Gillian Merron

Gillian Joanna Merron (born 12 April 1959) is the Chief Executive of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, and has served in the post since July 2014.[1] A former British Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP) for Lincoln from 1997 to 2010, when she lost her seat. From 2009 to 2010 she was Minister of State with responsibility for Public Health at the Department of Health.

Gillian Merron
Merron in 2009
Minister of State for Public Health
In office 10 June 2009 – 11 May 2010
Prime Minister	Gordon Brown
Sec. of State	Andy Burnham
Preceded by	Dawn Primarolo
Succeeded by	Anne Milton
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
In office 6 October 2008 – 10 June 2009
Prime Minister	Gordon Brown
Sec. of State	David Miliband
Preceded by	Meg Munn
Succeeded by	Chris Bryant
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development
In office 25 January 2008 – 6 October 2008
Prime Minister	Gordon Brown
Sec. of State	Douglas Alexander
Preceded by	Shriti Vadera
Succeeded by	Ivan Lewis
Minister for the East Midlands
In office 28 June 2007 – 25 January 2008
Prime Minister	Gordon Brown
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Phil Hope
Parliamentary Secretary to the Cabinet Office
In office 28 June 2007 – 24 January 2008
Prime Minister	Gordon Brown
Minister	Ed Miliband
Preceded by	Pat McFadden
Succeeded by	Tom Watson
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport
In office 8 May 2006 – 27 June 2007
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Sec. of State	Douglas Alexander
Preceded by	Karen Buck
Succeeded by	Jim Fitzpatrick
Lord Commissioner of the Treasury
In office 17 December 2004 – 8 May 2006
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Chancellor	Gordon Brown
Preceded by	Derek Twigg
Succeeded by	Claire Ward
Assistant Government Whip
In office 28 October 2002 – 17 December 2004
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Chief Whip	Hilary Armstrong
Member of Parliament for Lincoln
In office 1 May 1997 – 12 April 2010
Preceded by	Kenneth Carlisle
Succeeded by	Karl McCartney
Personal details
Born	(1959-04-12) 12 April 1959 Ilford, Essex
Nationality	British
Political party	Labour
Alma mater	Lancaster University
Signature

Early life and career

Merron was born in Ilford, Essex to a Jewish family, and was educated at Wanstead High School in Wanstead in east London. She attended Lancaster University Management School, gaining a BSc (Hons) in Management Sciences. She worked in local government and as a NUPE (later UNISON) union official.

Merron joined the Labour Party in 1984. Before becoming an MP, Merron was the vice-chair for the regional Labour Party executive.[2] She co-ordinated the shadow cabinet central region campaign in the 1992 general election and the 1994 European Parliamentary Election.

Parliamentary career

Merron was made a prospective parliamentary candidate (PPC) through an all-women shortlist,[3] and was elected to the House of Commons in May 1997 with a majority of 11,130. From 1997 until 2007, when Quentin Davies defected to the Labour Party, she was Lincolnshire's only Labour MP - and the first since Margaret Beckett had the seat in 1979. In the 2005 general election, her majority was 4,613. She lost her seat to the Conservative candidate Karl McCartney in the 2010 general election.

From October 2002 until May 2006, she was a government whip and Lord Commissioner of the Treasury. She then moved to the Department for Transport, where she worked until the reshuffle on 29 June 2007, when she became a minister at the Cabinet Office and the first ever minister of the East Midlands.

Following Peter Hain's resignation on 24 January 2008, Merron was reshuffled again, becoming a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Department for International Development, leaving both of her previous roles. Following Gordon Brown's next reshuffle on 5 October 2008, Merron was moved to the Foreign Office in the same post, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State. A promotion to Minister of State soon followed, with Merron moving to the Department of Health to take on responsibility for Public Health.

Merron followed the party whip in votes on equal gay rights, the hunting ban, foundation hospitals, a ban on smoking in public places, the Iraq war, preventative laws to stop climate change, and The Digital Economy Bill.[4]

She held the following positions:

• July 1998-July 1999 - Parliamentary Private Secretary to Doug Henderson as Minister of State for the Armed Forces
• July 1999-June 2001 - Parliamentary Private Secretary to Baroness Symons as Minister of State for Defence Procurement
• June 2001-October 2002 - Parliamentary Private Secretary to John Reid as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
• October 2002-December 2004 - Assistant Government Whip
• December 2004-May 2006 - Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury & Government Whip
• May 2006-June 2007 - Parliamentary under Secretary of State at the Department for Transport
• June 2007-January 2008 - Parliamentary under Secretary of State at the Cabinet Office
• January 2008-October 2008 - Parliamentary under Secretary of State at the Department for International Development
• October 2008-June 2009 - Parliamentary under Secretary of State at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office
• June 2009– May 2010 - Minister of State for Public Health

Expenses

Merron MP's expense were higher than average.[5] She is one of 98 MPs who voted to support Conservative MP David Maclean's bill to keep their expenses and correspondence secret.[6][7]

Total expenses claimed

Year	Total Expenses	Ranking	out of
2001/02	£94,459	joint 178th	657
2002/03	£123,954	87th	657
2003/04	£136,706	55th	658
2004/05	£139,854	64th	659
2005/06	£133,480	-	-
2006/07	£144,914	176th	645
2007/08	£155,972	172nd	645

On 19 June 2009, MP's expenses were revealed (heavily edited) on the Internet. Merron received criticism for purchasing a television, television stand, home theatre kit, and numerous other goods.[8] She wrote on her website: "The majority of claims I make directly pay for professional staff, office costs, communication with constituents, and travel. I do not have a second job, do not employ any family members or friends, nor have I taken the annual increase in ministerial salary."[9]

In the aftermath of the United Kingdom Parliamentary expenses scandal, Sir Thomas Legg recommended that Gillian Merron repay £6,305.17. [10] She repaid this amount in full.[11]

Post-parliamentary career

Since her defeat at the 2010 general election, Merron has become Chair of Bus Users UK[12] formerly known as The National Federation of Bus Users.[13]

In May 2014, it was announced that Merron would become Chief Executive of the Board of Deputies of British Jews the following July.[1][14] Since February 2013, she has served as a Vice-President of the Jewish Leadership Council[15] and served as external affairs officer on the board of Liberal Judaism from July 2012 to May 2014.[16]

References

1. Rocker, Simon (7 May 2014). "Board of Deputies new chief executive revealed". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
2. Gillian Merron MP - Working for Lincoln - About Your MP Archived 17 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine
3. Rentoul, John; Stephen Ward; Donald MacIntyre (9 January 1996). "Labour blow as all-women lists outlawed". The Independent. London. Retrieved 10 July 2009.
4. Gillian Merron MP, Lincoln (TheyWorkForYou.com)
5. "Gillian Merron MP". TheyWorkForYou. mySociety is a project of UK Citizens Online Democracy (UKCOD). UKCOD is a registered charity in England and Wales, no. 1076346. Retrieved 12 May 2009.
6. "How your MP voted on the FOI Bill". The Times. London. 20 May 2007. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
7. Policy #996: "Transparency of Parliament" — The Public Whip
8. 'I will do what I always do, my best for Lincoln'
9. http://www.gillianmerron.co.uk/mps-allowances%5B%5D
10. "Expenses: The MPs paying over £1K". politics.co.uk.
11. Cohen, Justin (7 May 2014). "Former Foreign Office minister appointed to lead the Board". Jewish News. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
12. "New Chair for Bus Users UK". Bus Users UK website. Shepperton, Middlesex: Bus Users UK. 4 April 2011. Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 23 April 2012. [Gillian Merron] is now a strategic advisor to the transport industry and will be bringing new strategic direction to Bus Users UK.,
13. As of 23 April 2012 the name "Bus Users UK" appears on the official register of companies.
14. "Chief Executive : Gillian Merron". Board of Deputies of British Jews. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
15. "New Jewish Leadership Council members". The Jewish Chronicle. 15 February 2013. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
16. Rocker, Simon (12 July 2012). "Ex-MP joins Liberal Judaism board". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 3 December 2016.

External links

• Guardian Unlimited Politics – Ask Aristotle: Gillian Merron MP
• TheyWorkForYou.com – Gillian Merron MP

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Kenneth Carlisle	Member of Parliament for Lincoln 1997–2010	Succeeded by Karl McCartney
Preceded by Pat McFadden	Parliamentary Secretary of the Cabinet Office 2007–2008	Succeeded by Tom Watson
New office	Minister for the East Midlands 2007–2008	Succeeded by Phil Hope
Preceded by Shriti Vadera	Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development 24 January 2008 – 5 October 2008	Succeeded by Ivan Lewis
Preceded by Meg Munn	Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office 5 October 2008 – 8 June 2009	Succeeded by Chris Bryant
Preceded by Dawn Primarolo	Minister of State for Public Health 8 June 2009 – 12 April 2010	Succeeded by Anne Milton