Maria Eagle

Garston and Halewood (2010–2024)

• Pembroke College, Oxford
• University of Law

The Right Honourable Maria Eagle MP
Official portrait, 2020
Minister of State for Defence Procurement and Industry
Incumbent
Assumed office 8 July 2024
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 May 1997

Maria Eagle (born 17 February 1961) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Liverpool Garston, previously Garston and Halewood, since 1997. She has served as Minister of State for Defence Procurement and Industry in the Ministry of Defence since July 2024. ^[1] She served in the Shadow cabinets of Ed Miliband and Jeremy Corbyn.

The twin sister of Angela Eagle, also a Labour MP, Eagle was born in the East Riding of Yorkshire to a working-class family and raised in Merseyside. She studied Philosophy, politics and economics at Pembroke College, Oxford and Law at the College of Law, London. After graduating with her law degree, she worked as an articled clerk and solicitor in both London and Liverpool. After unsuccessfully contesting Crosby in 1992, she was elected as MP for Liverpool Garston at the 1997 general election.

Under Tony Blair, Eagle was a junior minister at the Department for Work and Pensions, Department for Education and Skills and Northern Ireland Office. She was Minister of State at the Ministry of Justice and Government Equalities Office under Gordon Brown. Following the 2010 general election, Eagle became Shadow Solicitor General for England and Wales. She served in the Shadow cabinet as Shadow Transport Secretary, Shadow Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Secretary, Shadow Defence Secretary and finally Shadow Culture, Media and Sport Secretary. She resigned from the Jeremy Corbyn's Shadow Cabinet in June 2016. She returned to the frontbench as Shadow Minister for Procurement in 2023.

Early life and career

Maria Eagle was born on 17 February 1961 in Bridlington, ^[2] the daughter of Shirley ( née Kirk), a factory worker, and André Eagle, a print worker. ^{[3] [4]} She was educated at St Peter's Church of England School in Formby, Merseyside and Formby High School before attending Pembroke College, Oxford, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy, politics and economics in 1983. ^[5]

Eagle worked in the voluntary sector from 1983 to 1990, and then went to the College of Law, London, where she took her law finals in 1990, before she joined Brian Thompson & Partners in Liverpool as an articled clerk in 1990. In 1992 she became a solicitor with Goldsmith Williams in Liverpool, and later a Solicitor at Stephen Irving & Co also in Liverpool, where she remained until her election to Westminster. ^[5]

After joining the Labour Party, Eagle was elected the secretary of the Crosby Constituency Labour Party (CLP) for two years in 1983, ^[6] and was also elected as the campaigns organiser with that CLP for three years in 1993. ^[6]

Parliamentary career

At the 1992 general election, Eagle stood as the Labour Party candidate in Crosby, coming second with 25.7% of the vote behind the incumbent Conservative MP Malcolm Thornton. ^{[7] [8] [9]}

Backbencher

Prior to the 1997 general election, Eagle was selected through an all-women shortlist to stand as the Labour candidate in Liverpool Garston. ^{[10] [11]} Eagle was elected to Parliament as MP for Liverpool Garston with 61.3% of the vote and a majority of 18,417. ^[12] She made her maiden speech on 17 June 1997. ^[13]

She became a member of the Public Accounts Committee and in 1999 she was appointed the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Minister of State at the Department of Health, John Hutton. Her proposed ban on mink fur farming was defeated as a Private member's bill but subsequently picked up by the government and enacted as the Fur Farming (Prohibition) Act 2000. ^[14]

Eagle was re-elected as MP for Liverpool Garston at the 2001 general election with an increased vote share of 61.4% and a decreased majority of 12,494. ^[15]

Government minister

Official portrait, 2007

Eagle was promoted to the Tony Blair government following the 2001 general election as a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Work and Pensions.

At the 2005 general election, Eagle was again re-elected, with a decreased vote share of 54% and a decreased majority of 7,193. ^[16] Following the election, she was the Minister for Children at the Department for Education and Skills, until the May 2006 reshuffle moved her to Northern Ireland, where she was minister for Employment and Learning.

Eagle was moved to the Ministry of Justice when Gordon Brown became Prime Minister in June 2007. In September 2008, she was nominated for Stonewall Politician of the Year for her work to support equality for lesbian, gay and bisexual people. ^[17] As part of the government reshuffle in October 2008, she assumed additional responsibility for Equalities. In the June 2009 reshuffle, she was promoted to Minister of State. ^[6]

Expenses controversy

On 17 May 2009, during the United Kingdom parliamentary expenses scandal, The Daily Telegraph revealed that Eagle had claimed £3,500 for the refurbishment of the bathroom of her Liverpool home, then switched her second home designation to a different property four months later. Eagle voted in favour of legislation which would have kept MPs' expenses information secret. ^[18]

In opposition

Official portrait, 2017

Prior to the 2010 general election, Eagle's constituency of Liverpool Garston was abolished, and replaced with Garston and Halewood. At the 2010 general election, Eagle was elected to Parliament as MP for Garston and Halewood with 59.5% of the vote and a majority of 16,877. ^[19]

After the election, she served in interim Labour leader Harriet Harman's frontbench as Shadow Solicitor General for England and Wales and Shadow Minister for Justice. ^{[6] [20] [21]} In October 2010 Eagle was elected to the Shadow cabinet of new Labour Party leader Ed Miliband as Shadow Secretary of State for Transport in the Labour Party Shadow Cabinet election. ^[22]

In February 2013, she voted in favour in the House of Commons Second Reading vote on marriage equality in Britain. ^[23]

At the 2015 general election, Eagle was re-elected as MP for Garston and Halewood with an increased vote share of 69.1% and an increased majority of 27,146. ^{[24] [25]}

Eagle was appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Defence in September 2015 by newly elected Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. ^{[26] [27]} She said she was surprised by her appointment as she had disagreed with Corbyn's advocacy of unilateral nuclear disarmament and supported the renewal of the Trident nuclear weapons system. ^[28] Tasked with leading Labour's defence review, she said she would not rule out the possibility of it recommending unilateral disarmament. ^[28] However, she described Corbyn commenting he would not countenance using a nuclear deterrent as "unhelpful" to the policy process. ^[29]

In January 2016, Eagle was moved to the position of Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. ^[30] She resigned from the shadow cabinet on 27 June 2016 in the mass resignation of the Shadow Cabinet following the Brexit referendum. ^[31]

She supported Owen Smith in the failed attempt to replace Jeremy Corbyn in the 2016 Labour Party leadership election. ^[32]

At the snap 2017 general election, Eagle was again re-elected with an increased vote share of 77.7% and an increased majority of 32,149. ^[33] She was again re-elected at the 2019 general election, with a decreased vote share of 72.3% and a decreased majority of 31,624. ^[34]

She is a supporter of Labour Friends of Israel. ^[35]

On 15 February 2023, she was appointed as a member of the Privy Council. ^[36]

In the 2023 British shadow cabinet reshuffle, she was appointed Shadow Minister for Procurement. ^[37]

Return to government

Due to the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, Eagle's constituency of Garston and Halewood was abolished, and replaced with Liverpool Garston. At the 2024 general election, Eagle was elected to Parliament as MP for Liverpool Garston with 58.4% of the vote and a majority of 20,104. ^[38] She was appointed as Minister of State for Defence Procurement and Industry on 8 July. ^[39]

In November 2024, Eagle voted in favour of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which proposes to legalise assisted suicide. ^[40]

Personal life

Following her initial election, Eagle joined her twin sister Angela in Parliament. ^[b] Maria describes herself as "the straight one", while Angela is a lesbian. ^[42]

Notes

1. Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State from 2007 to 2009
2. They are sometimes incorrectly described as the first set of twins to sit in the Commons at the same time; ^[28] in fact the first set of twins is believed to have been James and Richard Grenville, who sat together for Buckingham between 1774 and 1780. ^[41]

References

1. "Ministerial Appointments: July 2024". GOV.UK. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
2. "The Biography of Angela Eagle". Angela Eagle. 2008. Archived from the original on 14 May 2011. Retrieved 17 October 2010.
3. "Biography". Archived from the original on 2 July 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
4. McDougall, L.; McDougall, Linda (31 January 2012). Westminster Women. Random House. ISBN   9781448130498. Archived from the original on 3 July 2019. Retrieved 26 August 2016– via Google Books.
5. Dod's Parliamentary Companion. Vacher Dod Publishing. 2005. p. 153. ISBN   9780905702513.
6. Biography – Maria Eagle UK Parliament
7. "UK General election results April 9th 1992 [Archive]". www.politicsresources.net. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
8. "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
9. "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
10. "Research Paper 01/75" (PDF). 22 October 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 November 2006. Retrieved 4 February 2009.
11. Rentoul, John; Ward, Stephen; MacIntyre, Donald (9 January 1996). "Labour blow as all-women lists outlawed". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
12. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
13. Hansard Debates for 17 June 1997 Archived 27 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine UK Parliament
14. "Maria Eagle: Political Profile". BBC. 21 October 2002. Archived from the original on 23 February 2009. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
15. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
16. "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
17. Shaw, Milly (23 September 2008). "Stonewall Awards shortlist announced". Lesbilicious. Archived from the original on 20 April 2013. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
18. Sawer, Patrick (17 May 2009). "Maria Eagle: bathroom renovated on expenses before flat was 'flipped'". Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 29 May 2010. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
19. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
20. Thornberry among new Labour front benchers Archived 9 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine ePolitix.com, 28 May 2010
21. Opposition Front Bench Archived 5 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine Labour Party
22. Cooper tops shadow cabinet vote Archived 7 October 2010 at the Wayback Machine BBC News, 7 October 2010
23. "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 05 Feb 2013 (pt 0004)". 5 Feb 2013 : Column 231. Archived from the original on 15 November 2014. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
24. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
25. "Garston & Halewood". BBC News. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
26. "Jeremy Corbyn announces new Shadow Cabinet appointments". Labour Press. Archived from the original on 11 June 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
27. "Jeremy Corbyn shadow Cabinet live: Labour leader under fire after ignoring women for top jobs". Independent.co.uk . 14 September 2015. 14 Sept. Archived from the original on 15 September 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
28. Eaton, George (14 October 2015). "Maria Eagle on nuclear disarmament: "I'm not ruling it out"". New Statesman. Archived from the original on 21 November 2015. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
29. Dathan, Matt (30 September 2015). "Jeremy Corbyn's ability to become Prime Minister questioned by shadow defence secretary". Independent. Archived from the original on 3 November 2015. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
30. Mason, Rowena; Perraudin, Frances (6 January 2016). "Labour reshuffle: Thornberry replaces Eagle for defence, McFadden sacked and Benn stays". The Guardian . Archived from the original on 14 June 2016. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
31. Syal, Rajeev; Perraudin, Frances (27 June 2016). "Shadow cabinet resignations: who has gone and who is staying". The Guardian . Archived from the original on 22 July 2016. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
32. "Full list of MPs and MEPs backing challenger Owen Smith". LabourList. 21 July 2016. Archived from the original on 15 July 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
33. Fitzgerald, Ged (11 May 2017). "Statement of Persons Nominated and Notice of Poll". Liverpool, England: Acting Returning Officer. Archived from the original (DOCX) on 14 October 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
34. Reeves, Tony (14 November 2019). "Statement of Persons Nominated and Notice of Poll". Liverpool, England: Acting Returning Officer. Archived from the original (DOCX) on 29 November 2021. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
35. "LFI Supporters In Parliament". Labour Friends of Israel. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
36. "Orders Approved and Business Transacted at the Privy Council held by the King at Buckingham Palace" (PDF). Privy Council of the United Kingdom. 15 February 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 February 2023. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
37. "Meet our Shadow Cabinet". The Labour Party. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
38. [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election/2024/uk/constituencies/E14001337 Liverpool Garston
39. "Minister of State (Minister for Defence Procurement and Industry)". UK Government. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
40. "Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Second Reading". Votes in Parliament. 29 November 2024.
41. Farrell, Stephen. "Twins in Parliament: the Grenvilles and Buckingham Borough, 1774". The History of Parliament Online. Archived from the original on 9 June 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
42. "Interview: Maria Eagle defends homophobic incitement law". 26 November 2007. Archived from the original on 26 March 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2016.

Publications

• High Time or High Tide for Labour Women? by Maria Eagle and Joni Lovenduski, 1998, Fabian Society Books, ISBN   0-7163-0585-2, OCLC   39267019

External links

• Maria Eagle MP official website
• Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Contributions in Parliament at Hansard
• Contributions in Parliament at Hansard 1803–2005
• Voting record at Public Whip
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Eddie Loyden	Member of Parliament for Liverpool Garston 1997–2010	Constituency abolished
New constituency	Member of Parliament for Garston and Halewood 2010–2024	Constituency abolished
New constituency	Member of Parliament for Liverpool Garston 2024–present	Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Margaret Hodge	Minister for Disabled People 2001–2005	Succeeded by Anne McGuire
	Minister for Children and Families 2005–2006	Succeeded by Beverley Hughes
Preceded by Jeff Rooker	Minister for Children in Northern Ireland 2006–2007	Office abolished
Preceded by Gerry Sutcliffe	Minister of State for Justice and Equalities 2007–2010	Succeeded by Crispin Blunt
Preceded by Jonathan Djanogly	Shadow Solicitor General for England and Wales 2010	Succeeded by Catherine McKinnell
Preceded by Sadiq Khan	Shadow Secretary of State for Transport 2010–2013	Succeeded by Mary Creagh
Preceded by Mary Creagh	Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 2013–2015	Succeeded by Kerry McCarthy
Preceded by Vernon Coaker	Shadow Secretary of State for Defence 2015–2016	Succeeded by Emily Thornberry
Preceded by Michael Dugher	Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 2016	Succeeded by Kelvin Hopkins