John Hayes | |
---|---|
Minister of State for Transport | |
In office 16 July 2016 –9 January 2018 | |
Prime Minister | Theresa May |
Preceded by | Robert Goodwill |
Succeeded by | Jo Johnson |
In office 15 July 2014 –8 May 2015 | |
Prime Minister | David Cameron |
Preceded by | Position established |
Succeeded by | Andrew Jones |
Minister of State for Security | |
In office 8 May 2015 –15 July 2016 | |
Prime Minister | David Cameron |
Preceded by | James Brokenshire |
Succeeded by | Ben Wallace |
Minister without Portfolio Senior Parliamentary Adviser to the Prime Minister | |
In office 28 March 2013 –15 July 2014 | |
Prime Minister | David Cameron |
Preceded by | The Baroness Warsi |
Succeeded by | Robert Halfon |
Minister of State for Energy | |
In office 4 September 2012 –28 March 2013 | |
Prime Minister | David Cameron |
Preceded by | Charles Hendry |
Succeeded by | Michael Fallon |
Minister of State for Further Education,Skills and Lifelong Learning | |
In office 13 May 2010 –4 September 2012 | |
Prime Minister | David Cameron |
Preceded by | Kevin Brennan |
Succeeded by | Matt Hancock |
Member of Parliament for South Holland and the Deepings | |
Assumed office 1 May 1997 | |
Preceded by | Constituency created |
Majority | 30,838 (62.7%) |
Personal details | |
Born | [1] Woolwich,London,England | 23 June 1958
Political party | Conservative |
Spouse | Susan Hopewell (m. 1997) |
Children | 2 |
Alma mater | University of Nottingham |
Sir John Henry Hayes CBE (born 23 June 1958) is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he has held five ministerial positions and six shadow ministerial positions. [2] Hayes was appointed as a Privy Councillor in April 2013 and a Knight Bachelor in November 2018. [3]
Hayes is considered a social conservative, [4] economic protectionist, [5] communitarian [6] and Eurosceptic. [7] He strongly supported Britain's withdrawal from the EU and has spoken regularly about his belief in conservative ideas and philosophy. [8] Hayes is known for speaking passionately and theatrically in the House of Commons chamber [9] and has been described as a "colourful character" who is "popular and influential on the Tory right". [10]
First elected in 1997, Hayes is the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Lincolnshire constituency of South Holland and The Deepings – the safest Conservative seat in the United Kingdom. [11] South Holland delivered the nation's second-highest Leave vote in the 2016 referendum on the United Kingdom's membership of the European Union. 73.6% of voters voted for withdrawal from the EU, second only to neighbouring Boston. [12]
Hayes was born into a working-class family in Woolwich and grew up on a council estate. [13] He was educated at the Colfe's Grammar School (Lewisham) and at the University of Nottingham from where he graduated with a BA degree in politics and a PGCE in history and English. More recently, he graduated from the University of Cambridge with a Postgraduate Certificate in Philosophy. Hayes was involved in a campaign to create a pipe-smoking society affiliated to the Students' Union. He also chaired the University's Conservative Association from 1981 to 1982 while being President of one of the residential halls, Lincoln's Junior Common Room, and served as treasurer of the university's Students' Union from 1982 to 1983.
Hayes suffered a serious head injury in his early 20s, from which he has never fully recovered. He has focused much of his career on raising funds for research into acquired brain injury and support for those who suffer from it. [14] [15]
Before entering Parliament, he was a sales director for The Data Base Ltd, an information technology company based in Nottingham. [16]
He was elected to Nottinghamshire County Council in 1985 where he was the Conservative Group Spokesman on Education and Chairman of its Campaigns Committee. He served there for 13 years, standing down following his election to Parliament. He contested Derbyshire North East at the 1987 general election but was defeated by Labour's Harry Barnes by 3,720 votes. He fought the same seat at the 1992 general election and although he increased the Tory vote, finished some 6,270 votes behind Barnes.
Hayes was elected to the House of Commons for the newly created seat of South Holland and The Deepings in Lincolnshire at the 1997 general election. He secured a majority of 7,991 and has been elected with increased majorities at successive elections since, with swings to him of 4.4% in 2001, 4.3% in 2005 and 0.3% in 2010, increasing the Conservative share of the vote to 59.1%. It is now a safe seat for the Tories. He made his maiden speech on 2 July 1997.[ citation needed ]
In Parliament, Hayes served on the Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Select committee for two years from 1997 and spent two years from 1998 on the education and employment committee. In 1999, he was appointed by William Hague as a vice chairman of the Conservative Party with responsibility for campaigning, and in 2000 continued on the front-bench as Shadow Schools Minister in the Department for Education and Skills. He was appointed Assistant Chief Whip Opposition Whip by Iain Duncan Smith — for whom Hayes had been a speech writer — in 2001, before entering his shadow cabinet as the shadow Agriculture & Fisheries Secretary in 2002.[ citation needed ]
In 2003, after Michael Howard became Conservative leader, Hayes was appointed as Shadow Minister for Housing & Planning. He was briefly a spokesman on transport following the 2005 general election before being moved by David Cameron later in 2005 to speak on education and skills and in particular on vocational education. He was promoted by Cameron to Shadow Minister for Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education in 2007.[ citation needed ]
On 13 May 2010, Hayes was appointed as Minister of State for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning jointly at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Department for Education. On 4 September 2012 he was appointed Minister of State for Energy at the Department for Energy and Climate Change. On 28 March 2013, he was removed from the DECC and replaced by Michael Fallon. Hayes became Minister without Portfolio in the Cabinet Office. He was appointed to the Privy Council on 9 April 2013. [3]
Hayes was appointed as Minister of State at the Department for Transport in the reshuffle on 15 July 2014 [17] with responsibility for national roads, Highways Agency reform and the Infrastructure Bill, and maritime issues. He was also the Commons spokesman on bus policy. [16]
After the 2015 general election, Hayes was moved to the Home Office, being appointed "Minister of State, Minister for Security", with responsibility for counter-terrorism, security, serious organised crime and cyber crime, amongst other issues. [16]
In the government formed by Theresa May in July 2016, Hayes was reshuffled back to become a Minister at the Department for Transport. [18] He resigned from his post as Minister of State for Transport on 9 January 2018 during a cabinet reshuffle and was replaced by Jo Johnson. [19]
In July 2022, he said of precautions for a predicted 40° heatwave: [20]
This is not a brave new world but a cowardly new world where we live in a country where we are frightened of the heat. It is not surprising that in snowflake Britain, the snowflakes are melting.
This article is part of a series on |
Conservatism in the United Kingdom |
---|
Hayes described Britain's withdrawal from the EU as something "I've believed in for my whole life". [21] He stated that voting Leave would provide an opportunity to "finally bring down the curtain on the Blair era". [22] Following the referendum, Hayes criticised the "stunned hysteria" of an "establishment elite" who had "never before failed to get their own way". [23]
Hayes is reported as having asked the UK Government to consider bringing back the death penalty: referencing Westminster Bridge attacker Khalid Masood, Hayes stated that: "If he had survived I think most of the British public would have been OK if he had received a fair trial and been put to death – most people would deem that appropriate." Additionally, Hayes states that, for murder, "I say capital punishment should be a sentence available to the courts but the death penalty should not be mandatory – that's always been my position." [24]
Hayes is a strong supporter of constitutional monarchy, but has voiced his opinion that the monarchy must resist the "culture of celebrity". [25]
Hayes is the chair of the Common Sense Group, an informal group of conservative politicians and journalists who advocate for the future direction of the Conservative Party and the UK. [26] [27]
Following an interim report on the connections between colonialism and properties now in the care of the National Trust, including links with historic slavery, Hayes was among the signatories of a letter to The Telegraph in November 2020 from the group. The letter accused the National Trust of being "coloured by cultural Marxist dogma, colloquially known as the 'woke agenda'". [28]
Hayes is a protectionist, rejecting "globalist free trade" [29] and stating his belief that government should "redistribute advantage". [30] He supports tariffs designed to protect "British jobs and British workers". [29] Hayes has criticised the "gig economy" and believes that only "meaningful careers that contribute to societal good" can restore economic opportunities within the local communities they exist to serve. [29] He has been a vocal critic of supermarkets, condemning their exploitation of farmers and suppliers and stating his belief that "supermarkets have decimated high streets, destroyed livelihoods and distorted the food chain". [31]
Hayes is a vocal proponent of small and medium-sized businesses and has reiterated his belief that "cooperatives, mutuals and guilds that can reshape and reform our economic system". [32] He warned that the Conservative Party "must not allow itself to sleepwalk towards becoming a mouthpiece for globalist corporate business". [32]
Hayes has consistently voted in favour of military interventions in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. [33] [ better source needed ]
Hayes is in favour of safe standing at football stadiums. [34]
Hayes has consistently voted against same-sex marriage and civil partnerships. In line with his socially conservative views, he asserts marriage to be solely the lifetime union of one man and one woman. [35]
Hayes has argued the Government should respond with "compassion" to those who "feel compelled to identify as the opposite sex" [36] but opposed proposals to allow individuals to change their natural gender without medical consultation. [36] He criticised "radical LGBT groups" and stated his belief that "we must reaffirm that gender has no meaning if divorced from biological facts". [36] In an article written in a local newspaper, Hayes argued "we should celebrate the God-given differences between men and women, enjoying the special characteristics of two naturally-ordained human types". [36]
Hayes spoke in favour of language that would block a future transgender or non-binary minister to take maternity leave in the debate on the Ministerial and other Maternity Allowances Act 2021, comparing inclusive language to George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four . [37] [ non-primary source needed ]
Following his appointment as Energy Minister on 28 March 2013 Hayes vowed to put "coal back into the coalition". [38] During his tenure, subsidies for renewables were cut, planning rules for onshore wind were tightened, and a zero-carbon homes policy was scrapped. [39] Since 2018 Hayes has received payments of £50,000 per year working for a Lebanese-based oil company BB Energy as a strategic adviser which has drawn criticism from Transparency International UK. [40]
During his time as Energy Minister, Hayes clashed with Liberal Democrat coalition partners when he said that there should be no further construction of onshore wind turbines, declaring "enough is enough". [41]
Hayes is a member of the Countryside Alliance and of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC). He has served as the chairman of the All Party Group on disability and secretary of the All Party Group on brain injury.[ citation needed ]
In addition to his seat in Parliament, he holds three outside jobs which reportedly pay him £118,000 per year. The most lucrative of them is the role of strategic adviser to BB Energy, a Dubai-headquartered energy trading group. [42]
Hayes married Susan Hopewell in 1997; they have two sons. [43]
Hayes was sworn as a member of the Privy Council on 15 May 2013 at Buckingham Palace. [44]
Hayes was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2016 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours for political and public service. [45]
He was appointed a Knight Bachelor in November 2018. [46] This was an honour that was widely reported as bringing the awards system into disrepute; the supposition being that he had been offered and accepted the award in return for support for (or lack of opposition to) the Prime Minister's Brexit Draft Withdrawal Agreement. [47] [48] [49] However, he subsequently announced his intention to vote against the proposed withdrawal agreement anyway. [50]
Sir Alan James Carter Duncan is a British former politician who served as Minister of State for International Development from 2010 to 2014 and Minister of State for Europe and the Americas from 2016 to 2019. A member of the Conservative Party, he was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Rutland and Melton from 1992 to 2019.
Sir Graham Stuart Brady is a British politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Altrincham and Sale West since 1997. A member of the Conservative Party, he has been Chairman of the 1922 Committee since 2010, except for a brief period during the 2019 Conservative Party leadership election.
Mark Gino Francois is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Rayleigh and Wickford, since the 2001 general election.
Edward Henry Garnier, Baron Garnier, is a British barrister and former Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. A former lawyer for The Guardian newspaper, Lord Garnier is on the socially liberal wing of his party and was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Harborough in Leicestershire from 1992 until 2017. He most recently served as Solicitor General for England and Wales from the election of 2010 until the 2012 ministerial reshuffle. He stood down from the House of Commons at the 2017 general election before entering the House of Lords in 2018.
Sir Bernard Christison Jenkin is a British Conservative Party politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Harwich and North Essex since 2010. He also serves as chair of the Liaison Committee. He was first elected to represent Colchester North in 1992, and went on to represent North Essex before the Harwich and North Essex constituency was created.
Sir Oliver Heald is a British barrister and Conservative Party politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for North East Hertfordshire, formerly North Hertfordshire, since 1992.
Charles Hendry is a British Conservative Party politician. Formerly the member of parliament for High Peak between the 1992 and 1997 general elections, he was returned as the MP for Wealden in 2001. In May 2010 he was appointed Minister of State for the Department of Energy and Climate Change and served until 2012. He stood down at the 2015 general election.
Sir Gary Nicholas Streeter is a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. Since 1997 he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for South West Devon, previously holding the nearby seat of Plymouth Sutton between 1992 and 1997. Since the convening of the Fifty-fifth Parliament, Streeter has been the longest currently serving MP representing a constituency in the county of Devon.
Sir Robert Andrew Raymond Syms is a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Poole in Dorset since 1997. He received a knighthood in 2017.
Christopher Heaton-Harris is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland since 6 September 2022. A member of the Conservative Party, he has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Daventry since 2010.
Gregory William Hands is a British politician serving as Minister for London and Minister of State for Trade Policy since November 2023. He has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Chelsea and Fulham, previously Hammersmith and Fulham, since 2005. 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.
Nicholas Richard Hurd is a British politician who served as Minister for London from 2018 to 2019 and Minister of State for Policing and the Fire Service from 2017 to 2019. A member of the Conservative Party, he was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner from 2010 to 2019. Hurd was first elected as the MP for Ruislip-Northwood in 2005.
Sir Michael Alan Penning is a British Conservative Party politician, who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hemel Hempstead since 2005.
Lieutenant Colonel Tobias Martin Ellwood is a British Conservative Party politician and soldier who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bournemouth East since 2005. He chaired the Defence Select Committee from 2020 to 2023, and was Minister for Defence Veterans, Reserves and Personnel at the Ministry of Defence from 2017 to 2019. Prior to his political career, Ellwood served in the Royal Green Jackets and reached the rank of captain. He transferred to the Army Reserve and has gone on to reach the rank of lieutenant colonel in the 77th Brigade.
Grant Shapps is a British politician serving as Secretary of State for Defence since August 2023. Shapps has previously served in various cabinet posts, including Conservative Party Co-Chairman, Transport Secretary, Home Secretary, Business Secretary, and Energy Secretary under Prime Ministers David Cameron, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak. A member of the Conservative Party, he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Welwyn Hatfield since 2005.
Anne Frances Milton is a former British politician and lobbyist who served as Minister of State for Skills and Apprenticeships from 2017 to 2019. She was Member of Parliament (MP) for Guildford from 2005 to 2019. Elected as a Conservative, she had the whip removed in September 2019 and subsequently sat as an independent politician.
Mark Andrew Pritchard PC is a British Conservative politician and consultant. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for The Wrekin in Shropshire since the 2005 general election.
Christopher James Skidmore is a British former Conservative Party politician and author of popular history who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Kingswood in South Gloucestershire from 2010 to 2024.
Christopher John Pincher is a British former politician and member of the Conservative Party who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamworth from 2010 until his resignation in 2023. Pincher served as Government Deputy Chief Whip, and Treasurer of the Household from 2018 to 2019 and from February to June 2022.
Sir Mark Steven Spencer is a British politician serving as Minister of State for Food, Farming and Fisheries since 2022. He previously served as Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council from February to September 2022 and as Chief Whip from 2019 to 2022. A member of the Conservative Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Sherwood since 2010.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - 27 September 2012{{cite press release}}
: CS1 maint: others (link)