Hilary Jane Armstrong, Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top,PC, DL (born 30 November 1945), is a BritishLabour Partypolitician who wasMember of Parliament (MP) forNorth West Durham from 1987 to 2010.
Armstrong was born on 30 November 1945 to Hannah P. Lamb andErnest Armstrong, a Labour Party politician. She attendedMonkwearmouth Grammar School before going on to take a BSc insociology atWest Ham Technical Institute (now the University of East London) and a Diploma in Social Work from theUniversity of Birmingham.[1][2] A former social worker and university lecturer, Armstrong worked forVSO in Kenya before entering politics. She was first elected asDurham County Councillor forCrook North Division in 1985.
She was shortlisted for the vacantSedgefield constituency in1983, only to lose out toTony Blair, who went on to be elected MP. Four years later, at the1987 general election, she was elected to her father'sNorth West Durham seat on his retirement, increasing his majority by 3,806 to 10,162.[3]
Armstrong wasparliamentary private secretary toJohn Smith during his time as Labour leader, and played a large part in his successful fight to instituteOne member, one vote at Labour'sparty conference.
Armstrong was seen as a politician on the right of the Labour Party, and was close politically to her near neighbour Tony Blair and theNew Labour agenda. However, she is also a member of theAmicustrades union (formerlyMSF).[citation needed] Her union ties helped her gain support in rewritingClause IV.[4]
In the1992 general election, Armstrong retained her North West Durham constituency by defeating two future party leaders,Theresa May of the Conservatives, who became prime minister in 2016, andTim Farron of the Liberal Democrats.[5]
Armstrong spent two years as Minister for Housing and Planning and four years as Minister for Local Government in theDepartment for the Environment, Transport, and the Regions and then theDepartment for Transport, Local Government, and the Regions, before being promoted into theCabinet of the United Kingdom asChief Whip after the2001 election. This was the high point of a political career which was low-key but generally successful; though she endured controversies overselect committee membership and over allegations of strong arm tactics with Labour dissenters overmilitary action in Afghanistan.[4]
Armstrong also faced criticism after government defeats in theCommons over the length of time suspected terrorists could be detained without charge, and incitement to religious hatred provisions in thePrevention of Terrorism Act 2005. Press commentators speculated that in losing these votes through miscalculating government support, and in one instance letting thePrime Minister off the "Whip" because she believed the vote was won, Armstrong's position had become vulnerable.[6] However the rumours that she would resign the post[7] proved unfounded.
Afterwards,Conservative leaderDavid Cameron mocked Armstrong during an exchange with Tony Blair, saying "She must be the first Chief Whip in history to put the Prime Minister in the frame for losing a key vote—which is an interesting career move, to say the least."[8] This was the second time David Cameron had attacked her duringPrime Minister's Questions; on his debut asLeader of the Opposition on 7 December 2005, Cameron singled her out by saying, "That's the problem with these exchanges—the chief whip on the Labour side shouting like a child. Is she finished? Are you finished?"[9]
On 5 May 2006 Armstrong was appointedChancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Minister for theCabinet Office andMinister for Social Exclusion. In 2006, Armstrong launched a petition on behalf of theBethnal Green and Bow Labour Party against Labour turnedRespect MPGeorge Galloway's participation inChannel 4'sCelebrity Big Brother. She criticised Galloway for being paid as an MP during the time he was in the Big Brother house. Galloway responded by saying he planned to refund the taxpayer after his exit from the show as he would not know how much to refund until then.[10]
She formally resigned from the government on 27 June 2007 when Tony Blair resigned as prime minister, she was succeeded byEd Miliband the following day. On becoming prime minister,Gordon Brown announced Armstrong's appointment as chair of aParliamentary Labour Party Manifesto Committee drawing up policy ideas covering children.[citation needed]
On 4 July 2009, Armstrong announced her intention to stand down at the2010 general election.[11]
On 18 June 2010, she was created alife peer asBaroness Armstrong of Hill Top,ofCrook in theCounty of Durham,[12] and wasintroduced in theHouse of Lords on 6 July 2010.[13]
She was interviewed in 2014 as part ofThe History of Parliament's oral history project.[14]
She is a member of the Joint Committee on the Draft Domestic Abuse Bill.
On 19 July 2019, Armstrong's North West Durham constituency party voted to expel her from the party after she and 67 other Labour peers published an advert inThe Guardian on 17 July claiming thatJeremy Corbyn had “failed the test of leadership” over his handling ofantisemitismcomplaints within Labour.[15] However, the vote was non-binding as only the National Executive has the mandate to expel members.[citation needed] She is a member ofLabour Friends of Israel.[citation needed]
Armstrong is married toPaul Corrigan.
{{cite book}}:|work= ignored (help)| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forNorth West Durham 1987–2010 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Government Chief Whip of theHouse of Commons 2001–2006 | Succeeded by |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury 2001–2006 | ||
| Preceded by | Minister for the Cabinet Office 2006–2007 | Succeeded by |
| Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 2006–2007 | ||
| Preceded by | Minister for Social Exclusion 2006–2007 | Position abolished |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Labour Chief Whip of theHouse of Commons 2001–2006 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
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