Michael Wills

Michael David Wills, Baron Wills PC (born 20 May 1952) is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Swindon North from 1997 to 2010. He was a Minister of State at the Ministry of Justice, a position he held from 29 June 2007.

The Right Honourable

The Lord Wills

PC
Wills in 2019
Minister of State for Justice
In office
29 June 2007 – 6 May 2010
Prime MinisterGordon Brown
Preceded byHarriet Harman
Succeeded byThe Lord McNally
Member of Parliament
for North Swindon
In office
2 May 1997 – 12 April 2010
Preceded byConstituency Created
Succeeded byJustin Tomlinson
Personal details
Born (1952-05-20) 20 May 1952
St Pancras, London
NationalityBritish
Political partyLabour
Spouse(s)Jill Freeman
Alma materClare College, Cambridge

Early life

Wills was born in 1952 to Stephen Wills and his wife Elizabeth (nee McKeowen). He has a younger sister. He went to the independent Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School in Elstree, Hertfordshire and studied at Clare College, Cambridge, where he graduated with a double first in History (BA). Following that, he joined the diplomatic service, gaining the highest mark in the entrance exam.

He worked for HM Diplomatic Service from 1976–80. He became a researcher for London Weekend Television from 1980–84, being a colleague of Peter Mandelson. From 1984–97, he was a Director of Juniper Productions.

Parliamentary career

He was elected as the MP for Swindon North in 1997 and quickly joined the government, working in various capacities. He eventually left the government to campaign against the Common Agricultural Policy. This campaign appears to have subsided. He was re-elected as an MP in 2001 and 2005. He has worked as an advisor and speechwriter to Gordon Brown. It was announced he would be appointed to the Privy Council in October 2008.

On 14 September 2009, Wills announced his intention to stand down at the 2010 general election.[1]

Voting record

How Michael Wills voted on key issues since 2001:[2]

  • Has never voted on a transparent Parliament.
  • Voted for introducing a smoking ban.
  • Voted for introducing ID cards.
  • Voted for introducing foundation hospitals.
  • Voted for introducing student top-up fees.
  • Voted for Labour's anti-terrorism laws.
  • Voted for the Iraq war.
  • Voted against investigating the Iraq war.
  • Voted for replacing Trident.
  • Voted for the hunting ban.
  • Voted for equal gay rights.

Personal life

He married Jill Freeman on 19 January 1984 in Westminster. They have three sons and two daughters.

Peerage

In the 2010 Dissolution Honours, he was awarded a life peerage, which was created on 10 July 2010 with the title Baron Wills, of North Swindon, in the County of Wiltshire.[3]

Literary career

Michael Wills published two crime novels under the pen name David McKeowen (using his mother's birth name):

  • Grip (2005) ISBN 0340752335 OCLC 439458105
  • Trapped (2007) ISBN 0340835966 OCLC 271562089
gollark: Radio stuff is longer range without infrastructure, but mostly there is some (even developing countries apparently have quite good cellular coverage these days).
gollark: You can get on the internet with a £50 phone and free WiFi somewhere, radio still requires a bunch of specialised hardware.
gollark: Australia *and* south-east asia.
gollark: You claimed to be a qualified electrical engineer, see.
gollark: You can't say ? because you exploded.

References
  1. "MP Wills will not stand for re-election". Swindon Advertiser. 14 September 2009.
  2. They Work For You.
  3. "No. 59490". The London Gazette. 16 July 2010. p. 13613.

News items

Video clips
Parliament of the United Kingdom
New constituency Member of Parliament for Swindon North
1997–2010		 Succeeded by
Justin Tomlinson
Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom
Preceded by
The Lord Black of Brentwood		 Gentlemen
Baron Wills 		Followed by
The Lord Popat
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.