The Lord Lansley | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Official portrait, 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Leader of the House of Commons | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 4 September 2012 – 14 July 2014 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | David Cameron | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | George Young | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | William Hague | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 4 September 2012 – 14 July 2014 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | David Cameron | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | George Young | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | The Baroness Stowell of Beeston | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Secretary of State for Health | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 12 May 2010 – 4 September 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | David Cameron | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Andy Burnham | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Jeremy Hunt | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1956-12-11)11 December 1956 (age 68) Hornchurch, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | Conservative (since 1988) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other political affiliations | SDP (until 1988) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse(s) | Marilyn Biggs(Divorced) Sally Low | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | University of Exeter | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | Official website | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Andrew David Lansley, Baron Lansley (born 11 December 1956) is a BritishConservative politician who previously served asSecretary of State for Health andLeader of the House of Commons. He wasMember of Parliament (MP) forSouth Cambridgeshire from1997 to2015.
Lansley was born inHornchurch, Essex, and studied Politics at theUniversity of Exeter. He worked in the civil service before entering politics. He ran the Conservatives' campaign in the1992 general election while at the Conservative Research Department, and later was Vice-Chairman of the Conservative Party at the 2001 general election.
Lansley was theShadow Secretary of State for Health from 2004 until 2010, theSecretary of State for Health from 2010 until 2012, andLeader of the House of Commons from 2012 until 2014. As Health Secretary, Lansley was responsible for the government's controversialHealth and Social Care Act 2012. In 2024 an independent report commissioned by the Government described the Lansley reforms as "a calamity without international precedent".[1] Lansley announced his intention to stand down as an MP in 2015,[2] and was awarded alife peerage in the2015 Dissolution Honours.[3] Following his career in Westminster, Lansley advised corporate clients on healthcare reforms.[4]
Born inHornchurch, Essex, Lansley was educated atBrentwood School and theUniversity of Exeter, gaining a BA in politics. In 1977 while at Exeter University, Lansley was elected President of the Guild of Students (Student Union), as aTory Reform Group candidate. His father Thomas worked in a pathology laboratory, and became co-founder of the Council for Professions Supplementary to Medicine and President of the Institute of Medical Laboratory Scientists.[5]
Before entering politics, Lansley had "a promising career in the civil service".[6] Lansley worked forNorman Tebbit for three years as hisprivate secretary at theDepartment of Trade and Industry.[6] This encompassed the period of theIRA's 1984Brighton hotel bombing at the Conservative Party Conference in which Tebbit was seriously injured. Lansley and others have been praised by Tebbit for their support at that time.[citation needed]
Lansley went on to become more fully involved in politics. A member of theSocial Democratic Party who joined the Conservatives after the SDP dissolved in 1988,[7] he was appointed in 1990 to run theConservative Research Department. He ran the Conservative campaign for the1992 general election, which he describes as one of "his proudest career achievements"[8] He suffered a minor stroke in 1992, initially misdiagnosed as an ear infection,[6] but made a full recovery save for permanently losing his sense of "fine balance".
He was appointed aCommander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for political service in the1996 New Year Honours.[9]
Lansley sought to enter parliament and was selected for the South Cambridgeshire seat where he was subsequently elected as an MP in 1997. He immediately joined theHouse of Commons health select committee.[6]
At the2001 election, he again took on a strategy role as a vice-chairman of the Conservative Party.[citation needed] As part of his duties, shadow ministers had to clear the timing of their announcements with Lansley.[citation needed] The 2001 election was not a success for the Conservative Party, and its leaderWilliam Hague resigned shortly afterward.Iain Duncan Smith, the new leader, offered Lansley a position following election but he turned this down and, untilMichael Howard became Leader, Lansley was a backbencher.[citation needed]
Lansley was appointed aPrivy Counsellor upon becoming health secretary on 13 May 2010.[10]
Following Howard's election as party leader, Lansley soon returned to the Conservative frontbench. He served as theShadow Secretary of State for Health. In his post he developed policies centred on using choice to improve theNational Health Service, and was author of a chapter in Dr Tempest's 2006 bookThe Future of the NHS.[11]
After becomingprime minister inMay 2010,David Cameron named Lansley asHealth Secretary in theConservative/Liberal Democrat coalition government.[12]
On 4 September 2012, Lansley was moved to the positions ofLord Privy Seal andLeader of the House of Commons, which he retained until 14 July 2014. He was then replaced byWilliam Hague, following Hague's surprise resignation as foreign secretary, and retired from the cabinet to the back benches, announcing the same day that he would not be seeking re-election to the House of Commons at thenext election and would hope to find an international role.[13] In the event, the election came on7 May 2015, and until his appointment to theHouse of Lords in October Lansley was out of parliament.[citation needed]
In November 2010, Lansley provoked controversy by factoring into public health related bills representations from fast food companies such asMcDonald's,KFC and processed food and drink manufacturersPepsiCo,Kellogg's,Unilever,Mars andDiageo on obesity, diet-related disease and alcohol, said by campaign groups[which?] to be the equivalent of handing smoking policy over to the tobacco industry.[14][15]
In January 2011, ministers published theHealth and Social Care Bill, detailingplanned reforms that would pave the way for GP consortia to take over management of the NHS fromprimary care trusts. Prime ministerDavid Cameron said "fundamental changes" were needed in the NHS.[16]
But doctors' leaders believed that GPs could simply have taken charge of PCTs instead, and achieved the same results.[17] The reforms were intended to pave the way for groups of GPs to take control of NHS budgets, with the consortia to take charge in 2013 of about 80% of the funding and of planning and buying everything, from community health centres to hospital services. However, some specialist services such as neurosurgery would be provided by a national board.[17]
In a letter toThe Times,British Medical Association chairman Hamish Meldrum,Royal College of Nursing chief executive Peter Carter, and the heads of theUnison andUnite unions, said the speed and scale of the reforms proposed risked undermining the care of patients by putting cost before quality.[17] Criticism of the reforms had been mounting ahead of the publication of the Health and Social Care Bill on 19 January 2011.[citation needed]
Lansley's white paper on the NHS led to him being the subject of an unflatteringhip hop track and video written by rapper NxtGen and poet Rob Gee, with the chorus "Andrew Lansley, greedy / Andrew Lansley,tosser / the NHS is not for sale, you grey-hairedmankycodger".[18] It was picked up as one of the theme tunes to the anti-cuts movement and spawned placards at aMarch for the Alternative in March 2011.[19][20] The video, partly paid for by Unison[21] featured NxtGen rapping about Lansley's proposed GP commissioning policy, his part in theparliamentary expenses scandal, and a controversial donation he had received from private health companyCare UK.[19] Lansley responded with a statement that he was "impressed that he's managed to get lyrics about GP commissioning into a rap", but stated "We will never privatise the NHS".[18]
Following the widespread criticism, on 4 April 2011, the Government announced a "pause" in the progress of the Health and Social Care Bill to allow the government to 'listen, reflect and improve' on the proposals.[22]
In November 2011, Lansley faced more criticism[23] when he appeared speaking on a video played at NHS patients' bedside in England, the continuous loop video was played to patients as the main free content on theHospedia system. When asked byTom BlenkinsopMP, Lansley replied that he received no payment and there was no cost to the taxpayer.[24]
On 13 April 2011, 96 per cent of 497 delegates at theRoyal College of Nursing conference backed amotion of no confidence questioning Andrew Lansley's handling of NHS reforms in England.[25] Later that day, Lansley met with 65 nurses at the same conference, and apologised by saying "I am sorry if what I'm setting out to do hasn't communicated itself."[25]
In May 2012, Lansley appeared at the Royal College of Nursing annual conference where he stated that although "the number of qualified nurses has gone down by nearly 3,000... clinical staffing levels overall have gone up by nearly 4,000". His comments at the conference were met with uproar from nurses and union members in the audience with heckling and some shouting "liar". The Royal College's general secretary, Dr Peter Carter criticised the health secretary's claim as being "nonsense that there's more clinical staff than there was two years ago is just incorrect" and later told the health secretary that currently "There is a great deal of unhappiness" amongst nurses and health care professionals, with a standing ovation from the audience.[26]
On 28 June 2012, doctors meeting at aBritish Medical Association conference voted in favour of calling for Lansley's resignation.[27]
Doctors voted in agreement of a motion stating "This meeting has no confidence in Andrew Lansley, the Secretary of State for Health, and calls for him to resign". In the meeting, Lansley was accused by the BMA of "breaching doctors' trust" over pension agreements, and was accused by Dr Gary Marlowe who tabled the motion that "during the election he (Lansley) misled the public and the profession" regarding the Health and Social Care Bill. Before voting, Marlowe also stated that "The Bill went through a stunning number of amendments and revisions. I believe the most of any Bill. How can we trust someone with such a poor record with our NHS?"[28]
On 4 September 2012, Lansley was replaced in his role as health secretary byJeremy Hunt, with Lansley becomingLeader of the House of Commons.[29]
In the years that followed, the reforms remained the focus of criticism by both the medical profession and independent bodies.[30][31][32]
In 2010, responsibility fornutrition policy was transferred to the Department of Health. As Secretary of State for Health, Andrew Lansley was accused by the BMJ of allowing the food industry to stall progress in reducing salt content in food (subsequently restarted in 2014 byAnna Soubry with publication of new targets effective in 2017).[33]
Until December 2009, Lansley received £134 an hour from a firm of advertisers that represents clients such asWalkers Crisps,McDonald's,Unilever,Mars andPizza Hut;Private Eye suggests a link between these activities and Lansley's desire to see a more lightly regulated food industry.[34] The same publication suggested a similar link to a Department of Health report on red meat in which the only products listed in the report found to contain suitable amounts of red meat to merit a "Good" rating were aMcDonald'sBig Mac, and aPeperami (manufactured by Unilever).
While in opposition as health spokesman, Andrew Lansley accepted a donation of £21,000 fromJohn Nash, the chairman of private healthcare providerCare UK and founder of the private equity fund Sovereign Capital, which owns several other private healthcare companies, to help fund his private office, leading to allegations of a conflict of interest.[35] Such companies stand to be the largest beneficiaries of Lansley's bill passed by the Coalition andHouse of Lords to increase the use of private health providers within the NHS.[36]
As reported February 2011, Lansley's wife advised attendees at a business conference to "establish positive relationships with decision-makers". Although staff members of Low Associates, the PR firm she runs, had food and drug companies among their clients before joining Low Associates, the firm denies it has any clients in the health sector.[37]
Andrew Lansley's wife, Sally Low, is the managing director of Low Associates. Sally Low denies that Low Associates is involved in lobbying and instead describes its activities as provision of "strategic advice" to clients. Low Associates helps people prepare before they give evidence to committees of MPs, and Sally Low has given speeches on improving lobbying skills, in which she said that lobbyists should "establish positive relationships with decision-makers before you need their help". Lobbyist clients of Low Associates personnel have previously worked for a variety of companies including those with an interest in health, such asSmithKline Beecham, Unilever and Procter & Gamble.[37]
Andrew Lansley wrote a blog entry on the Conservative Party website on 25 November 2008, which claimed the "good things" from a recession included people being able to spend more time with their families.[38] He was later forced to apologise.[39]
In theParliamentary expenses scandal in 2009, Lansley was accused of 'flipping', or redesignating, his second home, after claiming for renovation of a rural cottage prior to selling it. It is claimed that he then 'flipped' his second home designation to a London flat, and claimed thousands of pounds for furniture. Lansley responded to the claims by stating that his claims were "within the rules".[40] He owns a Pimlico property, but has claimed over £7000 for hotel stays.
Lansley was created aLife Peer, taking the titleBaron Lansley,ofOrwell in the County ofCambridgeshire, on 5 October 2015.[41]
Lansley married his first wife Marilyn Biggs in 1985 and they had three daughters.[42] They divorced in 2001, and Lansley married Sally Low, with whom he has had a son and a daughter.[42] Lansley's wealth was estimated at £700,000 in 2009.[43]
In April 2018, Lansley revealed that he hasstage 3bowel cancer.[44] He has called for the government to widen thecancer screening programme on the NHS.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| New constituency | Member of Parliament forSouth Cambridgeshire 1997–2015 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| New office | Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office 1999–2001 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Shadow Secretary of State for Health 2004–2010 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Secretary of State for Health 2010–2012 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Leader of the House of Commons 2012–2014 | Succeeded by |
| Lord Privy Seal 2012–2014 | Succeeded by | |
| Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by | Gentlemen Baron Lansley | Followed by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
