Heidi Alexander | |
---|---|
Secretary of State for Transport | |
Assumed office 29 November 2024 | |
Prime Minister | Sir Keir Starmer |
Preceded by | Louise Haigh |
Minister of State for Courts and Legal Services | |
In office 8 July 2024 –29 November 2024 | |
Prime Minister | Sir Keir Starmer |
Preceded by | Mike Freer [a] |
Succeeded by | Sarah Sackman |
Member of Parliament for Swindon South | |
Assumed office 4 July 2024 | |
Preceded by | Robert Buckland |
Majority | 9,606 (21.5%) |
Member of Parliament for Lewisham East | |
In office 6 May 2010 –9 May 2018 | |
Preceded by | Bridget Prentice |
Succeeded by | Janet Daby |
Deputy Mayor of London for Transport | |
In office 21 May 2018 –31 December 2021 | |
Mayor | Sadiq Khan |
Preceded by | Val Shawcross |
Succeeded by | Seb Dance |
Member of Lewisham Council for Evelyn | |
In office 10 June 2004 –6 May 2010 | |
Preceded by | Alicia Chater |
Personal details | |
Born | Swindon,Wiltshire,England | 17 April 1975
Political party | Labour |
Alma mater | Durham University (BA,MA) |
Website | Official website |
Heidi Alexander (born 17 April 1975) is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Transport since November 2024. [1] She served as Minister of State for Courts and Legal Services from July 2024 until her appointment as Transport Secretary. [2] A member of the Labour Party,she has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Swindon South since 2024. In addition,she was also the MP for Lewisham East from 2010 to 2018,and served as Deputy Mayor of London for Transport from 2018 to 2021.
Alexander was born in Swindon,Wiltshire to Malcolm,an electrician,and Elaine Alexander ( née Lanham). She was educated at Churchfields Comprehensive School and New College Sixth Form. Alexander studied at Grey College,Durham, [3] [4] where she received a BA in geography and an MA in European Urban and Regional Change. [5]
Alexander had a 6-month placement in the office of Cherie Blair at 10 Downing Street in 1998. [6] She worked as a Parliamentary researcher for Lewisham MP Joan Ruddock from 1999 to 2005,and as campaigns manager for the charity Clothes Aid from 2005 to 2006. [7]
Alexander served as a member of Lewisham London Borough Council for Evelyn from a by-election in 2004 until 2010. She was Deputy Mayor of Lewisham and Cabinet Member for Regeneration from 2006 to 2010. Alexander was selected as the Labour candidate for Lewisham East in October 2009,and elected to Parliament at the 2010 general election. [8]
Shortly after her election to Parliament,Alexander was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to Mary Creagh,then the shadow environment secretary. She became an Opposition whip in 2012, [9] and was promoted to Deputy Shadow Minister for London and senior Opposition mhip in 2013. [6] She served as a member of the Communities and Local Government Committee from 2010 to 2012 and Health Committee from 2016 to 2017.
Following Jeremy Corbyn's election as Labour leader in September 2015,Alexander joined the shadow cabinet as Shadow Secretary of State for Health. [10]
Heidi Alexander became the first shadow cabinet minister to resign in June 2016, [11] [ better source needed ] calling for a new party leader after the EU referendum and dismissal of Hilary Benn. [12] In an opinion piece for The Guardian ,Alexander wrote "I loved being the shadow health secretary. But I hated being part of the shadow cabinet...because it was entirely dysfunctional" and "so inept,so unprofessional,so shoddy". [13]
In May 2018,Alexander resigned her seat in Parliament to become Deputy Mayor of London for Transport under Sadiq Khan. [14] She served as Deputy Chair of Transport for London in her role,and remained on the body's board until the opening of Crossrail.
During her time in the role,she was tasked with maintaining London transport during the COVID-19 pandemic and leading several rounds of government bailout negotiations. [15] She notably worked to tackle delays to the opening of Crossrail and re-opening of Hammersmith Bridge,and took up cycling to promote that method of transport. Initially planning to step down at the end of Khan's first term until the pandemic,she departed her role in 2022 to "consider her next career move". [16] [15]
In June 2022,Alexander announced her intention to seek selection as the Labour candidate for Swindon South. [17] She was selected in July 2022 as prospective parliamentary candidate for the seat, [18] [19] and was successful at the 2024 general election. Alexander was subsequently appointed Minister of State for Courts and Legal Services at the Ministry of Justice. [20] [21]
Alexander was appointed Secretary of State for Transport in November 2024,succeeding Louise Haigh. [1] She was appointed to the Privy Council,giving her the honorific title of The Right Honourable for life. [22]
Alexander supported Andy Burnham in the 2010 and 2015 Labour leadership elections, [23] and Owen Smith in the 2016 Labour leadership election. [24] She chaired Sadiq Khan's campaign for the 2016 London mayoral election. [25]
Alexander opposed the triggering of Article 50 following the EU referendum,proposing a "reasoned amendment" in January 2017 to throw out the article. [26] She co-founded the Labour Campaign for the Single Market in 2017,and is a supporter of the pro-EU group Open Britain. [27] [25] [28]
In November 2024,Alexander voted in favour of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill,which proposes to legalise assisted suicide. [29]
The secretary of state for transport,also referred to as the transport secretary,is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom,with overall responsibility for the policies of the Department for Transport. The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom.
Douglas Garven Alexander is a British politician who has served as Minister of State for Trade Policy and Economic Security since 2024,having previously held the role from 2004 to 2005. A member of the Labour Party,he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Lothian East since 2024. He was previously MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire South,formerly Paisley South,from 1997 to 2015 and served as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster,Scottish Secretary,Transport Secretary and International Development Secretary in the cabinets of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.
Dame Angela Eagle DBE is a British Labour Party politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wallasey since 1992. Eagle has served as Minister of State for Border Security and Asylum since July 2024.
Dawn Petula Butler is a British Labour Party politician who is member of parliament (MP) for Brent East. She previously served as MP for Brent Central (2015–2024) and Brent South (2005–2010).
Emily Anne Thornberry,Lady Nugee is a British Labour politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington South and Finsbury since 2005. She served as Shadow Attorney General for England and Wales from 2021 until the 2024 UK general election,and previously from 2011 to 2014. Thornberry has also served in a number of other senior positions on Labour's front bench,namely as Shadow Foreign Secretary from 2016 to 2020,Shadow First Secretary of State from 2017 to 2020 and Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade from 2020 to 2021.
Lewisham East is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since the by-election on 14 June 2018 by Janet Daby of the Labour Party.
Barbara Mary Keeley,Baroness Keeley,is a British Labour Party politician. She served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Worsley and Eccles South,previously Worsley,from 2005 to 2024,and has been a member of the House of Lords since 2024.
Cllr Nicholas Jerome Bennett JP is a British politician and a former Mayor of the London Borough of Bromley. A member of the Conservative Party,he served as a member of parliament (MP) from 1987 to 1992 representing the constituency of Pembrokeshire,and was a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Welsh Office from 1990 to 1992. In that role he had responsibility for the Welsh Health Service,Social Services,Housing and Local Government,Water and Sport.
The representation of women in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom has been an issue in the politics of the United Kingdom at numerous points in the 20th and 21st centuries. Originally debate centred on whether women should be allowed to vote and stand for election as Members of Parliament. The Parliament Act 1918 gave women over 21 the right to stand for election as a Member of Parliament. The United Kingdom has had three female Prime Ministers:Margaret Thatcher (1979–1990),Theresa May (2016–2019),and Liz Truss (2022). The publication of the book Women in the House by Elizabeth Vallance in 1979 highlighted the under-representation of women in Parliament. In more modern times concerns about the under-representation of women led the Labour Party to introduce and,decades later,abandon all-women short lists,something which was later held to breach discrimination laws.
Bridget Maeve Phillipson is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities since July 2024. A member of the Labour Party,she has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Houghton and Sunderland South since 2010.
Katherine Anne Green is a British politician serving as Deputy Mayor of Greater Manchester for Policing and Crime since 2023. She previously served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Stretford and Urmston between 2010 and 2022. A member of the Labour Party,she served as Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities from 2015 to 2016,Chair of the Committees on Privileges and Standards from 2018 to 2020,and Shadow Secretary of State for Education from 2020 to 2021.
Lilian Rachel Greenwood is a British Labour Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Nottingham South since 2010,and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Future of Roads since July 2024.
Lucy Maria Powell is a British politician who has served as Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council since July 2024. A member of the Labour and Co-operative parties,she has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Manchester Central since 2012.
Karin Marguerite Smyth is a British Labour Party politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Bristol South since 2015. She has served as a Minister of State for Secondary Care since July 2024.
Rachael Helen Maskell is a British Labour and Co-operative politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for York Central since 2015. She was Shadow Environment Secretary from 2016 to 2017 and Shadow Employment Secretary in 2020.
Louise Margaret Haigh is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Transport from July to November 2024. A member of the Labour Party,she has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sheffield Heeley since 2015. She has held various shadow ministerial and shadow cabinet portfolios between 2015 and 2024.
Eleanor Claire Reeves,Baroness Cryer,is a British barrister and politician who has served as Chair of the Labour Party and Minister without Portfolio since July 2024. A member of the Labour Party,she has served as the Member of Parliament for Lewisham West and East Dulwich,formerly Lewisham West and Penge,since 2017. She previously served as Shadow Solicitor General from April 2020 to December 2021 and Shadow Minister for Prisons and Probation from 2021 to 2023.
A by-election was held in the UK Parliament constituency of Lewisham East on 14 June 2018,following the resignation of Labour MP Heidi Alexander. It was the second by-election held during the 57th UK Parliament,which was elected in June 2017.
Janet Jessica Daby is a British Labour politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Lewisham East since 2018. She has served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families since July 2024.
Feryal Demirci Clark is a British Labour Party politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Enfield North since 2019. She has also served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for AI and Digital Government since July 2024.