The Baroness Shephard of Northwold | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2018 | |
| Shadow Secretary of State for Environment,Transportand the Regions | |
| In office 1 June 1998 – 15 June 1999 | |
| Leader | William Hague |
| Preceded by | Norman Fowler |
| Succeeded by | John Redwood |
| Shadow Leader of the House of Commons | |
| In office 11 June 1997 – 1 June 1998 | |
| Leader | William Hague |
| Preceded by | Alastair Goodlad |
| Succeeded by | George Young |
| Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | |
| In office 11 June 1997 – 1 June 1998 | |
| Leader | William Hague |
| Preceded by | Michael Heseltine |
| Succeeded by | George Young |
| Shadow Secretary of State for Educationand Employment | |
| In office 2 May 1997 – 11 June 1997 | |
| Leader | John Major |
| Preceded by | David Blunkett |
| Succeeded by | Stephen Dorrell |
| Secretary of State for Educationand Employment[a] | |
| In office 20 July 1994 – 2 May 1997 | |
| Prime Minister | John Major |
| Preceded by | John Patten |
| Succeeded by | David Blunkett |
| Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food | |
| In office 27 May 1993 – 20 July 1994 | |
| Prime Minister | John Major |
| Preceded by | John Gummer |
| Succeeded by | William Waldegrave |
| Secretary of State for Employment | |
| In office 10 April 1992 – 27 May 1993 | |
| Prime Minister | John Major |
| Preceded by | Michael Howard |
| Succeeded by | David Hunt |
| Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
| Assumed office 21 June 2005 Life peerage | |
| Member of Parliament forSouth West Norfolk | |
| In office 11 June 1987 – 11 April 2005 | |
| Preceded by | Paul Hawkins |
| Succeeded by | Christopher Fraser |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Gillian Patricia Watts (1940-01-22)22 January 1940 (age 85) Cromer, England |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse | |
| Alma mater | St Hilda's College, Oxford |
| a.^ Shephard served as Education Secretary from 1994 to 1995. In July 1995, Shephard took over the duties of the former role ofSecretary of State for Employment, held byMichael Portillo until the role was abolished. Shephard then became Education and Employment Secretary. | |
Gillian Patricia Shephard, Baroness Shephard of Northwold,PC, DL (néeWatts; born 22 January 1940), is a BritishConservative politician who was theMember of Parliament (MP) forSouth West Norfolk from 1987 to 2005.[1] Shephard served as a Cabinet Minister, and is now Chairman of the Association of Conservative Peers.
Shephard is currently the chair of the Alumni Association of Oxford University. She was the chair of the Council of the Institute of Education until 2015 and deputy commissioner of the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission until 2017.
The daughter of Reginald and Bertha Watts, she was born inCromer,Norfolk, and spent her early years in Mundesley on Sea, her father being a haulier with a small garage. She was educated atNorth Walsham Girls' High School andSt Hilda's College, Oxford,[2] where she graduated with anMA in Modern Languages.
She became a schoolteacher and then worked as an Education Inspector forNorfolk County Council from 1963 to 1975. From 1975 to 1977 she worked forAnglia Television. She was elected to Parliament in 1987, and becameParliamentary Private Secretary toPeter Lilley in 1988.[1] She was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for theDepartment of Social Security in 1989,[3] and then in 1990, Minister of State atHM Treasury.[4] In 1990, she was given the additional role of Deputy Chairman of the Party.[3]
She married Thomas Shephard on 27 December 1975. She has two stepsons, including econometricianNeil Shephard FBA, Professor of Economics and Statistics atHarvard University.[citation needed]
After the1992 general election, she was appointedSecretary of State for Employment,[1] thenMinister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in 1993.[3] She moved toSecretary of State for Education in 1994, and stayed at the department when theDepartment for Employment merged into it in 1996.[3] She remained in this position until the1997 general election.[4]
Shephard was one of two women promoted to John Major's Cabinet in 1992; the other wasVirginia Bottomley. The two believed the media was looking for stories of Ministerial "catfights" and made a pact to work together, despite differences in backgrounds and working styles. In an interview, Shephard said, "We said that we would never give anybody the chance to say that we were criticising the other. We would be supportive; end of. And we were."[5]
Shephard provided considerable information regarding her role as Secretary of State for Education in interviews conducted byBrian Sherratt in October 1994 and March 1996 for his book on the agenda for educational reform which the Conservative Party had developed since 1979.[6]
After the defeat of the Conservatives,William Hague made herShadow Leader of the House of Commons and laterShadow Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions.[4] She returned to the backbenches in 1999[7] and stepped down from the House of Commons at the2005 general election.[4] Her memoirsShephard's Watch: Illusions of Power in British Politics were published in 2000.[7]
In 2013 following thedeath of Margaret Thatcher, Shephard published a memoir,The Real Iron Lady, of her time working with the former prime minister.[8]
On 13 May 2005 it was announced that she would be created alife peer,[9] and on 21 June 2005 the peerage was created asBaroness Shephard of Northwold, ofNorthwold in theCounty of Norfolk.[10]
She is currently Chairman of the Association of Conservative Peers.[11] She was Deputy Chair of theSocial Mobility and Child Poverty Commission[12] until 2017, when she resigned in frustration with Prime MinisterTheresa May's lack of action.[13]
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{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forSouth West Norfolk 1987–2005 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Secretary of State for Employment 1992–1993 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of State for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food 1993–1994 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Secretary of State for Education 1994–1995 | Succeeded by Herself as Secretary of State for Education and Employment |
| Preceded by Herself as Secretary of State for Education | Secretary of State forEducation andEmployment 1995–1997 | Succeeded by |
| Succeeded byas Secretary of State for Employment | ||
| Preceded by | Shadow Secretary of State forEducation andEmployment 1997 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Shadow Leader of the House of Commons 1997–1998 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 1997–1998 | |
| Preceded by | Shadow Secretary of State for theEnvironment,Transport and theRegions 1998–1999 | Succeeded by |
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