The Baroness Hayman of Ullock | |||||||||||||||||||||
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.jpg) Parliamentary portrait, 2017 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 9 July 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Keir Starmer | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Office established | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Member of the House of Lords | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Life peerage 9 September 2020 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Member of Parliament forWorkington | |||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 7 May 2015 – 6 November 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Tony Cunningham | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Mark Jenkinson | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Susan Mary Bentley (1962-07-28)28 July 1962 (age 62) Upper Bucklebury, Berkshire, England | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | Labour | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Residence(s) | Ullock, Cumbria | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | Anglia Ruskin University | ||||||||||||||||||||
Susan Mary Hayman, Baroness Hayman of Ullock (néeBentley; born 28 July 1962) is a British politician andlife peer who has served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs since July 2024.[1][2] A member of theLabour Party, she wasMember of Parliament (MP) forWorkington from 2015 to 2019. Hayman served as anOpposition Whip from 2015 to 2016 and Shadow Minister for Flooding and Coastal Communities from 2016 to 2017, then asShadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from 2017 to 2019 and was appointed to theHouse of Lords in 2020.
She was a Shadow Spokesperson for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and an Opposition Whip from 2020, and a Shadow Spokesperson forLevelling Up, Housing and Communities from 2021.
Susan Mary Bentley was born on 28 July 1962 inUpper Bucklebury, Berkshire to John and Rita Bentley. She attendedSt Bartholomew's School inNewbury,[3][4] and studied English literature atAnglia Ruskin University.[5]
Her first job was working in a bookshop.[6] She has also worked in social services.[7] From 1997 to 2001, she worked as the office manager for MPTess Kingham in Gloucester.[5] She then worked as campaigns and communication manager for MPMike Foster.[8] Hayman worked inpublic relations as a consultant for Copper Consultancy where she was account director before becoming their head of public affairs. She then became a self-employed consultant.[5]
Hayman was third on Labour's party list forWest Midlands in the 2004 European Parliament election but was not elected as an MEP.[9] She stood as a candidate in the 2005 general election forPreseli Pembrokeshire after the incumbent Labour MP,Jackie Lawrence, stood down.[8] Hayman lost to ConservativeStephen Crabb.[10] In the 2010 general election, she contestedHalesowen and Rowley Regis. The constituency had been represented by Labour MPSylvia Heal since 1997. Hayman lost the seat to ConservativeJames Morris.[11]
Hayman was elected to representHowgate division onCumbria County Council in2013, on which she later became vice-chair of the Children's Scrutiny Committee.[12][5] She resigned her seat shortly after her election to Parliament in 2015.[13]
She was elected as MP for theall women shortlist seat ofWorkington in the 2015 general election, she became the first female MP to represent a constituency inCumbria.[14][15] From July to October 2015, she sat on theJustice Select Committee. Hayman was an opposition whip from September 2015 to October 2016. She campaigned against the closure of Workington's magistrates court. In February 2016, the Ministry of Justice announced that the court would not be closed.[16]
She supportedOwen Smith in the failed attempt to replaceJeremy Corbyn in the2016 Labour Party leadership election.[17] Following Corbyn's re-election as Labour leader, she was appointed to the new Shadow Minister for Flooding and Coastal Communities post in October 2016.[18] In February 2017, she was promoted toShadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs afterRachael Maskell's resignation.[19]
Hayman retained her seat in theJune 2017 general election with a majority of 3,925 (9.4%).[20] During the election, the Conservative Party candidate claimed Hayman had breached election rules over mail sent to constituents. However, a complaint sent to theSerjeant-at-Arms of the House of Commons was not investigated because the mailing, to flood victims, was unrelated to the election and Hayman had notified it to Parliament once the election was called.[21]
She was co-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Nuclear Energy,[22] and vice-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Rural Business.[23] Since 2017, she has written articles on the environment and animal welfare in theNew Statesman.[24][25]
Hayman supported the United Kingdom (UK) remaining within theEuropean Union (EU) in the2016 UK EU membership referendum. In the indicative votes on 27 March, she voted for areferendum on a Brexit withdrawal agreement, for theNorway-plus model and for a customs union with the EU.[26]
Hayman lost her seat at the2019 general election toMark Jenkinson of theConservatives.[27][28]
In July 2020, it was announced that Hayman received a nomination for apeerage.[29] She was createdBaroness Hayman of Ullock,of Ullock in the County of Cumbria, on 9 September 2020.[30][31] Due to her view on animal welfare, she chose to wear fake fur robes to take her oath of allegiance.[32] She was appointed as a shadowDEFRA spokesperson and an opposition whip in October 2020, and a shadowDLUHC spokesperson in December 2021.
She married Ross Hayman in 1997. They have two daughters and two sons. They live in the village ofUllock in Cumbria.[3][5][6]
A keenchorister, Hayman sang in theParliament Choir and was its chair.[33]
Hayman is Vice President of local charity Hospice at Home Cumbria.[34] She has been Chair of theRoyal School of Church Music from May 2024.[35]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forWorkington 2015–2019 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 2017–present | Incumbent |
