Jane Ellison | |
|---|---|
 Ellison in 2015 | |
| Financial Secretary to the Treasury | |
| In office 15 July 2016 – 8 June 2017 | |
| Prime Minister | Theresa May |
| Preceded by | David Gauke |
| Succeeded by | Mel Stride |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health | |
| In office 7 October 2013 – 15 July 2016 | |
| Prime Minister | David Cameron |
| Preceded by | Anna Soubry |
| Succeeded by | David Mowat |
| Member of Parliament forBattersea | |
| In office 7 May 2010 – 3 May 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Martin Linton |
| Succeeded by | Marsha de Cordova |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1964-08-15)15 August 1964 (age 60) Bradford, England |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Alma mater | St Hilda's College, Oxford |
| Website | Official website |
Jane Elizabeth Ellison[1] (born 15 August 1964)[2] is a British United Nations official and former politician. A member of theConservative Party, she was first elected at the2010 general election as theMember of Parliament forBattersea. On 7 May 2015, she was re-elected with an increased margin of 3.4%. She lost the seat toMarsha de Cordova of theLabour Party at the2017 snap general election. In November 2017 she joined the senior leadership team[3] of theWorld Health Organization serving until November 2022.
Ellison was born inBradford, attendingSt. Joseph's Catholic College, Bradford, then a girls'grammar school. She studiedPhilosophy, Politics and Economics[4] atSt Hilda's College, Oxford. After university, she worked at theJohn Lewis Partnership, where she held many positions up until her election to theHouse of Commons some 23 years later.[5]
A formerBarnet London Borough Councillor, she contested the1996 Barnsley East by-election and the2000 Tottenham by-election, in both cases finishing in third place, and contestedBarnsley East and Mexborough in1997 andPendle in the2005 general election.[6] Labour retained the seat, although she almost halved the majority of sitting MPGordon Prentice from 4,275 to 2,180.
She was selected as theprospective parliamentary candidate for Battersea in September 2006,[7] following anopen primary held at theBattersea Arts Centre.
Ellison was elected at the2010 general election, with a majority of 5,977.[8] In Parliament, she served on the Backbench Business Committee and Work and Pensions Committee.[8] In 2011 she founded the first All Party Parliamentary Group on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM),[9] speaking regularly on the issue in Parliament.
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Ellison was appointedParliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health in October 2013.[6][8] She continued her interest in FGM, bringing forward a number of measures aimed at ending the practise during her time as a Minister.[10][11] She described providing political direction to theNational Health Service (NHS) as "a bit like being on a high wire without a net at times, it can be quite exciting" in a meeting with theTory Reform Group in 2014.[12]
According toThe Observer, she also said: "I don't know how much any of you realise that with the Lansley act we pretty much gave away control of the NHS… we have some important strategic mechanisms but we don't really have day-to-day control", which was seized upon by critics as evidence that the government's NHS reforms had not succeeded.[12]
In January 2015, Ellison announced the government was proposing introducing a ban on advertising on cigarette packaging before the next election, and the standardised packaging of cigarettes legislation passed the House of Commons in March 2015.[13] After a Parliamentary debate in February 2015,[14] Ellison signed theMitochondrial Donation Regulations on 4 March making the UK the first country in the world to legislate for the procedure.[15]
Following the EU Referendum in which she campaigned for Remain[16] Ellison was appointed Financial Secretary to the Treasury in July 2016[17] and in August 2016 she announced that the Government would be proceeding with the Soft Drinks Industry Levy, also known as the sugar tax.[18]
In October 2017 Ellison was appointed as Deputy Director-General for Corporate Operations at theWorld Health Organization under the leadership ofDirector GeneralTedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. On 6 March 2019 as part of a wider programme of reorganization she became the Executive Director for External Relations and Governance at WHO.[19] She left the WHO in November 2022 when there were a number of changes in the senior leadership team.[20]
Ellison lives inBalham with her partner John, and enjoys music and walking.[6]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forBattersea 2010–2017 | Succeeded by |
