Chloe Smith

Chloe Rebecca Smith (born 17 May 1982) is a British Conservative Party politician who serves as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Norwich North. She was elected to the seat in a by-election on 23 July 2009 following the resignation of Labour MP Ian Gibson after the MPs' expenses scandal.[3] From January 2018 she has served as Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office, a position she previously held under David Cameron from 2012 to 2013.

This article is about the British politician. For the musician and singer of the American musical group Rising Appalachia, see Chloe Smith (musician).

Chloe Smith

MP
Smith in 2020
Minister of State for the Constitution and Devolution
Assumed office
13 February 2020
Prime MinisterBoris Johnson
Preceded byPosition established
Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office
In office
9 January 2018 – 13 February 2020
Prime MinisterTheresa May
Boris Johnson
Preceded byChris Skidmore
Succeeded byPosition abolished
In office
4 September 2012 – 6 October 2013
Prime MinisterDavid Cameron
Preceded byMark Harper
Succeeded byGreg Clark
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
In office
14 June 2017 – 9 January 2018
Prime MinisterTheresa May
Preceded byKris Hopkins
Succeeded byShailesh Vara
Economic Secretary to the Treasury
In office
14 October 2011 – 4 September 2012
Prime MinisterDavid Cameron
Preceded byJustine Greening
Succeeded bySajid Javid
Member of Parliament
for Norwich North
Assumed office
23 July 2009
Preceded byIan Gibson
Majority4,738 (10.2%)
Personal details
Born
Chloe Rebecca Smith

(1982-05-17) 17 May 1982[1]
Ashford, Kent, England[2]
NationalityBritish
Political partyConservative
Spouse(s)
Sandy McFadzean
(
m. 2013)
Children2
Alma materUniversity of York
OccupationPolitician
Websitewww.chloesmith.org.uk

Early life

Smith was born in Ashford, Kent; her family moved to Norfolk when she was three years old.[4] Growing up in Stoke Ferry,[5] she attended comprehensive schools in Swaffham and Methwold; after a gap year working for former Conservative Education Secretary Gillian Shephard,[4] she read English Literature at the University of York.[5] She undertook summer work for Bernard Jenkin.[4]

After graduating from York University, she joined Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu as a management consultant. She advised private businesses, government departments and public bodies.[4]

In 2007, Smith was chosen to be the Conservative Party candidate for the constituency of Norwich North at the general election.[5] She then took leave from her job, working for Conservative Central Office on secondment, to "draw up detailed plans to put our policies into practice".[4]

Parliamentary career

Following the resignation of Labour MP Ian Gibson, Smith became the Conservatives' by-election candidate and subsequently gained the seat, becoming the youngest member of the House of Commons.[6] She took her seat in the House of Commons when the parliamentary break ended in October.[7]

On 14 October 2011, she was appointed Economic Secretary to the Treasury in a ministerial reshuffle, becoming the youngest minister serving in government at that point.[8] According to The Guardian newspaper Smith was appointed to the role because David Cameron wrongly believed she was a trained accountant.[9]

On 26 June 2012, she appeared on the BBC Two current affairs programme Newsnight and was interviewed about Chancellor George Osborne's decision that day to delay plans to increase fuel duty.[10] Interviewer Jeremy Paxman questioned the apparent change in her views on fuel duty.[11] The interview attracted much comment from the media and other political figures, and was described as a "mauling" and a "humiliation" for Smith.[12][9] Politicians, including John Prescott and Nadine Dorries, questioned Osborne's judgement for sending a junior minister onto the programme in his place.[10][13]

In August 2013, she was criticised by transparency campaigners for blocking the identification of civil servants and public sector bodies responsible for £77m of flights booked through the Government Procurement Service.[14] In October 2013, she resigned from the Cabinet Office to "concentrate on the most important part of my job: being the Member of Parliament for Norwich North".[15]

During the campaign for the 2015 general election, Smith was mocked by political opponents for quoting a constituent's letter in her election literature.[16] The letter, first published in the Norwich Evening News newspaper, said she seemed "to act more like a Socialist than a Conservative".[17] Political Scrapbook, the left-wing political blog, published a mocked-up photograph depicting Smith as Marxist "urban guerilla" Wolfie Smith giving a clenched fist salute outside Norwich railway station.[16][18] Smith responded: "Clearly I am not a socialist. I am a proud Conservative. What the letter writer was saying was my work can appeal across party lines". Labour Party candidate Jessica Asato said: "Local people won't forget she is one of the most loyal Conservative MPs and shows unwavering support for the vicious bedroom tax, tax cuts for millionaires and the swift march of the profiteers into the NHS. If this is socialism I'll eat my hat."[16]

In May 2014, she was awarded the Grassroot Diplomat Initiative Award under the Business Driver category for designing and conceiving the Norwich for Jobs campaign, which brought over 400 jobs and apprenticeships for young people in her constituency.[19]

She retained her Norwich North seat in the snap 2017 general election, taking 21,900 votes, ahead of Labour's Chris Jones by 507 votes.[20] Following the election, she was appointed as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Northern Ireland working under James Brokenshire.[21]

In August 2019, Smith was the victim of an anthrax scare, in which a 40-year-old man in Barnstaple sent her a package of anonymous white powder.[22]

Political positions

Smith's political stances have included support for lower taxation, increasing VAT,[23] and opposition to the Lisbon Treaty.[24] She also supported the legalisation of same-sex marriage.[25] She singles out Benjamin Disraeli as a political leader she admires.[24]

Smith was opposed to Brexit prior to the 2016 referendum.[26] Despite this, she endorsed prominent Brexiteer Boris Johnson during the 2019 Conservative Party leadership election.[27]

In February 2020, Smith was promoted to the position of Minister of State for the Cabinet Office.

Personal life

Smith is an active volunteer and fundraiser for several charities including Cancer Research UK and Sport Relief.[5] She is a keen cyclist and badminton player. She also enjoys life drawing and has posed as a model at classes.[28] She is an atheist.[29][30]

In 2012, Smith proposed to financial consultant Sandy McFadzean, whom she had been dating for four months. McFadzean proposed to her in the "traditional style" the following day.[31] In 2013, the couple married in South Runcton,[32] and they had their first child, a son, in 2016.[33] In 2019, their second child, a daughter, was born.[34]

gollark: You can throw a switch to make it go onto another track where it will only run over 1 person.
gollark: Basically, a runaway trolley is heading down a track where it will run over 5 people.
gollark: The trolley problem is necessary background.
gollark: Too bad, I WILL ramble incoherently about it anyway.
gollark: Are you aware of the "trolley problem"?

References
  1. "The youngest members of the potential next intake of Conservative MPs". ConservativeHome. Archived from the original on 10 July 2009. Retrieved 24 July 2009.
  2. McSmith, Andy (23 July 2009). "Today Norwich, tomorrow the world for rising star of Tories". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 26 July 2009. Retrieved 24 July 2009.
  3. "Tories beat Labour in by-election". BBC News. 24 July 2009. Archived from the original on 2 September 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2009.
  4. "Profile: Chloe Smith". BBC News. 24 July 2009. Retrieved 24 July 2009.
  5. "About Chloe". chloesmith.org.uk. Archived from the original on 20 December 2009. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  6. "Labour braced for key poll defeat". BBC News. 24 July 2009. Archived from the original on 2 September 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2009.
  7. Stephenson, Alex (24 July 2009). "Profile:Chloe Smith". politics.co.uk. Archived from the original on 29 July 2009. Retrieved 24 July 2009.
  8. Falloon, Matt (14 October 2011). "Chloe Smith appointed new economic secretary". Reuters. Archived from the original on 20 December 2011. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
  9. Watt, Nicholas (27 June 2012). "Chloe Smith's Newsnight humiliation is No 10's fault, say senior Tories". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 7 April 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  10. Quinn, Ben (27 June 2012). "George Osborne branded a coward after Tory minister's Newsnight disaster". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 3 April 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
  11. "Treasury Minister grilled over delay of 3p fuel duty rise". BBC News. 27 June 2012. Archived from the original on 28 June 2012. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
  12. Freedland, Jonathan (27 June 2012). "How to play Paxman: what Chloe Smith should have said". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 29 July 2017.
  13. "David Cameron denies George Osborne 'hid' after fuel U-turn". BBC News. 27 June 2012. Archived from the original on 30 June 2012. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
  14. Holehouse, Matthew (5 August 2013). "Minister's veto keeps public sector jet set's £77m flight bill a mystery". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 18 October 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
  15. "Chloe Smith stands down as minister to restate what is most important to her: her work for Norwich North". chloesmithmp.com. 9 October 2013. Archived from the original on 16 February 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  16. Dickson, Annabelle (30 March 2015). ""If this is socialism I'll eat my hat" – Conservative candidate's campaign leaflet prompts mock-up". Eastern Daily Press. Norwich. Archived from the original on 1 April 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  17. McSmith, Andy (30 March 2015). "Andy McSmith's Diary: Frozen Cameron reveals all to Heat – S-Word of the Day". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 8 July 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  18. "Citizen Smith: Desperate Leaflet Claims Former Tory Ministert is "a Socialist"". Political Scrapbook. 29 March 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  19. "Grassroot Diplomat Who's Who". Grassroot Diplomat. 15 March 2015. Archived from the original on 20 May 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  20. "Norwich North parliamentary constituency – Election 2017". BBC News. Archived from the original on 20 May 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  21. Anderson, Stuart (14 June 2012). "Norwich North MP Chloe Smith has a new role in government as parliamentary under-secretary of state for Northern Ireland". Eastern Daily Press. Norwich. Archived from the original on 30 July 2017. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  22. Steven Morris and agency. "Man admits sending fake anthrax to female politicians | UK news". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  23. "Chloe Smith – Assistant Whip". Theyworkforyou.com. Archived from the original on 29 July 2017. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  24. Fisher, Chris. "Meet Chloe Smith, UK's youngest MP". Eastern Daily Press. Norwich. Archived from the original on 1 October 2009. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  25. Green, Jessica (3 August 2011). "Tory MP Chloe Smith supports gay marriage". Pink News. Archived from the original on 21 October 2011.
  26. Goodenough, Tom (16 February 2016). "Which Tory MPs back Brexit, who doesn't and who is still on the fence?". The Spectator. Archived from the original on 22 October 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  27. Cope, Lauren (9 June 2019). "Norwich MP backs Boris Johnson in Conservative leadership race". Eastern Daily Press. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  28. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/the-model-minister-stripping-down-8bn-waste-at-whitehall-8526160.html
  29. Chapman, Tom (15 July 2009). "Norwich election candidates tackle the issues". The Norwich And Norfolk Christian Community Website. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
  30. Waugh, Paul (13 October 2009). "Newest Tory MP – Young, gifted and atheist". London Evening Standard. London. Archived from the original on 16 October 2009. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
  31. Hill, Chris (10 December 2012). "Norwich North MP Chloe Smith announces her engagement". Eastern Daily Press. Norwich. Archived from the original on 29 July 2017. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  32. Grimmer, Dan (10 November 2013). "Norwich MP Chloe Smith ties the knot". Eastern Daily Press. Norwich. Archived from the original on 29 July 2017. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  33. "Chloe Smith MP welcomes new arrival". .chloesmith.org.uk. 29 September 2016. Archived from the original on 29 July 2017. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  34. Grimmer, Dan (29 April 2019). "Norwich MP Chloe Smith announces birth of daughter". Eastern Daily Press. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Ian Gibson		 Member of Parliament for Norwich North
2009–present		 Incumbent
Preceded by
Jo Swinson		 Baby of the House
2009–2010		 Succeeded by
Pamela Nash
Political offices
Preceded by
Justine Greening		 Economic Secretary to the Treasury
2011–2012		 Succeeded by
Sajid Javid
Preceded by
Kris Hopkins		 Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
2017–2018		 Succeeded by
Shailesh Vara
Preceded by
Mark Harper		 Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office
2012–2013		 Succeeded by
Greg Clark
Preceded by
Chris Skidmore		 Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office
2018–2020		 Position abolished
Position established Minister of State for the Constitution and Devolution
2020–present		 Incumbent
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