded the previously elected David Howarth
, who stood down after one term.
), Huppert has lived in Cambridge
since he was a small child. Having attended The Perse School
in the city, Huppert went on to study at Cambridge University, completing a BA (2000) and then a PhD (2005) in Biological Chemistry at Trinity College
. He was elected a Junior Research Fellow of Trinity in 2004, and became a fellow of Clare College
in 2009 (the College at which the previous Liberal Democrat MP for the city, David Howarth
, was a member). He is also a Member of the Royal Society of Chemistry (MRSC) and the Institute of Physics (MInstP). He worked as a research scientist studying the structures of DNA as well as tutoring
students.
, formerly the National Council for Civil Liberties, from which he has since stood down.
He has campaigned in Parliament on many issues, including the need to scrap Britain’s nuclear weapons, and championing the cause of science and evidence-based policies.
He also sits on the Home Affairs Select Committee
.
An anti-fees campaigner for over 15 years, he was one of the 21 Liberal Democrats who voted against any increase in fees; and he tabled his own amendment to completely phase out all student fees, but it was unsuccessful. Huppert voted in favour of the replacing of the Education Maintenance Allowance
for 6th Formers.
In a poll of Lib Dem party members by Lib Dem Voice, released on the twelfth of January 2011, Huppert was named as the most impressive new Liberal Democrat MP elected in the 2010 election.
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
politician in the United Kingdom and Member of Parliament for Cambridge
Cambridge (UK Parliament constituency)
Cambridge is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post voting system....
since 2010. He succeeded the previously elected David Howarth
David Howarth
David Ross Howarth is a British Liberal Democrat politician who was Member of Parliament for Cambridge from 2005 to 2010.- Education and academic career :...
, who stood down after one term.
Early life and academia
The son of two academics (his father is the Australian-born geophysicist Herbert HuppertHerbert Huppert
Herbert Eric Huppert is an Australian-born geophysicist living in Britain. He has been Professor of Theoretical Geophysics and Foundation Director, Institute of Theoretical Geophysics, Cambridge University, since 1989 and Fellow of King's College, Cambridge, since 1970.He was born and received...
), Huppert has lived in Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
since he was a small child. Having attended The Perse School
The Perse School
The Perse Upper School is an independent secondary co-educational day school in Cambridge, England. The school was founded in 1615 by Dr Stephen Perse, a Fellow of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, and has existed on several different sites in the city before its present home on Hills...
in the city, Huppert went on to study at Cambridge University, completing a BA (2000) and then a PhD (2005) in Biological Chemistry at Trinity College
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
. He was elected a Junior Research Fellow of Trinity in 2004, and became a fellow of Clare College
Clare College, Cambridge
Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1326, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. Clare is famous for its chapel choir and for its gardens on "the Backs"...
in 2009 (the College at which the previous Liberal Democrat MP for the city, David Howarth
David Howarth
David Ross Howarth is a British Liberal Democrat politician who was Member of Parliament for Cambridge from 2005 to 2010.- Education and academic career :...
, was a member). He is also a Member of the Royal Society of Chemistry (MRSC) and the Institute of Physics (MInstP). He worked as a research scientist studying the structures of DNA as well as tutoring
Tutorial
A tutorial is one method of transferring knowledge and may be used as a part of a learning process. More interactive and specific than a book or a lecture; a tutorial seeks to teach by example and supply the information to complete a certain task....
students.
Councillor
During his eight years serving as a County Councillor for Cambridge's East Chesterton area, Huppert helped open Brown's Field Community Centre, chaired the Cambridge Traffic Management Committee and served on the Regional Assembly. His interests in internationalism, the UN and human rights have led him to his position on the National Council of LibertyLiberty (pressure group)
Liberty is a pressure group based in the United Kingdom. Its formal name is the National Council for Civil Liberties . Founded in 1934 by Ronald Kidd and Sylvia Crowther-Smith , the group campaigns to protect civil liberties and promote human rights...
, formerly the National Council for Civil Liberties, from which he has since stood down.
Member of Parliament
Soon after his election as MP, in an interview with the BBC's Today, Huppert stated, regarding negotiations with the Conservative party on possible deals to form a coalition, that whilst he found it "very hard to see how a deal could leave out electoral reform [...] if we got all the rest of our manifesto I'd probably live with that". Huppert is one of the vice-chairs for the All-Party Parliamentary Humanist Group, Cycling and Refugees, is vice-chair for Local Government and for Digital Economy, and treasurer on Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.He has campaigned in Parliament on many issues, including the need to scrap Britain’s nuclear weapons, and championing the cause of science and evidence-based policies.
He also sits on the Home Affairs Select Committee
Home Affairs Select Committee
The Home Affairs Select Committee is a Committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom.-Remit:The Home Affairs Committee is one of the House of Commons Select Committees related to government departments: its terms of reference are to examine "the expenditure,...
.
An anti-fees campaigner for over 15 years, he was one of the 21 Liberal Democrats who voted against any increase in fees; and he tabled his own amendment to completely phase out all student fees, but it was unsuccessful. Huppert voted in favour of the replacing of the Education Maintenance Allowance
Education Maintenance Allowance
Education Maintenance Allowance is a financial scheme applicable to students and those undertaking unpaid work-based learning in the Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland aged between sixteen and nineteen whose parents have a certain level of taxable income...
for 6th Formers.
In a poll of Lib Dem party members by Lib Dem Voice, released on the twelfth of January 2011, Huppert was named as the most impressive new Liberal Democrat MP elected in the 2010 election.
External links
- Julian Huppert MP official constituency website
- Profile at the Liberal Democrats
- Cambridge Liberal Democrats