Meg Hillier
Encyclopedia
Margaret Olivia Hillier (born 14 February 1969) is a British
Labour Co-operative
politician
who has been the Member of Parliament
(MP) for Hackney South and Shoreditch since 2005
, and was a junior Minister
in HM Government from 2007 to 2010. She was replaced by Caroline Flint
as Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change
in Labour
's reshuffle October, 2011.
in the City of Portsmouth
in Hampshire
, followed by St Hilda's College
at the University of Oxford
, where she read Philosophy, Politics and Economics and during her time there was elected Librarian of the Oxford Union Society. She was not prominently involved in the Oxford University Labour Club
.
and was elected as a Councillor
in the London Borough of Islington
in 1994, serving as the Mayor
of Islington
in 1998, before standing down from the Council in 2002. She was elected as a founding Member of the London Assembly
for North East London
at the first London Assembly election of 2000
, she served on the Assembly until 2004, and became a board member of Transport for London
, a position she relinquished on her election to Parliament
.
following the retirement of the veteran Labour MP Brian Sedgemore
. During the election campaign Sedgemore resigned from the Labour Party and joined the Liberal Democrats in opposition to the attack on Iraq. Nonetheless, Hillier held the seat comfortably with a majority of 10,204. She made her maiden speech
on 24 May 2005, in which she noted that there were more men in the House of Commons today than there have ever been women MPs.
She served as member of the Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee for a year until she was became the Parliamentary Private Secretary
to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
Ruth Kelly
in 2006. In June 2007 she was appointed a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
at the Home Office
. During maternity leave beginning in March 2009 her ministerial role was taken over by Shahid Malik
.
In March 2008, Hillier voted with the Government in favour of nationwide Post Office closures, including 7 in the London Borough of Hackney
of which her constituency forms a part.
In December 2009, while promoting the unpopular National Identity Card scheme in Liverpool
, she had to admit that she had managed to forget her own, blaming the loss on the demands of looking after her baby. The incident was especially embarrassing as Hillier was the Identity Minister with responsibility for the scheme.
She serves as a Trustee
of the War Memorials Trust.
, London.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Labour Co-operative
Labour Co-operative
Labour and Co-operative describes those candidates in British elections standing on behalf of both the Labour Party and the Co-operative Party, based on a national agreement between the two parties....
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
who has been the Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for Hackney South and Shoreditch since 2005
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
, and was a junior Minister
Minister
Minister can mean several things:* Minister , a Christian who ministers in some way* Minister , the rank of diplomat directly below ambassador* Minister , a politician who heads a ministry...
in HM Government from 2007 to 2010. She was replaced by Caroline Flint
Caroline Flint
Caroline Louise Flint is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Don Valley since 1997. She served as the Minister of State for Housing and Planning in 2008, and later as the Minister for Europe until her resignation in 2009, citing the leadership of Gordon...
as Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change
Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change
The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change is a British government cabinet position currently held by Chris Huhne. The government department was created on 3 October 2008 when former Prime Minister Gordon Brown reshuffled his cabinet....
in Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
's reshuffle October, 2011.
Education
Hillier was educated at Portsmouth High School, an independent fee-paying school for girls, in the seaside resort of SouthseaSouthsea
Southsea is a seaside resort located in Portsmouth at the southern end of Portsea Island in the county of Hampshire in England. Southsea is within a mile of Portsmouth's city centre....
in the City of Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
in Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, followed by St Hilda's College
St Hilda's College, Oxford
St Hilda's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England.The college was founded in 1893 as a hall for women, and remained an all-women's college until 2006....
at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, where she read Philosophy, Politics and Economics and during her time there was elected Librarian of the Oxford Union Society. She was not prominently involved in the Oxford University Labour Club
Oxford University Labour Club
Oxford University Labour Club was founded in 1919 to provide a voice for Labour Party values and for socialism and social democracy at Oxford University, England...
.
Early career
Hillier worked as a journalistJournalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and was elected as a Councillor
Councillor
A councillor or councilor is a member of a local government council, such as a city council.Often in the United States, the title is councilman or councilwoman.-United Kingdom:...
in the London Borough of Islington
London Borough of Islington
The London Borough of Islington is a London borough in Inner London. It was formed in 1965 by merging the former metropolitan boroughs of Islington and Finsbury. The borough contains two Westminster parliamentary constituencies, Islington North and Islington South & Finsbury...
in 1994, serving as the Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Islington
Islington
Islington is a neighbourhood in Greater London, England and forms the central district of the London Borough of Islington. It is a district of Inner London, spanning from Islington High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy Upper Street...
in 1998, before standing down from the Council in 2002. She was elected as a founding Member of the London Assembly
London Assembly
The London Assembly is an elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds majority, to amend the mayor's annual budget. The assembly was established in 2000 and is headquartered at City Hall on the south...
for North East London
North East (London Assembly constituency)
North East is a constituency of the London Assembly. It is represented by Jennette Arnold who was directly elected at the 2004 London Assembly election after previously being elected by the Labour Party list in the 2000 London Assembly election....
at the first London Assembly election of 2000
London Assembly election, 2000
The first elections for members of the London Assembly were held on 4 May 2000, alongside the first mayoral election.The assembly elections used the Mixed member proportional representation, a form of Additional member system, with 14 directly elected constituencies and 11 London-wide top-up...
, she served on the Assembly until 2004, and became a board member of Transport for London
Transport for London
Transport for London is the local government body responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London in England. Its role is to implement the transport strategy and to manage transport services across London...
, a position she relinquished on her election to Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
.
Parliamentary career
In 2004 Hillier was selected as the Labour candidate to contest the Hackney South and Shoreditch through a controversial all-women shortlist. She was elected to the House of Commons at the 2005 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
following the retirement of the veteran Labour MP Brian Sedgemore
Brian Sedgemore
Brian Charles John Sedgemore is a former Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom; he was a Member of Parliament from 1974 until 1979, and from 1983 until 2005...
. During the election campaign Sedgemore resigned from the Labour Party and joined the Liberal Democrats in opposition to the attack on Iraq. Nonetheless, Hillier held the seat comfortably with a majority of 10,204. She made her maiden speech
Maiden speech
A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament.Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country...
on 24 May 2005, in which she noted that there were more men in the House of Commons today than there have ever been women MPs.
She served as member of the Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee for a year until she was became the Parliamentary Private Secretary
Parliamentary Private Secretary
A Parliamentary Private Secretary is a role given to a United Kingdom Member of Parliament by a senior minister in government or shadow minister to act as their contact for the House of Commons; this role is junior to that of Parliamentary Under-Secretary, which is a ministerial post, salaried by...
to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, is a Cabinet position heading the UK's Department for Communities and Local Government....
Ruth Kelly
Ruth Kelly
Ruth Maria Kelly is a British Labour Party politician of Irish descent who was the Member of Parliament for Bolton West from 1997 until she stood down in 2010...
in 2006. In June 2007 she was appointed a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
A Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State is the lowest of three tiers of government minister in the government of the United Kingdom, junior to both a Minister of State and a Secretary of State....
at the Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
. During maternity leave beginning in March 2009 her ministerial role was taken over by Shahid Malik
Shahid Malik
Shahid Rafique Malik is a British Labour Party politician who became the Member of Parliament for Dewsbury in 2005 after defeating Conservative Sayeeda Warsi, now Conservative Chair Baroness Warsi and remained so till 2010 when Conservative candidate Simon Reevell won Dewsbury...
.
In March 2008, Hillier voted with the Government in favour of nationwide Post Office closures, including 7 in the London Borough of Hackney
Hackney
-Places:* London Borough of Hackney, formed in 1965** Metropolitan Borough of Hackney, formed in 1900 and abolished in 1965** Hackney Central** Hackney Central , a political division of the Council** Hackney Central railway station** Hackney College...
of which her constituency forms a part.
In December 2009, while promoting the unpopular National Identity Card scheme in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, she had to admit that she had managed to forget her own, blaming the loss on the demands of looking after her baby. The incident was especially embarrassing as Hillier was the Identity Minister with responsibility for the scheme.
She serves as a Trustee
Trustee
Trustee is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, can refer to any person who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the benefit of another...
of the War Memorials Trust.
Personal life
Hillier married Joe Simpson in 1997 and they have three children. On 20 March 2009 she began a further period of maternity leave; and on 16 April gave birth to a baby girl. She resides in IslingtonIslington
Islington is a neighbourhood in Greater London, England and forms the central district of the London Borough of Islington. It is a district of Inner London, spanning from Islington High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy Upper Street...
, London.
External links
- Meg Hillier MP official website
- Debrett's People of Today