Mike Penning | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2019 | |
| Minister of State for the Armed Forces | |
| In office 15 July 2016 – 12 June 2017 | |
| Prime Minister | Theresa May |
| Preceded by | Penny Mordaunt |
| Succeeded by | Mark Lancaster |
| Minister of State for Justice | |
| In office 15 July 2014 – 15 July 2016 | |
| Prime Minister | David Cameron |
| Preceded by | Jeremy Wright |
| Succeeded by | Oliver Heald |
| Minister of State for Policing | |
| In office 15 July 2014 – 15 July 2016 | |
| Prime Minister | David Cameron |
| Preceded by | Damian Green |
| Succeeded by | Brandon Lewis |
| Minister of State for Disabled People | |
| In office 7 October 2013 – 15 July 2014 | |
| Prime Minister | David Cameron |
| Preceded by | Esther McVey |
| Succeeded by | Mark Harper |
| Minister of State for Northern Ireland | |
| In office 4 September 2012 – 7 October 2013 | |
| Prime Minister | David Cameron |
| Preceded by | Hugo Swire |
| Succeeded by | Andrew Robathan |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport | |
| In office 12 May 2010 – 4 September 2012 | |
| Prime Minister | David Cameron |
| Preceded by | Chris Mole |
| Succeeded by | Stephen Hammond |
| Member of Parliament forHemel Hempstead | |
| In office 5 May 2005 – 30 May 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Tony McWalter |
| Succeeded by | David Taylor |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1957-09-28)28 September 1957 (age 68) |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse | Angela Smith |
| Children | 2 daughters |
| Residence(s) | Hemel Hempstead,Hertfordshire, England |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Branch/service | Grenadier Guards |
| Years of service | 1974–1980 |
| Rank | Guardsman |
| Commands | Kenya Germany Northern Ireland |
Sir Michael Alan Penning (born 28 September 1957) is a BritishConservative Party politician, who served as themember of parliament (MP) forHemel Hempstead from2005 to2024.
Penning was theminister of state for the Armed Forces from 2016 to 2017, having previously served as theminister of state for justice andminister of state for policing from 2014 to 2016, theminister for disabled people from 2013 to 2014, theminister of statefor Northern Ireland from 2012 to 2013, and theminister of state for transport from 2010 to 2012.[1] Following his ministerial career he remained abackbencher until standing down in 2024.
Penning was born inFinchley,Middlesex,[2] and raised in the county ofEssex. He first went toschool inSouth Benfleet before attendingKing Edmund School inRochford.[3] After leaving school, Penning enlisted in theBritish Army as aGrenadier Guardsman, and served several tours inNorthern Ireland,Kenya andGermany. During his time in theGrenadiers, an officer,CaptainRobert Nairac, GC, was abducted and murdered by theIRA.[4]
After leaving the Army, Penning subsequently worked as afirefighter forEssex County Fire and Rescue Service, before joining his family business and then becoming apolitical journalist.[5]
In the mid-1990s, Penning worked as a media adviser to theEuro-rebels who had had the Conservative Party whip removed byPrime Minister John Major during theMaastricht rebellion.[6] He was subsequently the election agent toSir Teddy Taylor during the1997 general election. He stood for election inThurrock at the2001 general election, coming second toLabour'sAndrew MacKinlay. Following this, he was appointed as a chief adviser toWilliam Hague asLeader of the Opposition, later becoming the Conservative Party's deputy head of media under the brief and unpopular leadership ofIain Duncan Smith.
At the2005 general election Penning stood in the Labour-held seat ofHemel Hempstead, narrowly defeating sitting MPTony McWalter. Penning overturned McWalter's 2001 majority of 3,742 votes and won the seat (after a partial recount) by 499 votes. In July 2007, Penning was promoted by Conservative leaderDavid Cameron to the post ofshadow ministerfor public health.
TheBuncefield fire occurred on 11 December 2005 and led to some 2,700 claims for compensation.[7] In the words of neighbouring MPPeter Lilley, "There is something providential about the fact that the worst fire in western Europe since the Second World War should occur in a constituency represented by a fireman. It was undoubtedly in the interests of all his constituents and mine to have someone so knowledgeable, as well as so vigorous in their response, to represent their interests."[8] Penning, who arrived on the scene within half an hour of the explosion, had himself been trained to deal with much smaller petroleum fires; the scenario was that one tank not twenty was affected.[9]
Dexion workers, 700 of whom worked in the constituency,[10] lost their pensions when the company went into receivership in 2003. Dexion played a prominent part inRos Altmann's Pensions theft campaign.[11] Penning, whose support for Dexion preceded his election, offered compensation from unclaimed assets in his 2005 Manifesto[12] and has spoken on the issue 26 times in Parliament.[13] Dexion pensioners were featured celebrating a victory at theHigh Court in February 2007 which eventually led to increased compensation from the then-Labour government.[14]
According toTheyworkforyou.com, Penning spoke in an "above average" number of debates from 2009 to 2010 and replied to a "very high number" of messages. He also received replies to an "above average" number of written questions.[15] The quality of those questions was disputed by a 2006The Times article about the Theyworkforyou website which Penning used to email constituents.[16] His 624 questions in 10 months included one on sales of lost property inRoyal Parks since records began. The newspaper suggested the objective was to increase ratings on the website,[16] an allegation rejected by Penning.
Penning "occasionally rebelled", with two per cent of his votes being against thewhip, and was "very strongly" in favour of a smoking ban. Penning's parliamentary expenses details have been published as part of a general publication of all MPs' expenses. In 2009, he claimed a total of £135,078, 502nd of all MPs.[15] TheLegg Report found no problem with his expenses.[17] Penning did, however, voluntarily repay £2.99 for a dog bowl, which was the lowest recorded repayment by any MP.[18][19]
Penning achieved one of the largest increases in his majority of all MPs at the2010 general election, when he took 50% of the vote share to hold the seat with a majority of 13,406.[20] This result relegatedLabour's Ayfer Orhan to third place behind theLiberal Democrat candidate Richard Grayson, representing the largest swing from the Labour Party to the Conservative Party (a 14.4% swing) in the country.[20][21][22]
In the2015 general election, Penning increased his majority by 2.9% to 52.9% to hold his seat with a 14,420 majority.[23] In the subsequent reshuffle, Penning was appointed asminister of state in theHome Office for policing and criminal justice.[24] In theJune 2017 general election he held Hemel Hempstead with a reduced majority of 9,445, but with an increased share of the vote (55%). He was re-elected in the2019 general election.[25]
On 17 May 2022, he announced that he would stand down at the2024 general election.[26]
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After the 2010 election, Prime MinisterDavid Cameron appointed him aminister of statefor transport, with roads and shipping being among his responsibilities.[27] In his capacity asminister for shipping, Penning presentedEfthimios Mitropoulos (immediate past-IMOsecretary-general) with the insignia ofKCMG inGreece on behalf of theQueen.[28] In his role as road safety minister, he suggested that the Dutch could learn about cyclist safety from the British. However,cycling ambassador Roelof Wittink said that although the UK had a lower death toll per head of population, theDutch use bicycles far more and have one third of the fatalities per mile cycled.[29]
In the reshuffle of 4 September 2012, Penning was moved to becomeminister of statefor Northern Ireland, a position he held for just over a year until being promoted to becomeminister of state for disabled people on 7 October 2013.[1][30] He was subsequently promoted a second time on 15 July 2014 to serve as both theminister of state for policing and theminister of state for justice, and was also sworn of thePrivy Council.[31] Following the 2017 election, he was sacked as a minister by Prime MinisterTheresa May.
Penning was a supporter of Brexit during the2016 referendum.[32]
In May 2021, Penning tabled and was the sole signatory of anearly day motion stating as the "UK has left the European Union, the UK should now leave theEurovision Song Contest, calling on theBBC to no longer spendlicence fee money on an event designed to humiliate the UK and notes that, if the winning song is to be broadcast on the public airwaves, it should be preceded by a public health warning."[33]
Penning resigned as vice chairman of theConservative Party in order to publicly supportPenny Mordaunt's campaign in theJuly 2022 Conservative Party leadership election.[34]
Penning lives in Hemel Hempstead with his wife Angela.[35] He employs his wife as his Office Manager on an annual salary up to £40,000. He has two daughters.[36]
He is a supporter ofTottenham Hotspur F.C.[37]
General Service Medal with ‘NORTHERN IRELAND’ ClaspUnited KingdomPrivy Counsellor (2014)
Knight Bachelor (2017)[38]
Media related toMike Penning at Wikimedia Commons
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forHemel Hempstead 2005–2024 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Minister of State for Transport 2010–2012 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of State for Northern Ireland 2012–2013 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of State for Disabled People 2013–2014 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of State for Policing 2014–2016 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of State for Justice 2014–2016 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of State for the Armed Forces 2016–2017 | Succeeded by |
