Gavin Williamson

Gavin Alexander Williamson CBE MP (born 25 June 1976) is a British Conservative politician serving as Secretary of State for Education since 2019 and the Member of Parliament (MP) for South Staffordshire since 2010.[1] Williamson previously served as Secretary of State for Defence from 2017 to 2019.

This article is about the British politician. For other people of the same name, see Gavin Williamson (disambiguation).

The Right Honourable Gavin Williamson CBE MP
Williamson in 2020
Secretary of State for Education
Incumbent
Assumed office 24 July 2019
Prime Minister	Boris Johnson
Preceded by	Damian Hinds
Secretary of State for Defence
In office 2 November 2017 – 1 May 2019
Prime Minister	Theresa May
Preceded by	Michael Fallon
Succeeded by	Penny Mordaunt
Chief Whip of the House of Commons Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury
In office 14 July 2016 – 2 November 2017
Prime Minister	Theresa May
Preceded by	Mark Harper
Succeeded by	Julian Smith
Member of Parliament for South Staffordshire
Incumbent
Assumed office 6 May 2010
Preceded by	Patrick Cormack
Majority	28,250 (56.5%)
Personal details
Born	Gavin Alexander Williamson (1976-06-25) 25 June 1976 Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Joanne Eland
Children	2
Education	Raincliffe School Scarborough Sixth Form College
Alma mater	University of Bradford
Website	gavinwilliamson.org

Williamson served in the Second Cameron ministry as Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to Patrick McLoughlin, the Secretary of State for Transport[2] prior to being appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister in October 2013. From 14 July 2016 to 2 November 2017, he served as Chief Whip in the May Government.[3]

Williamson served as Secretary of State for Defence from November 2017 to 1 May 2019, when he was dismissed as Defence Secretary, following a leak from the National Security Council; Williamson "strenuously" denied leaking the information about Huawei's potential involvement in the British 5G network.[4] After supporting Boris Johnson’s campaign to succeed May as Conservative Leader, Williamson quickly returned to the Cabinet as Education Secretary in July 2019.

Early life and career

Williamson is originally from Scarborough, North Yorkshire. His parents, Ray, a local government worker, and Beverly, a job centre worker,[5][6] were both Labour voters.[7] Williamson was educated in Scarborough, at East Ayton Primary School, followed by Raincliffe School, a state comprehensive school, and the Scarborough Sixth Form College, where he studied Government and Politics and Economics at A Level. He obtained a BSc in Social Sciences from the University of Bradford.[8]

Williamson was the penultimate national chairman of Conservative Students, before it was abolished in 1998 and the separate youth wings of the party were amalgamated as Conservative Future. He was elected a county councillor in 2001 for the Seamer division in North Yorkshire but stood down in 2005. Williamson is a former Deputy Chairman of Staffordshire Area Conservatives, Chairman of Stoke-on-Trent Conservative Association, and Vice-Chairman of Derbyshire Dales Conservative Association.[9]

Williamson worked as managing director of fireplace manufacturer Elgin & Hall, a subsidiary of AGA, until 2004.[10][11]

Williamson had become managing director of Aynsley China, a Staffordshire-based pottery firm by 2005. It sold ceramic tableware and he later became co-owner. In April 2005, Williamson was quoted in reports on the consumer rush to buy items with the wrong wedding date on for Charles and Camilla's wedding. He told The Telegraph, "We've literally had fights in our own retail shops. On the first day after the announcement I went into our factory shop in Stoke-on-Trent and we had people fighting over the last plate that we had on the shop floor. I think everybody has decided that this is going to be their pension."[5][12][13][14]

He has also worked for NPS North West Limited, an architectural design firm, until he became an MP in 2010.[2][15]

In the 2005 General Election, he stood unsuccessfully as the Conservative Party candidate in Blackpool North and Fleetwood.[12] After 2005, Williamson then moved to Derbyshire.[12]

Parliamentary career

Williamson (right) meets with US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels in November 2017

Early parliamentary career (2010–2011)

In January 2010, Williamson was selected as the Conservative candidate in South Staffordshire for the 2010 general election. The incumbent, Patrick Cormack, had announced that he was retiring. The selection went to five ballots, but in the end Williamson won out over local councillor Robert Light in the final ballot.[16] Williamson was subsequently elected with a majority of 16,590 votes. Shortly after being elected, he cited his political inspiration as Rab Butler and, when asked what department of any he would most like to lead, he said the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills as it is "business and manufacturing that can lead the way out of difficult economic times".[17]

Williamson made his maiden speech on 8 June 2010, on the same day as Nicky Morgan and Kwasi Kwarteng. During his speech, he said that "We do not sing enough the praises of our designers, engineers and manufacturers. We need to change that ethos and have a similar one to that of Germany or Japan. We will have a truly vibrant economy only when we recreate the Victorian spirit of ingenuity and inventiveness that made Britain such a vibrant country, as I am sure it will be again."[18] Williamson campaigned on a number of issues in his first year in Parliament.

In July 2010, Williamson called for a new law to allow local authorities to clamp down on car boot sales that disrupted traffic flow, citing villages in his constituency as examples.[19] In June 2011, he expressed support for postwoman Julie Roberts, who had been suspended after clinging for over a mile onto the bonnet of her post van that had been stolen. He said that "People want her back in work and they want the Royal Mail to show some common sense and some common decency" and asked the Royal Mail to reinstate her into her old job.[20] Williamson was one of several MPs who was absent or abstained on the 21 March 2011 vote on supporting UN-backed action in Libya. The vote ultimately passed 557–13.[21]

Parliamentary Private Secretaryships (2011–2016)

In October 2011, Williamson was appointed as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Minister of State for Northern Ireland, Hugo Swire. He replaced Conor Burns, who became Owen Paterson's new PPS.[22] In September 2012, Williamson became PPS to Patrick McLoughlin, Secretary of State for Transport, and in 2013 became PPS to the Prime Minister, David Cameron.[23]

In Parliament, Williamson was a member of the Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee and was Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Motor Neurone Disease.[2]

Williamson supported the United Kingdom's remain campaign during the 2016 EU membership referendum.[24][25][26]

Williamson voted against an investigation into Tony Blair's role in the Iraq War.[27]

Chief Whip (2016–2017)

Following David Cameron's resignation, Williamson "privately vowed" to stop the front-runner Boris Johnson from becoming Conservative Party leader. He assessed Theresa May to be the likeliest candidate to defeat Johnson, offered his help to her, and was invited to be her parliamentary campaign manager.[7] When May became prime minister, Williamson was appointed Chief Whip.[7]

Following the Conservative–DUP agreement after the 2017 General Election, Williamson visited Belfast to discuss arrangements with the DUP.[28]

Defence Secretary (2017–2019)

Williamson was appointed Secretary of State for Defence on 2 November 2017 after the resignation of Sir Michael Fallon the preceding evening.[29][30]

In February 2018, Williamson dined with Lubov Chernukhin, the wife of a former Putin minister, in exchange for a £30,000 donation to the Conservative party.[31] Later that month, Williamson alleged that the leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, in meeting a Czech diplomat (later revealed to be a spy) during the 1980s, had "betray[ed]" his country. In response to the statement, a spokesman for Corbyn stated: "Gavin Williamson should focus on his job and not give credence to entirely false and ridiculous smears".[32]

Williamson meeting with United States Secretary of Defense, Jim Mattis in 2017

Williamson has supported the Saudi Arabian-led military intervention in Yemen against the Shia Houthis despite concerns from human rights activists and Labour MPs about war crimes allegedly committed by the Saudi military.[33][34]

On 15 March 2018, in the wake of the Salisbury poisoning, Williamson answered a question about Russia's potential response to the UK's punitive measures against Russia by saying that "frankly, Russia should go away, and it should shut up".[35] Meanwhile, Major-General Igor Konashenkov, the spokesman of the Russian Defence Ministry, said: "The market wench talk that British defence secretary Gavin Williamson resorted to reflects his extreme intellectual impotency".[36][37] Williamson's remark was quoted by the president of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, who posted a comment on his official Twitter account: "The Kremlin's 'chemical attack' in the UK is nothing but an encroachment on British sovereignty. And our message to Russia is the same as that of British defense secretary Gavin Williamson: 'shut up and go away'."[38][39]

Williamson during the MSC 2019

In December 2018, Williamson expressed "grave" and "very deep concerns" about the Chinese telecommunications company Huawei providing technology to upgrade Britain's services to 5G. He accused China of acting "sometimes in a malign way".[40] China's Defence Ministry spokesman Wu Qian criticised Williamson's comments, saying: "The remarks just reinforced the deep-rooted ignorance, prejudice and anxiety among some British people."[41]

On 11 February 2019, Williamson delivered the speech "Defence in Global Britain" at the Royal United Services Institute outlining the future direction of the British armed forces.[42] The speech, among other things, outlined plans to send Britain's new aircraft carrier to the Pacific;[43] the Chinese Government in turn cancelled trade talks with Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond and prompted Hammond to state that the decision to deploy the aircraft carrier was premature.[44][45] The Mail on Sunday quoted an unnamed ally of Hammond comparing Williamson to Private Pike, a hapless character in the sitcom Dad's Army.[46]

On 1 May 2019, Williamson was asked to resign from his position as Defence Secretary, following the leaking of confidential National Security Council information related to Huawei's potential involvement in the UK's 5G network. He refused to resign because he felt this would incriminate him and be seen as an admission that he was responsible for the leak, and was therefore sacked.[47] Theresa May said that she had "compelling evidence" that Williamson had leaked the information and that she had "lost confidence in his ability to serve in his role". Williamson vehemently denied the allegation, saying that he 'swore on his children's lives he was not responsible',[48] and said that a "thorough and formal inquiry" would have vindicated his position.[49][50] At the time, Opposition MPs called for a police investigation into the matter,[49][50] but the matter was closed.

Education Secretary (2019–present)

Williamson became Secretary of State for Education upon Boris Johnson's election as Prime Minister on 24 July 2019.[51]

Following the deplatforming of history professor Selina Todd and former Home Secretary Amber Rudd by student societies at Oxford University, in March 2020 Williamson called for "robust action" to enforce free speech codes, and stated that the government would intervene to protect freedom of speech at universities if they failed to do so themselves.[52] HuffPost reported that Williamson's department had drafted legislation to "strengthen academic freedom and free speech in universities".[53]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Williamson announced that schools in England would close from 20 March until further notice. He said that exams in the current academic year would not go ahead.[54] In August 2020 he apologised to schoolchildren, saying he was "incredibly sorry", for the chaos in the production of A level results that used teacher assessment and an Ofqual developed algorithm to generate alternative results.[55] About 40% of results were below the teacher assessment, and an appeal system had to be introduced, but there was confusion when Ofqual issued and hours later rescinded advice on how appeals would operate.[56][57]

Personal life and honours

Williamson is married to Joanne, a former primary school teacher. The couple have two daughters, Annabel and Grace.[9] He was a charity trustee at a Citizen's Advice Bureau, and a school governor.[2]

Williamson is a patron of the World Owl Trust and while chief whip kept a Mexican redknee tarantula, Cronus, in his parliamentary office,[5] for which he was criticised by parliamentary authorities in November 2016.[58]

In 2015, he was sworn in as a member of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, giving him the Honorific Title "The Right Honourable" for life.

In the 2016 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours, Williamson was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) "for political and public service".[59]

In January 2018, it became known that Williamson, while he was managing director of fireplace firm Elgin & Hall in 2004, had an office romance. To save his marriage, he has said he left the firm.[10] According to Williamson, it became "flirtatious and a couple of times we shared a kiss", but it "never went further", Williamson told the Daily Mail.[11] "My family means everything to me and I almost threw it away", Williamson said. "This incident nearly destroyed two marriages".[10] The Sunday Telegraph reported that a senior co-worker stated that the woman involved was in tears when reporting the incident at work and that Williamson was subsequently the subject of a meeting with managers.[60]

References

1. "The Conservative Party: Gavin Williamson MP". Conservatives.com. 19 July 2012. Archived from the original on 14 September 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
2. "About Gavin". Rt. Hon. Gavin Williamson MP. Archived from the original on 13 June 2013.
3. "Profile: Gavin Williamson, the "baby-faced assassin" who was Chief Whip. As of 2 November 2017 he became the new defence secretary– Conservative Home". Archived from the original on 8 June 2017.
4. "Huawei role in UK 5G network an unnecessary risk, ex-MI6 chief says". BBC. 16 May 2019.
5. "Profile: Who is Gavin Williamson, the new defence secretary?". BBC News. 2 November 2017. Archived from the original on 26 January 2018.
6. "ANDREW PIERCE profiles new defence secretary Gavin Williamson". Cetusnews. Archived from the original on 12 January 2018.
7. Eaton, George. "Gavin Williamson: the cunning Tory chief whip with a tarantula on his desk". The New Statesman. Archived from the original on 28 August 2017.
8. "Who's Who". Ukwhoswho.com. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
9. "The Rt. Hon. Gavin Williamson CBE MP". South Staffordshire – Conservative Association. Archived from the original on 28 August 2017.
10. Kentih, Benjamin (26 January 2018). "Gavin Williamson: Tory Defence Secretary admits to 'kissing' trysts with married former colleague". The Independent. Archived from the original on 27 January 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
11. Syal, Rajeev (26 January 2018). "Defence secretary refuses to answer questions about relationship with past colleague". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 27 January 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
12. "ConservativeHome's Seats & Candidates blog: Gavin Williamson selected for South Staffordshire". Conservativehome.blogs.com. 30 January 2010. Archived from the original on 19 June 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
13. Barrow, Becky (9 April 2005). "Ebay bidders go wild for April 8 memorabilia". The Telegraph. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
14. "Royal wedding pottery snapped up". BBC News. 5 April 2005. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
15. "Gavin Williamson – Biography". politics.co.uk. Archived from the original on 26 August 2014. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
16. "Gavin Williamson selected for South Staffordshire". Conservative Home. 30 January 2010. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
17. "Gavin Williamson MP answers ConHome's Twenty Questions for the Class of 2010". Conservative Home. 6 September 2010. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
18. "Nicky Morgan and Gavin Williamson stress the importance of manufacturing as Kwasi Kwarteng uses his maiden speech to accuse Labour MPs of being in "never-never land"". Conservative Home. 9 June 2010. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
19. Patel, Sunita (31 July 2010). "New law call on car boot sales". Express and Star. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
20. "MP backs axed have-a-go postie". The Scarborough News. 24 June 2011. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
21. "The full list of how MPs voted on Libya action". BBC News. 22 March 2011. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
22. "PoliticsHome.com". PoliticsHome.com. Archived from the original on 29 October 2011.
23. "Gavin Williamson MP". Democracy Live. BBC News. Archived from the original on 2 November 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
24. 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 3 February 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
25. Maidment, Jack (11 January 2018). "Archived copy". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2 November 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2017.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
26. "Kinver's MP Gavin Williamson talks frankly about new Chief Whip role". Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
27. "How has our new defence secretary voted on the key issues?". Metro.co.uk. 2 November 2017.
28. "Who is the most powerful person in Britain?". ITV. 11 June 2017. Archived from the original on 11 June 2017. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
29. "Theresa May appoints Gavin Williamson as defense secretary". POLITICO. 1 November 2017. Archived from the original on 1 November 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
30. "Williamson is named defence secretary". BBC News. 2 November 2017. Archived from the original on 2 November 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
31. "Boris Johnson defends playing tennis with wife of Putin's ex-minister in return for £160,000 Tory donation". The Independent. 18 March 2018.
32. Fisher, Lucy (15 February 2018). "Jeremy Corbyn 'can't be trusted' after claims he met Soviet spy, says Gavin Williamson". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 21 February 2018. (subscription required)
33. "UK Government must be held accountable for children killed during Saudi Arabia's Yemen bombing, says Labour". The Independent. 7 March 2018.
34. "Britain to Sell Jets to Saudis Despite Conduct of Yemen War". The New York Times. 9 March 2018.
35. Merrick, Rob (15 March 2018). "Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson tells Putin to 'go away and shut up' rather than expel British diplomats from Russia". The Independent. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
36. Cecil, Nicholas; Murphy, Joe; Stewart, Will (16 March 2018). "Russians taunt 'Gavin Williamson the wench' as West is united". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
37. В Минобороны прокомментировали грубый выпад главы британского военного ведомства в адрес России TV Zvezda, 15 March 2018.
38. Poroshenko joins Britain urging Russia to "shut up and go away" unian.info, 17 March 2018.
39. Порошенко вслед за Британией посоветовал России заткнуться‍ RIA Novosti, 17 March 2018.
40. "Huawei: 'Deep concerns' over firm's role in UK 5G upgrade". BBC News. 27 December 2018.
41. "Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš hits back at Chinese diplomats' Huawei and ZTE claims". South China Morning Post. 29 December 2018.
42. "Speech Defence in Global Britain". Ministry of Defence GOV.UK. 11 February 2019. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
43. James, William (10 February 2019). "Post-Brexit Britain ready to use 'hard power': defense minister". Reuters.
44. "China cancels trade talks with UK in protest over defence secretary's speech". Reuters. 14 February 2019. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
45. Perraudin, Frances (21 February 2019). "Hammond: UK-China relations 'not made simpler' by Williamson". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
46. Zeffman, Henry (4 December 2017). "Philip Hammond's allies take aim at 'Private Pike' minister Gavin Williamson". The Times. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
47. Stewart, Heather (1 May 2019). "Gavin Williamson sacked as defence secretary over Huawei leak". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
48. "Williamson 'swears on children's lives' he wasn't behind Huawei leak". Evening Standard. 1 May 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
49. "Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson sacked over Huawei leak". BBC News. 1 May 2019.
50. "Gavin Williamson sacking: Former defence secretary denies Huawei leak". BBC News. 2 May 2019.
51. Whieldon, Fraser (24 July 2019). "Gavin Williamson becomes new education secretary". FE Week. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
52. Yorke, Harry (6 March 2020). "Government looks to strengthen free speech on campus after Oxford's no-platforming of Amber Rudd". The Telegraph. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
53. Waugh, Paul (7 March 2020). "Ministers Preparing New Law To 'Protect Freedom Of Speech' At Universities". Retrieved 8 March 2020.
54. "BBC News - Coronavirus: Schools to close until further notice from Friday". BBC News. 18 March 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
55. Stewart, Heather (12 August 2020). "Gavin Williamson's apology to school pupils unlikely to be his last". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
56. Tominey, Camilla (16 August 2020). "Gavin Williamson has survived because he knows where the bodies are buried - but if schools fiasco continues he will have to go". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
57. Turner, Camilla (16 August 2020). "Top figures at Ofqual want the Government to U-turn and award students their predicted grades". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
58. McCann, Kate (24 November 2016). "Revealed: The first picture of Cronus, the chief whip's pet tarantula". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 28 August 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
59. "Resignation Honours 2016" (PDF). GOV.UK. Cabinet Office. 4 August 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 September 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
60. Harley, Nicola; Bird, Steve; Ward, Victoria (28 January 2018). "Female colleague Gavin Williamson 'shared kiss' with was in tears, it was claimed". Sunday Telegraph. Archived from the original on 27 January 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2018.

External links

• Official site
• Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Contributions in Parliament at Hansard
• Voting record at Public Whip
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou
• Conservative Party
• South Staffordshire Conservative Association

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Patrick Cormack	Member of Parliament for South Staffordshire 2010–present	Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Mark Harper	Chief Whip of the House of Commons 2016–2017	Succeeded by Julian Smith
	Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury 2016–2017
Preceded by Michael Fallon	Secretary of State for Defence 2017–2019	Succeeded by Penny Mordaunt
Preceded by Damian Hinds	Secretary of State for Education 2019–present	Incumbent
Party political offices
Preceded by Mark Harper	Conservative Chief Whip of the House of Commons 2016–2017	Succeeded by Julian Smith