Esther McVey | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2017 | |
| Member of Parliament forTatton | |
| Assumed office 8 June 2017 | |
| Preceded by | George Osborne |
| Majority | 1,136 (2.1%) |
| Minister of State without Portfolio | |
| In office 13 November 2023 – 5 July 2024 | |
| Prime Minister | Rishi Sunak |
| Preceded by | Gavin Williamson[a] |
| Succeeded by | Nick Thomas-Symonds[b] |
| Minister of State for Housing and Planning | |
| In office 24 July 2019 – 13 February 2020 | |
| Prime Minister | Boris Johnson |
| Preceded by | Kit Malthouse |
| Succeeded by | Chris Pincher |
| Secretary of State for Work and Pensions | |
| In office 8 January 2018 – 15 November 2018 | |
| Prime Minister | Theresa May |
| Preceded by | David Gauke |
| Succeeded by | Amber Rudd |
| In office 2 November 2017 – 8 January 2018 | |
| Prime Minister | Theresa May |
| Preceded by | Julian Smith |
| Succeeded by | Chris Pincher |
| Minister of State for Employment | |
| In office 7 October 2013 – 8 May 2015 | |
| Prime Minister | David Cameron |
| Preceded by | Mark Hoban |
| Succeeded by | Priti Patel |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Disabled People | |
| In office 4 September 2012 – 7 October 2013 | |
| Prime Minister | David Cameron |
| Preceded by | Maria Miller |
| Succeeded by | Mike Penning |
| Member of Parliament forWirral West | |
| In office 6 May 2010 – 30 March 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Stephen Hesford |
| Succeeded by | Margaret Greenwood |
| Chair of the British Transport Police Authority | |
| In office 19 November 2015 – 2 May 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Millie Banerjee |
| Succeeded by | Ron Barclay-Smith |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Esther Louise McVey (1967-10-24)24 October 1967 (age 57) Liverpool,Lancashire, England |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse | |
| Residence(s) | West Kirby,Wirral Peninsula, England |
| Alma mater | |
Esther Louise, Lady Davies (born 24 October 1967), styled asEsther McVey, is a BritishConservative Party politician and television presenter who has been serving as theMember of Parliament (MP) forTatton since2017, and served as the MP forWirral West from2010 to2015. She previously served incabinet asMinister of State for Employment from 2013 to 2015,Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in 2018,Minister of State for Housing and Planning from 2019 to 2020 andMinister of State without Portfolio from 2023 to 2024.[1]
Born inLiverpool, McVey was placed in foster care for the first two years of her life and was then brought up by her biological family. She was privately educated atThe Belvedere School before going on to study atQueen Mary University of London andCity, University of London. After working at her family's construction business, she became a television presenter, co-presentingGMTV withEamonn Holmes.
McVey first entered theHouse of Commons as MP for Wirral West at the2010 general election. She served in theCameron–Clegg coalition asParliamentary Under-Secretary of State forDisabled People from 2012 to 2013, prior to serving asMinister of State for Employment from 2013 to 2015. She was sworn into thePrivy Council in 2014 and attended Cabinet afterthat year's reshuffle. At the2015 general election she lost her seat; she subsequently spent eighteen months serving as Chair of theBritish Transport Police Authority before returning to parliament following the2017 general election, succeeding formerChancellor of the ExchequerGeorge Osborne in the Tatton constituency.
McVey served in thesecond May ministry asDeputy Chief Whip from 2017 to 2018. She was appointedWork and Pensions Secretary in January 2018. In July, she apologised for misleading the House of Commons over the newUniversal Credit scheme by claiming aNational Audit Office report showed it should be rolled out faster, when in fact the report concluded the roll-out should be paused. She resigned in November 2018 in opposition toTheresa May's draftBrexit withdrawal agreement. She founded theBlue Collar Conservativeparliamentary caucus, before standing in the2019 Conservative Party leadership election, but was eliminated in the first round after finishing in last place with nine votes. After the contest, she attended Cabinet asMinister of State for Housing and Planning untilBoris Johnson'sfirst Cabinet reshuffle.
After leaving the Johnson Cabinet, McVey returned to the backbenches. She subsequently, with her MP husband, jointly hosted weekly programmes onGB News titledFriday[2] andSaturday Morning with Esther and Philip; she also regularly wrote for theDaily Express.[3] In the November 2023cabinet reshuffle, she was appointedMinister of State without Portfolio byRishi Sunak, her third Cabinet role, reported to have been tasked with "leading the government's anti-woke agenda".
Esther McVey was born on 24 October 1967 inLiverpool; she is ofIrish Catholic descent.[4] She spent the first two years of her life in foster care as aBarnardo's child.[5] She was educated at the (at that time fee-paying, independent)Belvedere School, before reading law atQueen Mary University of London, graduating with anLLB, before graduating with anMA in radio journalism atCity, University of London.
From 2000 to 2006, McVey was adirector of her family's Liverpool-based construction business J. G. McVey & Co. (run by her father),[6] which specialised indemolition and site clearance,[7]land reclamation andregeneration. In 2003, the firm received two immediate prohibition safety notices with which it complied.[8] Her father has since said that she was "only there in name".[9]
In July 2009, McVey graduated fromLiverpool John Moores University with anMSc incorporate governance.
McVey returned to the family business after university, while undertaking a postgraduate course inradio journalism atCity University, before embarking on a career in the media, both as a presenter and producer.[10]
McVey was a co-presenter of the summer holidayChildren's BBC strandBut First This in 1991, and subsequently presented and produced a wide range of programmes, co-hostingGMTV,[11] BBC1's science entertainment seriesHow Do They Do That?,[12]5's Company,The Heaven and Earth Show,Shopping City, BBC2's youth current affairs programmeReportage and Channel 4's legal seriesNothing But The Truth withAnn Widdecombe.[13][14] She took part inEve Ensler'sThe Vagina Monologues at theEmpire Theatre, Liverpool.[15]
McVey returned to Liverpool and set up her own business, Making It (UK) Ltd,[16] which provides training forsmall and medium-sized enterprises as well as providing office space for newstartup businesses, which led to her founding Winning Women,[17] supported by funding from theNorth West Regional Development Agency.[18]
McVey joinedGB News in 2021 to present a weekly show with her husband, titledSaturday Morning with Esther and Phillip. In September 2022, in a shakeup of the channel's schedule, it was announced that the pair would present another show on Friday, titledFriday Morning with Esther and Phillip.
In September 2023,Ofcom said that GB News had breached impartiality rules during an interview that McVey and Davies carried out withJeremy Hunt on their Saturday morning show earlier that year.[19]
At the2005 general election, McVey stood as theConservative Party candidate inWirral West, coming second with 39.9% of the vote behind the incumbentLabour MPStephen Hesford.[20][21]
At the2010 general election, McVey was elected to Parliament as MP forWirral West with 42.5% of the vote and a majority of 2,436.[22][23]
In November 2010, McVey wasParliamentary Private Secretary to then-Employment MinisterChris Grayling.[24] From 2012 to 2013, she wasParliamentary Under-Secretary forWork and Pensions, working underIain Duncan Smith.[25]
In December 2013, she was formally reprimanded for using House of Commons notepaper and postage to electioneer for theConservative Party; she apologised and repaid the £300 costs.[26]
David Cameron appointed McVeyMinister of State for Employment in theDepartment for Work and Pensions in an October 2013 reshuffle. This led to McVey being sworn into thePrivy Council on 27 February 2014.[27][28] Shortly after being made Minister for Employment, McVey had the responsibility for theHealth and Safety Executive taken away after it was reported that a demolition company had been found to be in violation of health and safety laws while she was director.[29]
In April 2014, McVey apologised for a tweet criticising the Wirral Labour Party that was sent during theHillsborough memorial service. Social media posts at the time claimed the timing of the tweet showed a lack of respect.[30]
McVey is a supporter ofConservative Way Forward, aThatcherite organisation.[31]
In November 2014, then-backbench Labour MPJohn McDonnell discussed a "Sack Esther McVey Day" among Labour activists and politicians, saying that "a whole group in the audience" argued 'Why are we sacking her? Why aren't we lynching the bastard?'"[32] The Conservative Party chairmanGrant Shapps called for Labour to withdraw the whip from McDonnell.[32] The official Labour Party Twitter feed said McDonnell's comments "don't represent the views of the Labour Party. He speaks for himself".[33] In 2015, speaking toRobert Peston ofITV, McDonnell defended his comments by saying that he was "simply report[ing] what was shouted out at a public meeting". On the same day as his "lynch" remarks, in a debate in the House of Commons, McDonnell criticised McVey for playing the victim and proceeded to call her a "stain of inhumanity".[34]
At the2015 general election, McVey was defeated by theLabour candidateMargaret Greenwood, who gained Wirral West with 45.1% of the vote and a majority of 417 votes.[35][36][37]
After losing her seat, McVey took up the post of chair of theBritish Transport Police Authority from November 2015, on a four-year contract. However, ten days after it was announced that the snap2017 general election would take place, McVey resigned the post. Between the elections, she also held part-time jobs as a special adviser to Irish lobbying firm Hume Brophy,[38] a privately-held investment group known as Floreat Group,[39] and a fellowship at theUniversity of Hull.[40]
In April 2017, McVey was selected to succeedGeorge Osborne as theConservative candidate for the seat ofTatton at the snap2017 general election.[41] At the snap general election, she was elected as MP for Tatton with 58.6% of the vote and a majority of 14,787.[42]
In the subsequent reshuffle, McVey was appointedDeputy Chief Government Whip.[43]
On 8 January 2018, McVey was appointed asSecretary of State for Work and Pensions, a post she held until 15 November 2018 when she resigned over the Brexit deal.[44] Labour MPDan Carden said McVey's appointment "will put fear in the hearts of the vulnerable and disabled. The last time McVey was at DWP she was ejected from parliament by the voters of Wirral West."[45]
In July 2018, it was reported by the head of theNational Audit Office (NAO) that McVey had misled parliament over the newUniversal Credit scheme by claiming that the NAO report showed that it should be rolled out faster when in fact the report concluded that the roll-out should be paused.[46] She apologised to the House of Commons on 4 July 2018[47][48] amid calls for her resignation.[48] Labour MPMargaret Greenwood said in parliament: "The secretary of state should be ashamed that she has been forced to come to this house again. If she misread this report so badly this brings in to question her competence and her judgment. If she did read the report and chose to misrepresent its findings, she has clearly broken the ministerial code. Either way, she should resign."[49]
McVey said that there were problems with Universal Credit.The Guardian wrote: "Tens of thousands ofESA claimants will receive back-payments of £5,000–£20,000 as a result of what MPs have called a series of 'avoidable' mistakes. The DWP was warned of the error as early as 2014, but failed to take action until 2017."[50]
On 15 November 2018, McVey announced her ministerial resignation over Brexit, following May's publication of the draft proposed deal.[51] She was replaced by former Home SecretaryAmber Rudd.[52]
In March 2019, she was criticised,[53] after tweeting a widely discredited claim made in a 2014 newspaper opinion column about the UK, along with other EU states, being forced to join the Euro from 2020, before later deleting it.[54]
In May 2019, McVey announced her intention to run for theleadership of the Conservative Party whenTheresa May resigned, claiming that she already had "enough support" to stand.[43] Later that month, McVey launchedBlue Collar Conservatives, as part of her leadership campaign, with MPs such asScott Mann,Iain Duncan Smith and her partnerPhilip Davies in attendance.
McVey finished in last place after the first ballot of the Conservative Party leadership candidates and was eliminated.[55]
FollowingBoris Johnson winning the leadership contest and becomingPrime Minister in July 2019, McVey returned to the cabinet when he made herMinister of State for Housing and Planning.[56]
At the2019 general election, McVey was re-elected as MP for Tatton with a decreased vote share of 57.7% and an increased majority of 17,387.[57]
McVey later became a correspondent and later a presenter for the right-leaning television channelGB News. She was criticised by the chair of theAdvisory Committee on Business Appointments,Eric Pickles, for breaking anti-lobbying rules within theMinisterial Code in accepting the job at GB News while she was still the housing minister.[58]
In February 2020, McVey was dismissed in Johnson'spost-Brexit reshuffle.[59]
After returning to the backbenches, McVey was a critic of her party'slockdown measures during theCOVID-19 pandemic and broke the party whip to vote against further restrictions.[60][61] She also called for the government to stop buildingHS2 due to its high cost, the burden of which, she believed, would be placed on the taxpayer.[62]
McVey endorsedJeremy Hunt in theJuly 2022 Conservative Party leadership election. She was his candidate forDeputy Prime Minister.[63]
In May 2023, McVey led six Conservative MPs in a letter warning against giving theWorld Health Organization new powers.[64]
In theNovember 2023 British cabinet reshuffle, McVey was appointedMinister of State without Portfolio in the Cabinet Office byRishi Sunak, reportedly tasked with "leading the government's anti-woke agenda" as a "minister for common sense".[65][66]
In May 2024, McVey said that she wanted to tackle "left-wing politically correct woke warriors" in the public sector and suggested that civil servants could be banned from wearingrainbowlanyards.[67] McVey addressed this through updated Civil Service diversity guidance, which on publication did not explicitly ban civil servants from wearing rainbow lanyards.[68]
At the2024 general election, McVey was again re-elected, with a decreased vote share of 38.4% and a decreased majority of 1,136.[69] McVey subsequently returned to the backbenches after not being offered roles in either the Shadow frontbench teams of Rishi Sunak orKemi Badenoch.
McVey was previously in relationships with BBC producerMal Young[70] and Conservative former frontbencherEd Vaizey.[71] When in London, she shared aflat in Pimlico with Conservative colleaguePhilip Davies;[72][73] the arrangement ended when McVey lost her seat at the 2015 general election.[74] In May 2019, the BBC'sPolitics Live programme reported that she and Davies were engaged.[75] On 19 September 2020, McVey married Davies in a private ceremony at Westminster, in Parliament's St Mary Undercroft chapel.[76]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forWirral West 2010–2015 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forTatton 2017–present | Incumbent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Undersecretary of State for Disabilities 2012–2013 | Succeeded byas Minister of State for Disabilities |
| Preceded by | Minister of State for Employment 2013–2015 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Deputy Chief Whip of theHouse of Commons 2017–2018 | Succeeded by |
| Treasurer of the Household 2017–2018 | ||
| Preceded by | Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 2018 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of State for Housing and Planning 2019–2020 | Succeeded by |
| Vacant Title last held by Gavin Williamson | Minister of State without Portfolio 2023–2024 | Succeeded by |
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