She served as Deputy Leader of the Conservatives in the European Parliament between 2001 and 2002. She also served as a member of the governing board of the Conservative Party during this period.
Member of Parliament
In 2003,following Sir Sydney Chapman's announcement that he would retire at the following election,Villiers was selected as the Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate for Chipping Barnet. Although Chapman's majority at the 2001 general election had only been 2,701 votes,the party viewed Chipping Barnet to be quite a "safe" Conservative seat,and Villiers held it at the 2005 general election with an increased majority of 5,960 votes,which she increased again to 11,927 in 2010. Her majority dropped to 7,656 in 2015,and was reduced to just 353 in 2017. However,Villiers' majority rose to 1,212 in the 2019 general election,despite her percentage share of the vote going down slightly.[8]
Upon her election to the House of Commons in 2005,she resigned from her seat in the European Parliament;it went to Syed Kamall,the next candidate on the Conservatives' regional list for London. Villiers now lives at Arkley in her constituency.
In July 2021,Villiers was one of five Conservative MPs found by the Commons Select Committee on Standards to have breached the code of conduct by trying to influence a judge in the trial of former Conservative MP Charlie Elphicke,who was eventually found guilty of three counts of sexual assault and sentenced to two years in prison. Villiers was one of three of the group recommended for a one-day suspension by the committee.[10]
Villiers was appointed Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in September 2012. Her time in Northern Ireland gained mixed reviews.[13] She made a speech in February 2016 defending the Royal Ulster Constabulary and the British Army,which had been accused of colluding with loyalist murderers in the Loughinisland massacre. The Police Ombudsman who investigated the murders,Michael Maguire,later stated with regard to law enforcement authorities colluding with the murderers:"I have no hesitation in unambiguously determining that collusion is a significant feature of the Loughinisland murders".[14]
Villiers had said that "a pernicious counter-narrative" of the Troubles was emerging whereby responsibility for acts of terrorism was being shifted onto the security forces "through allegations of collusion,misuse of agents and informers or other forms of unlawful activity".[15]
Villiers was one of the six cabinet ministers who came out in support of Brexit during the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum. As the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland at the time,she was pressed to explain her view of the problems her position could cause the province. In April 2016,she gave a speech saying those raising concerns about Brexit's impact on Northern Ireland were "scaremongering".[16] Following the referendum,on 14 July 2016,Villiers resigned from her position as Northern Ireland Secretary[4] after stating that new Prime Minister Theresa May had offered her a post in the Cabinet which was "not one which I felt I could take on".[17] During the referendum,62.2% of voters in her constituency (based on a 72.1% turnout),voted to remain in the European Union.[18][clarification needed] After the referendum,Villiers continued to support leaving the EU.[19]
In June 2020 The Times newspaper reported that the delay in the formation of the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament since the 2019 United Kingdom general election had been due to Villiers appointment having been dismissed by the Prime Minister for her defiance of the Government's whip on a vote where she supported an amendment which would have banned the import of chlorinated chicken products from the US in upcoming post-Brexit trade negotiations.[20]
Parliamentary expenses and second home
She also has a house in Arkley in her North London constituency of Chipping Barnet. The house,a semi-detached property that she bought for £296,500 in May 2004,is an eight-minute drive away from High Barnet tube station,from which commuters can reach Westminster in about forty-five minutes.[21]
On 19 July 2018 she was the only MP of any party to attend a rally of about 200–300 Jewish and other persons called by the "Campaign Against Antisemitism" (CAA) in Parliament Square,London,to protest against Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party.[24] She has,on previous occasions,attended CAA protests similar to that of 19 July 2018 against anti-semitism within Labour.[25]
Together with Matthew Offord,she spoke out publicly in support of Iranian resistance to the Iranian regime at an event in Paris in 2017,organised by the National Council of Resistance of Iran. They protested against human right abuses and executions in Iran.[26]
Since September 2008,Villiers has dedicated a considerable proportion of her public announcements to aviation policy,specifically the expansion of airports in the South East of England. Villiers underlined that despite differences of opinion,the Coalition government's policy was opposed to a third runway at Heathrow airport.[27]
She has also spoken out against Boris Johnson's favoured proposal for a new London airport to be built in the Thames Estuary,and alternative expansions at Gatwick and Stansted airports,arguing that airlines should make greater use of the UK's regional airports,though some regional airports themselves have expressed concern about being adversely affected by capacity shortages in the South East.[28] Villiers favours construction of a high-speed rail link from London to Birmingham and Manchester,arguing that flyers could use capacity at airports such as Birmingham International and Manchester International Airport.[citation needed]
In May 2017,Villiers announced that she fundamentally supports the ban on hunting of wild animals with dogs but suggested that there remains scope for reform of the Hunting Act 2004.[29]
In 2022,Villiers spearheaded opposition to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's plan to set housebuilding targets for councils to alleviate the housing shortage in the United Kingdom.[31] In a 2023 interview,Villers said that denser housing,such as the apartment buildings proposed to be built near the Cockfosters station on the Piccadilly line would turn the London suburbs into "East Berlin."[32][33] She argued that dense housing construction would not be "positive for the environment or for social cohesion."[32] Critics have called her the "nimby queen" of British politics,to which she responded that the term NIMBY is "term of abuse rather than engaging in a debate about how we deliver the homes we need in a sustainable way".[32]
Controversies
In August 2023 it was revealed that Villiers had failed to declare she held shares worth over £70,000 in the oil and gas company,Shell,whilst serving as Secretary of State for Environment,Food and Rural Affairs.[34]
Personal life
Villiers married fellow barrister Sean Wilken KC in 1997,and the following year they co-wrote a book on matters of contract and quasi-contract law,which was published by a major publishing house.[35] They divorced in 2006.[36]
Publications
Theresa Villiers & Sean Wilken (29 April 1998). Law of Estoppel, Variation and Waiver. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN0-471-96921-4.
Related Research Articles
Theresa Mary, Lady May is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served as Home Secretary from 2010 to 2016. She was Member of Parliament (MP) for Maidenhead from 1997 to 2024. May is the second female UK prime minister, after Margaret Thatcher, and the first woman to hold two of the Great Offices of State. Ideologically, May is a one-nation conservative.
Dominic Charles Roberts Grieve is a British barrister and former politician who served as Shadow Home Secretary from 2008 to 2009 and Attorney General for England and Wales from 2010 to 2014. He served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Beaconsfield from 1997 to 2019 and was the Chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee from 2015 to 2019.
Dame Caroline Alice Spelman is a British Conservative Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Meriden in the West Midlands from 1997 to 2019. From May 2010 to September 2012 she was the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in David Cameron's coalition cabinet, and was sworn as a Privy Counsellor on 13 May 2010.
Gregory William Hands is a British politician who served as Minister for London and Minister of State for Trade Policy from November 2023 to July 2024. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Chelsea and Fulham, previously Hammersmith and Fulham, from 2005 to 2024. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as its Chairman from February to November 2023. Hands has served as Minister of State for Trade Policy under four prime ministers, holding the office on four occasions, and also served as Minister of State for Business, Energy and Clean Growth from 2021 to 2022.
Chipping Barnet is a constituency created in 1974 and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Dan Tomlinson of the Labour Party. It is part of the London Borough of Barnet, on the border with Hertfordshire.
Justine Greening is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Education from 2016 to 2018. Prior to that, she served as Economic Secretary to the Treasury from 2010 to 2011, Secretary of State for Transport from 2011 to 2012 and Secretary of State for International Development from 2012 to 2016. A member of the Conservative Party, she was Member of Parliament (MP) for Putney from 2005 to 2019.
Shailesh Lakhman Vara is a Ugandan-British Conservative former politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for North West Cambridgeshire from 2005 until he lost his seat in 2024. He also served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from July to September 2022.
Michael Whitney Freer is a British Conservative Party politician and former banker serving as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Courts and Legal Services since September 2022. He was first elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of Finchley and Golders Green at the 2010 general election, and stood down in 2024.
Chloe Rebecca Smith is a British Conservative Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Norwich North from 2009 to 2024. She previously served as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions from September to October 2022 and Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology from April to July 2023.
Sir Julian Richard Smith, is a British Conservative politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Skipton and Ripon since 2010. He served as Government Chief Whip from 2017 to 2019 and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 2019 to 2020.
Sir Alec Edward Shelbrooke is a British Conservative politician who has been Member of Parliament for Wetherby and Easingwold since 2024 and for Elmet and Rothwell between 2010 and 2024. He served as Minister of State for Defence Procurement in the Truss ministry from September to October 2022.
Maria Colette Caulfield is a former British politician. She served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Mental Health and Women's Health Strategy and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Women from October 2022 to July 2024.
Johanna Peta Churchill is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bury St Edmunds from 2015 to 2024. A member of the Conservative Party, she served as Minister of State in the Department for Work and Pensions from November 2023 until July 2024. She previously served as Vice-Chamberlain of the Household from 2022 to 2023. In that role, she took part in the 2023 Coronation and the 2023 State Opening of Parliament.
James Roger Cartlidge is a British politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for South Suffolk since 2015. A member of the Conservative Party, he has served as Shadow Secretary of State for Defence since July 2024. He previously served as Minister of State for Defence Procurement from 2023 to 2024, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury from 2022 to 2023 and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice between 2021 and 2022.
Miriam Jane Alice Davies, known as Mims Davies, is a British politician who has served as a Member of Parliament since 2015, for three successive constituencies. A member of the Conservative Party, she has served as Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities since July 2024. She previously served in various ministerial positions between 2018 and 2024.
Heidi Suzanne Allen is a British businesswoman and former politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for South Cambridgeshire from 2015 to 2019. Initially elected as a Conservative, she resigned from the party in February 2019, joining and later serving as acting leader of Change UK. She resigned from Change UK in June of the same year, and joined the Liberal Democrats in October 2019. She announced on 29 October of that year that she would not stand for re-election at the next general election.
Seema Louise Ghiassi Kennedy is a British Conservative Party politician who served as a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at both the Department of Health and Social Care and the Home Office in 2019. She was the Member of Parliament (MP) for South Ribble in Lancashire from 2015 to 2019, and also served as the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister from 2017 to 2019. She was the first female MP of Iranian heritage to take a seat in the House of Commons.
The 2016 Conservative Party leadership election was held due to Prime Minister David Cameron's resignation as party leader. He had resigned after losing the national referendum to leave the European Union. Cameron, who supported Britain's continued membership of the EU, announced his resignation on 24 June, saying that he would step down by October. Theresa May won the contest on 11 July 2016, after the withdrawal of Andrea Leadsom left her as the sole candidate.
Theresa May's tenure as prime minister of the United Kingdom began on 13 July 2016 when she accepted an invitation from Queen Elizabeth II to form a government after the resignation of her predecessor David Cameron in the aftermath of the European Union (EU) membership referendum, and ended upon her resignation on 24 July 2019. May's premiership was dominated by Brexit, terrorist attacks in Westminster, the Manchester Arena and London Bridge, the Grenfell Tower fire, and the Salisbury poisonings. As prime minister, May served simultaneously as First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
