Simon Richard Clarke (born 28 September 1984) is a British Conservative Party politician who is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland. He was first elected in the 2017 general election and held his seat with a greatly increased majority in 2019. From February 2020 to September 2020, he had been Minister of State for Regional Growth and Local Government after serving as Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury. Clarke unsuccessfully stood as the Conservative candidate in the Middlesbrough constituency in the 2015 general election, coming third and suffering a swing against his party of 2.3%. Whilst being employed as a Policy Advisor to the Conservative MP Graham Stuart, he was selected as the candidate for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland in April 2017. He was elected at the 2017 general election, winning the seat from Labour after the sitting MP Tom Blenkinsop stood down. Clarke has served on the Treasury Committee, the Treasury Sub-Committee and the Regulatory Reform Committee. - from Wikipedia