Esther McVey

Esther Louise McVey (born 24 October 1967) is a British Conservative Party politician, serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Tatton since 2017. She previously served in the Cabinet as Minister of State for Housing and Planning from 2019 to 2020, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in 2018 and Minister of State for Employment from 2014 to 2015.

The Right Honourable Esther McVey MP
McVey in 2017
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
In office 8 January 2018 – 15 November 2018
Prime Minister	Theresa May
Preceded by	David Gauke
Succeeded by	Amber Rudd
Minister of State for Housing and Planning
In office 24 July 2019 – 13 February 2020
Prime Minister	Boris Johnson
Preceded by	Kit Malthouse
Succeeded by	Christopher Pincher
Deputy Chief Government Whip Treasurer of the Household
In office 2 November 2017 – 8 January 2018
Prime Minister	Theresa May
Preceded by	Julian Smith
Succeeded by	Christopher Pincher
Minister of State for Employment
In office 7 October 2013 – 8 May 2015
Prime Minister	David Cameron
Preceded by	Mark Hoban
Succeeded by	Priti Patel
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Disabled People
In office 4 September 2012 – 7 October 2013
Prime Minister	David Cameron
Preceded by	Maria Miller
Succeeded by	Mike Penning
Member of Parliament for Tatton
Incumbent
Assumed office 8 June 2017
Preceded by	George Osborne
Majority	17,387 (35.5%)
Chair of the British Transport Police Authority
In office 19 November 2015 – 2 May 2017
Preceded by	Millie Banerjee
Succeeded by	Ron Barclay-Smith
Member of Parliament for Wirral West
In office 6 May 2010 – 30 March 2015
Preceded by	Stephen Hesford
Succeeded by	Margaret Greenwood
Personal details
Born	Esther Louise McVey (1967-10-24) 24 October 1967 Liverpool, Lancashire (now Merseyside), England, United Kingdom
Political party	Conservative
Domestic partner	Philip Davies[1]
Residence	West Kirby, Wirral Peninsula, England
Alma mater	Queen Mary, University of London City, University of London Liverpool John Moores University

Born in Liverpool, McVey was raised in foster care for the first two years of her life and was then raised by her biological family. She was privately educated at The Belvedere School before going on to study at Queen Mary University of London and City, University of London. After working at her family's construction business, she became a television presenter; co-presenting GMTV with Eamonn Holmes.

McVey first entered the House of Commons as MP for Wirral West at the 2010 general election. She served in the Cameron–Clegg coalition as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Disabled People from 2012 to 2013, prior to serving as Minister of State for Employment from 2013 to 2015. She was sworn into the Privy Council in 2014 and attended Cabinet after that year's reshuffle. In the 2015 general election, she lost her seat and spent eighteen months serving as Chair of the British Transport Police Authority before returning to parliament in the 2017 general election, succeeding former Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne in Tatton.

McVey served in the second May ministry as Deputy Chief Whip from 2017 to 2018. She was appointed Work and Pensions Secretary in January 2018. In July, she misled the House of Commons over the new Universal Credit scheme by claiming a National Audit Office report showed it should be rolled out faster when in fact the report concluded the roll-out should be paused. Amid calls for her resignation, she apologised to the House. She resigned in November 2018 in opposition to Brexit negotiations and Theresa May's draft Brexit withdrawal agreement. She stood in the 2019 Conservative Party leadership election but was eliminated in the first round after finishing in last place with nine votes. After the contest, she attended Cabinet as Minister of State for Housing and Planning until Boris Johnson's first Cabinet reshuffle.

Early life and career

McVey, of Irish Catholic descent,[2] was born in Liverpool. She spent the first two years of her life in foster care as a Barnardo's child.[3] She was educated at the (at that time fee-paying, independent) Belvedere School, before reading law at Queen Mary University of London (LLB) and radio journalism at City, University of London (MA). In July 2009, McVey graduated from Liverpool John Moore University with the degree of Master of Science in corporate governance.

From 2000 to 2006, McVey was a director of her family's Liverpool-based construction business J. G. McVey & Co. (run by her father)[4] which specialised in demolition and site clearance,[5] land reclamation and regeneration. In 2003, the firm received two immediate prohibition safety notices with which it complied.[6] Her father has since said that she was "only there in name".[7]

Media career

McVey returned to the family business after university, while undertaking a postgraduate course in radio journalism at City University, before embarking on a career in the media, both as a presenter and producer.[8]

McVey was a co-presenter of the summer holiday Children's BBC strand But First This in 1991, and subsequently presented and produced a wide range of programmes, co-hosting GMTV,[9] BBC1's science entertainment series How Do They Do That?,[10] 5's Company, The Heaven and Earth Show, Shopping City, BBC2's youth current affairs programme Reportage, and Channel 4's legal series Nothing But The Truth with Ann Widdecombe.[11][12] She took part in Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues at the Empire Theatre, Liverpool.[13]

McVey returned to Liverpool and set up her own business, Making It (UK) Ltd,[14] which provides training for small and medium enterprises, as well as providing office space for new startup businesses which led to her founding Winning Women,[15] supported by funding from the North West Regional Development Agency.[16]

Political career

A supporter of Conservative Way Forward,[17] a Thatcherite organisation, McVey was selected to stand as the Conservative Party candidate in the 2005 general election for the Wirral West constituency, but lost to the sitting Labour MP Stephen Hesford by 1,097 votes.[18]

Member of Parliament for Wirral West (2010–2015)

In the 2010 general election, McVey gained Wirral West defeating the Labour candidate, Phil Davies, by a 2,436 majority (16,726 votes cast, 42.5% vote share).[19] In 2010, McVey was Parliamentary Private Secretary to then-Employment Minister Chris Grayling.[20] From 2012 to 2013, she was Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Work and Pensions, working under Iain Duncan Smith.[21]

In December 2013, she was formally reprimanded for using House of Commons notepaper and postage to electioneer for the Conservative Party; she apologised and repaid the £300 costs.[22]

David Cameron appointed McVey Minister of State for Employment in the Department for Work and Pensions in an October 2013 reshuffle. McVey was later sworn into the Privy Council on 27 February 2014.[23][24] Shortly after being made Minister for Employment, McVey had the responsibility for the Health and Safety Executive taken away after it was reported that a demolition company had been found to be in violation of health and safety laws while she was director.[25]

In April 2014 McVey apologised for a tweet criticising the Wirral Labour Party that was issued during the Hillsborough memorial service. Social media posts at the time claimed the timing of the tweet showed a lack of respect.[26]

In November 2014, then-backbench Labour MP John McDonnell discussed a "Sack Esther McVey Day" among Labour activists and politicians, saying that "a whole group in the audience" argued 'Why are we sacking her? Why aren't we lynching the bastard?'"[27] The Conservative Party chairman Grant Shapps called for Labour to withdraw the whip from McDonnell.[27] The official Labour Party Twitter feed said McDonnell's comments "don't represent the views of the Labour Party. He speaks for himself".[28] In 2015, speaking to Robert Peston of ITV, McDonnell defended his comments by saying that he was "simply report[ing] what was shouted out at a public meeting". On the same day as his "lynch" remarks, in a debate in the House of Commons, McDonnell criticised McVey for playing the victim and proceeded to call her a "stain of inhumanity".[29]

Out of parliament (2015–2017)

In the 2015 general election, McVey was defeated by the Labour candidate Margaret Greenwood who gained the Wirral West seat by 417 votes.[30][31]

After losing her seat, McVey took up the post of chair of the British Transport Police Authority from November 2015, on a four-year contract. However, ten days after it was announced that a 2017 general election would take place, McVey resigned the post. Between the elections she also had part-time jobs as a special adviser to Irish lobbying firm Hume Brophy[32] and an investment firm and a fellowship at the University of Hull.[33]

Member of Parliament for Tatton (2017–present)

In April 2017, McVey was selected to succeed George Osborne as the Conservative candidate for the June 2017 general election in his safe seat of Tatton.[34] She was elected, with around the same vote share as Osborne gained in 2015 (58.6%) (and with a larger number of votes than Osborne gained in any of the four times he stood in an election at Tatton), but with a decreased majority. In a reshuffle prompted by Sir Michael Fallon's resignation as Secretary of State for Defence in the wake of sexual assault allegations, and in which former Chief Whip Gavin Williamson replaced Fallon and his deputy Julian Smith replaced Williamson, McVey was appointed Deputy Chief Government Whip.[35]

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (2018)

On 8 January 2018, McVey was appointed as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, a post she held until 15 November 2018 when she resigned over the Brexit deal.[36] Labour MP Dan Carden said McVey's appointment "will put fear in the hearts of the vulnerable and disabled. The last time McVey was at DWP she was ejected from parliament by the voters of Wirral West."[37]

In July 2018 it was reported by the head of the National Audit Office (NAO) that McVey had misled parliament over the new Universal Credit scheme by claiming that the NAO report showed that it should be rolled out faster when in fact the report concluded that the roll-out should be paused.[38] She apologised to the House of Commons on 4 July 2018[39][40] amid calls for her resignation.[40] Margaret Greenwood said in parliament, "The secretary of state should be ashamed that she has been forced to come to this house again. If she misread this report so badly this brings in to question her competence and her judgment. If she did read the report and chose to misrepresent its findings, she has clearly broken the ministerial code. Either way, she should resign."[41]

McVey said that there were problems with Universal Credit. The Guardian wrote, "Tens of thousands of ESA claimants will receive back-payments of £5,000–£20,000 as a result of what MPs have called a series of 'avoidable' mistakes. The DWP was warned of the error as early as 2014, but failed to take action until 2017."[42] Polly Toynbee wrote, "It's no surprise that a minister who misleads parliament and thumbs her nose at the NAO is even more indifferent to the people who really matter – the millions suffering her department's infliction of extreme hardship as they are transferred to UC."[43]

On 15 November 2018, McVey announced her ministerial resignation over Brexit following May's publication of the draft proposed deal.[44] She was replaced by former Home Secretary Amber Rudd.[45]

It was reported on 27 June 2019 that McVey had received £17,000 for her resignation in severance pay. She was criticised by Labour MP Neil Coyle for taking the payment when she had earlier admitted universal credit had "failings".[46]

Out of Cabinet (2018–2019)

In March 2019, she was criticised[47] after tweeting a widely discredited claim made in a 2014 newspaper opinion column about the UK, along with other EU states, being forced to join the Euro from 2020, before later deleting it.[48]

Conservative Party leadership campaign (2019)

In May 2019, McVey announced her intention to run for the leadership of the Conservative Party when Theresa May resigns, claiming that she already had "enough support" to stand.[35] Later that month, McVey launched Blue Collar Conservatives, as part of her leadership campaign, with MPs such as Scott Mann, Iain Duncan Smith and her partner Philip Davies in attendance.

McVey finished in last place, after the first ballot of the Conservative Party leadership candidates, and was eliminated.[49]

Minister of State for Housing and Planning (2019–2020)

Following Boris Johnson winning the leadership contest and becoming Prime Minister in July 2019, McVey returned to the cabinet when he made her Minister of State for Housing and Planning.[50] She was dismissed in Johnson's post-Brexit reshuffle.

Personal life

McVey lives in West Kirby, Wirral. She was previously in relationships with BBC producer Mal Young[51] and former Conservative frontbencher Ed Vaizey.[52] When in London, she shared a flat in Pimlico with Conservative colleague Philip Davies MP,[53] with whom she has had a "long time on-and-off romantic interest".[54] They were reported to be partners in July 2018.[1] The house-sharing arrangement ended when McVey lost her seat at the 2015 general election.[55] In May 2019 the BBC's Politics Live programme reported that she and Davies are engaged.[56]

References

1. Shipman, Tim (15 July 2018). "The odd couple clicked at last, but Tory plotters won't be pacified as easily as Donald Trump". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
2. "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 21 Jun 2012 (pt 0001)". Parliament of the United Kingdom.
3. "I was a Barnardo's child, Esther McVey reveals". The Times. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
4. "Esther McVey". enforbusiness.com. Archived from the original on 27 September 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
5. "Esther McVey selected as Parliamentary Candidate". Wirral West Conservatives.
6. Wall, Tom (9 October 2013). "McVey loses safety brief". Environmental Health News. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
7. McVey, Jim (20 October 2018). "BBC Radio 4 – Profile, Esther McVey". Profile (Interview). Interviewed by Mark Coles. London: BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
8. Odone, Cristina (16 February 2014). "Esther McVey: 'Marriage never came my way. I don't know why'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
9. Wightman, Catriona (2 January 2017). "CBBC's most iconic presenters: Where are they now?". Digital Spy. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
10. O'Grady, Sean (4 July 2018). "Esther McVey received less of a grilling for misleading parliament than most vulnerable people do trying to claim universal credit". The Independent. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
11. Hernon, Ian (19 May 2010). "Political correspondent Ian Hernon meets new Wirral West MP Esther McVey". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
12. "Prospective parliamentary candidate Esther McVey for Wirral West". Wirral West Conservatives. Archived from the original on 1 February 2004. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
13. Hancock, Beverley (2003). "The Vagina Monologues". Liverpool Stage. BBC. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
14. "The Pool of business at the House". politicsfirst.org.uk.
15. "Winning Women – About Us". Winning Women. Archived from the original on 17 September 2008. Retrieved 19 August 2008.
16. Collinson, Dawn (29 November 2010). "MP Esther McVey launches a magazine to inspire teenage girls". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
17. Hope, Christopher (15 July 2014). "Pen portraits of the 10 Conservative women ministers who were promoted in the reshuffle". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
18. "BBC News Election 2005. Results Wirral West". BBC. 6 May 2005. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
19. "UK General Election Wirral West Vote Result". BBC.
20. "Government publishes list of Parliamentary Private Secretaries". Government of the United Kingdom. 17 November 2010.
21. Godfrey, Hannah (9 January 2018). "Esther McVey – All advisers need to know about new DWP chief". Professional Adviser. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
22. Eden, Richard (1 December 2013). "Tory rising star Esther McVey is formally reprimanded". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
23. "Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Disabled People". Government of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
24. "Privy Council appointments: February 2014" (Press release). Office of the Prime Minister. 27 February 2014. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
25. "EHN Online | McVey loses safety brief". www.ehn-online.com. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
26. "MP 'regrets' memorial service tweet". 16 April 2014. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
27. Coates, Sam (14 November 2014). "Labour refuses to sack MP for lynching joke". The Times. Retrieved 27 April 2017. (subscription required)
28. Hope, Christopher (13 November 2014). "Labour distances itself from MP's lynching remarks". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
29. Asthana, Anushka (25 September 2016). "McDonnell defends calling Tory MP 'stain of inhumanity'". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
30. Carter, Helen (8 May 2015). "Conservative Esther McVey loses her Wirral seat by just over 400 votes". The Independent. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
31. Bartlett, David (8 May 2015). "Esther McVey Lost: What went wrong in Wirral West?". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
32. "Esther McVey has a new job". Liverpool Echo. 18 November 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
33. "McVey's paydays". Private Eye. London: Pressdram Ltd. 25 August 2017.
34. "Esther McVey selected to contest Tatton for Conservatives". BBC News. 26 April 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
35. "McVey: I'll run for Tory leadership". 9 May 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
36. "Esther McVey has just been promoted to Work and Pensions Minister". Liverpool Echo. 8 January 2018. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
37. Walsh, James (9 January 2018). "'McVey's appointment is vindictive': readers on the Tory reshuffle". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
38. Syal, Rajeev (4 July 2018). "Esther McVey misled MPs over universal credit, says watchdog". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
39. McVey, Esther (4 July 2018). "Oral statement to Parliament – Universal Credit and National Audit Office report". Government of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
40. Syal, Rajeev (4 July 2018). "Calls for McVey to resign over misleading MPs on welfare changes". The Guardian.
41. "Esther McVey refuses to widen apology over claim she misled MPs". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
42. Butler, Patrick (19 July 2018). "Esther McVey admits ongoing problems with universal credit". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
43. Toynbee, Polly (5 July 2018). "Esther McVey has to go. Her downright lies are dangerous". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
44. "Brexit: Dominic Raab and Esther McVey among ministers to quit over EU agreement". BBC News. 15 November 2018. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
45. "Amber Rudd back in cabinet as work and pensions secretary". BBC News. 16 November 2018.
46. "Esther McVey pocketed £17,000 payoff for quitting Cabinet after just 10 months in the job". theworldnews.net. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
47. Gray, Jasmine. "Esther McVey Slammed For Sharing 'Debunked' Brexit Article". Huffington Post. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
48. Chaplain, Chloe. "Esther McVey tweets false claim all EU members must adopt the Euro from next year, then deletes it /". i news. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
49. "Andrea Leadsom and Esther McVey out of race to be Tory leader". The Guardian. 13 June 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
50. UK Prime Minister [@10DowningStreet] (24 July 2019). "The Rt Hon Esther McVey @EstherMcVey1 has been appointed Minister of State at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government @mhclg. She will also attend Cabinet" (Tweet). Retrieved 24 July 2019 – via Twitter.
51. Odone, Cristina (16 February 2014). "Esther McVey: 'Marriage never came my way. I don't know why'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
52. Rajan, Amol; Morris, Nigel (25 April 2009). "You probably won't have heard of them ... but they're the Tory future". The Independent. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
53. "Former wife of Shipley MP is expecting baby". Keighley News. 6 April 2013. Retrieved 3 October 2013.
54. Lee, Dulcie (18 May 2018). "Esther McVey's trip to the races shows why MPs' private lives are public". New Statesman. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
55. "Philip Davies moves on from Esther McVey". Spectator Blogs. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
56. Jo Coburn (Presenter) and Nicholas Soames MP (20 May 2019). Interview (Television). Politics Live. BBC Two. Retrieved 20 May 2019.

External links

• www.conservatives.com
• Esther McVey MP official blog
• Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Contributions in Parliament at Hansard
• Voting record at Public Whip
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Stephen Hesford	Member of Parliament for Wirral West 2010–2015	Succeeded by Margaret Greenwood
Preceded by George Osborne	Member of Parliament for Tatton 2017–present	Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Maria Miller	Undersecretary of State for Disabilities 2012–2013	Succeeded by Mike Penning as Minister of State for Disabilities
Preceded by Mark Hoban	Minister of State for Employment 2013–2015	Succeeded by Priti Patel
Preceded by Julian Smith	Deputy Chief Whip of the House of Commons 2017–2018	Succeeded by Christopher Pincher
	Treasurer of the Household 2017–2018
Preceded by David Gauke	Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 2018	Succeeded by Amber Rudd