Theresa Villiers
Encyclopedia
Theresa Anne Villiers (born 5 March 1968) is a British Conservative Party
politician. She is the Member of Parliament
(MP) for Chipping Barnet
and the Minister of State for Transport
.
She was appointed as a Privy Counsellor
on 9 June 2010.
, Charles Pelham Villiers
and Henry Villiers
. She is also a distant relative of the actor James Villiers
.
Growing up in North London
, she was educated at the independent Francis Holland School
. Villiers gained a Bachelor of Laws
(LLB) degree with first class honours in 1990 from the University of Bristol
, and went on to obtain a Bachelor of Civil Law
(BCL) from Jesus College, Oxford
, in 1991. After graduating she worked as a barrister
and as a lecturer at King's College London
(1994–99).
(MEP) for the London constituency
in 1999, and was re-elected in 2004. She stood down after the 2005 general election
when she was elected as the Member of Parliament
for Chipping Barnet
.
As an MEP, her main interests were finance and financial services, the preservation of London's green belt
, Cyprus
, animal welfare and campaigning against the Euro
and the European Constitution. She served as Deputy Leader of the Conservatives in the European Parliament between 2001 and 2002. She also served as a member of the governing board of the Conservative Party during this period.
announcement that he would retire at the following election, Villiers was selected as the Conservative parliamentary candidate for Chipping Barnet
. Although Chapman's majority at the 2001 general election
was only 2,701 Chipping Barnet was considered a "safe" Conservative seat, and in the 2005 general election
she held the seat with an increased majority of 5,960. She resigned her seat as an MEP, which under the list system was filled by the next candidate on the Conservatives' London regional list, Syed Kamall
. She lives in the constituency, in Arkley
.
as Conservative leader, Villiers was promoted to the Shadow Cabinet
after just seven months in Parliament, as Shadow
Chief Secretary to the Treasury
. In July 2007, Cameron promoted her to Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
.
. In 2007-08 she claimed a total of £18,181 in parliamentary allowances for this second London home.
She also has a house in Arkley
in her north London constituency of Chipping Barnet. The house, a semi-detached property that she bought for £296,500 in May 2004, is an 8 minute drive away from High Barnet tube station
, from which commuters can reach Westminster
in about 45 minutes.
by the Adjudication Panel for England
, who examined the case after a complaint from the Board of Deputies of British Jews
to the Standards Board for England
.
Since late September 2008, Villiers has dedicated a considerable proportion of her public announcements to aviation policy, specifically the expansion of airports in the South East of England. There has been considerable debate within Conservative Party grassroots membership about her policies. Many commentators have defended her policies as environmentalist and politically expedient (given the high number of marginal constituencies around London Heathrow Airport
), while others have criticised her for putting businesses and even family holidays at risk by undermining Heathrow as a major international hub airport and intentionally supporting higher costs for flights. Criticism of Villiers's aviation policy was heightened when she spoke out against the Mayor of London
's proposals for a new London airport based in the Thames Estuary
, and alternative expansions at Gatwick and Stansted
airports, favouring a high speed rail link from London to Leeds
as an alternative policy.
Video clips
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
politician. She is 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 Chipping Barnet
Chipping Barnet (UK Parliament constituency)
- Elections in the 2000s:- References :...
and the Minister of State for Transport
Minister of State for Transport
The Minister of State for Transport is a junior ministerial position in the Department for Transport of the Government of the United Kingdom. The current Minister of State for Transport is Theresa Villiers MP.-Ministers of State for Transport:-References:...
.
She was appointed as a Privy Counsellor
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
on 9 June 2010.
Early life
Villiers was born in London in 1968, the daughter of George Edward Villiers and Anne Virginia (née Threlfall). On her father's side she is a descendant of the Honourable Edward Ernest Villiers (1806–1843), brother of George Villiers, 4th Earl of ClarendonGeorge Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon
George William Frederick Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon KG, GCB, PC , was an English diplomat and statesman.-Background and education:...
, Charles Pelham Villiers
Charles Pelham Villiers
Charles Pelham Villiers was a British lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1835 to 1898, making him the longest-serving Member of Parliament .-Background and education:...
and Henry Villiers
Henry Villiers
Henry Montagu Villiers was a British clergyman of the Church of England.-Life:He was educated at Christ Church, Oxford, graduating M.A. in 1837, and became vicar of Kenilworth in that year rector of St. George's Church, Bloomsbury in 1841...
. She is also a distant relative of the actor James Villiers
James Villiers
James Michael Hyde Villiers was a British character actor and a familiar face on British television...
.
Growing up in North London
North London
North London is the northern part of London, England. It is an imprecise description and the area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes. Common to these definitions is that it includes districts located north of the River Thames and is used in comparison with South...
, she was educated at the independent Francis Holland School
Francis Holland School
Francis Holland School is the name of two independent day schools for girls in central London governed by the Francis Holland Schools Trust...
. Villiers gained a Bachelor of Laws
Bachelor of Laws
The Bachelor of Laws is an undergraduate, or bachelor, degree in law originating in England and offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree...
(LLB) degree with first class honours in 1990 from the University of Bristol
University of Bristol
The University of Bristol is a public research university located in Bristol, United Kingdom. One of the so-called "red brick" universities, it received its Royal Charter in 1909, although its predecessor institution, University College, Bristol, had been in existence since 1876.The University is...
, and went on to obtain a Bachelor of Civil Law
Bachelor of Civil Law
Bachelor of Civil Law is the name of various degrees in law conferred by English-language universities. Historically, it originated as a postgraduate degree in the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, but many universities now offer the BCL as an undergraduate degree...
(BCL) from Jesus College, Oxford
Jesus College, Oxford
Jesus College is one of the colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship Street, Cornmarket Street and Market Street...
, in 1991. After graduating she worked as a barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
and as a lecturer at King's College London
King's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
(1994–99).
Member of the European Parliament
She was elected Member of the European ParliamentMember of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
(MEP) for the London constituency
London (European Parliament constituency)
London is a constituency of the European Parliament. It currently elects 8 MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation.- Boundaries :The constituency corresponds to Greater London, in the south east of the United Kingdom....
in 1999, and was re-elected in 2004. She stood down after the 2005 general election
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....
when she was elected as 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,...
for Chipping Barnet
Chipping Barnet (UK Parliament constituency)
- Elections in the 2000s:- References :...
.
As an MEP, her main interests were finance and financial services, the preservation of London's green belt
Green belt
A green belt or greenbelt is a policy and land use designation used in land use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighbouring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or green wedges which have a linear character and may run through an...
, Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, animal welfare and campaigning against the Euro
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
and the European Constitution. She served as Deputy Leader of the Conservatives in the European Parliament between 2001 and 2002. She also served as a member of the governing board of the Conservative Party during this period.
Member of Parliament
In 2003, following Sir Sydney Chapman'sSydney Chapman
Sydney Chapman may refer to:*Sir Sydney Chapman , , British economist and civil servant*Sydney Chapman FRS , British mathematician...
announcement that he would retire at the following election, Villiers was selected as the Conservative parliamentary candidate for Chipping Barnet
Chipping Barnet (UK Parliament constituency)
- Elections in the 2000s:- References :...
. Although Chapman's majority at the 2001 general election
United Kingdom general election, 2001
The United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats...
was only 2,701 Chipping Barnet was considered a "safe" Conservative seat, and in the 2005 general election
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....
she held the seat with an increased majority of 5,960. She resigned her seat as an MEP, which under the list system was filled by the next candidate on the Conservatives' London regional list, Syed Kamall
Syed Kamall
Dr Syed Salah Kamall is a British Conservative Party politician, Member of the European Parliament for London.Kamall was born and brought up in London. He is married with two children. He was educated at The Latymer School, Edmonton...
. She lives in the constituency, in Arkley
Arkley
Arkley is a village in the London Borough of Barnet. It is located north north-west of Charing Cross, and at above sea level is one of the highest points in London....
.
Shadow Cabinet
In December 2005, following the election of David CameronDavid Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
as Conservative leader, Villiers was promoted to the Shadow Cabinet
Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (UK)
The Official Loyal Opposition Shadow Cabinet are, in British parliamentary practice, senior members of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition who scrutinise their corresponding office holders in the Government, develop alternative policies, and hold the Government to account for its actions and responses...
after just seven months in Parliament, as Shadow
Shadow Cabinet
The Shadow Cabinet is a senior group of opposition spokespeople in the Westminster system of government who together under the leadership of the Leader of the Opposition form an alternative cabinet to the government's, whose members shadow or mark each individual member of the government...
Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Chief Secretary to the Treasury is the third most senior ministerial position in HM Treasury, after the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer . In recent years, the office holder has usually been given a junior position in the British Cabinet...
. In July 2007, Cameron promoted her to Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
Secretary of State for Transport
The Secretary of State for Transport is the member of the cabinet responsible for the British Department for Transport. The role has had a high turnover as new appointments are blamed for the failures of decades of their predecessors...
.
MPs' Expenses: Second London home
The Daily Telegraph reported on 11 May 2009 that Theresa Villiers bought a £345,000 property in KenningtonKennington
Kennington is a district of South London, England, mainly within the London Borough of Lambeth, although part of the area is within the London Borough of Southwark....
. In 2007-08 she claimed a total of £18,181 in parliamentary allowances for this second London home.
She also has a house in Arkley
Arkley
Arkley is a village in the London Borough of Barnet. It is located north north-west of Charing Cross, and at above sea level is one of the highest points in London....
in her north London constituency of Chipping Barnet. The house, a semi-detached property that she bought for £296,500 in May 2004, is an 8 minute drive away from High Barnet tube station
High Barnet tube station
High Barnet tube station is a London Underground station located in High Barnet in North London. The station is the terminus of the High Barnet branch of the Northern line and is in Travelcard Zone 5. It is the northernmost station on the Northern line and is situated 10.2 miles north north-west...
, from which commuters can reach Westminster
Westminster
Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...
in about 45 minutes.
Political positions
Villiers supported the temporary suspension of Ken LivingstoneKen Livingstone
Kenneth Robert "Ken" Livingstone is an English politician who is currently a member of the centrist to centre-left Labour Party...
by the Adjudication Panel for England
Adjudication Panel for England
The Adjudication Panel for England was an independent judicial tribunal set up under the Local Government Act 2000. It was a Non-departmental public body which ruled on complaints referred to it by the Standards Board for England regarding alleged breaches of English local authorities' codes of...
, who examined the case after a complaint from the Board of Deputies of British Jews
Board of Deputies of British Jews
The Board of Deputies of British Jews is the main representative body of British Jews. Founded in 1760 as a joint committee of the Sephardi and Ashkenazi Jewish communities in London, it has since become a widely recognised forum for the views of the different sectors of the UK Jewish...
to the Standards Board for England
Standards Board for England
Standards for England, formerly known as the Standards Board for England, is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Communities and Local Government. Established following the Local Government Act 2000, it is responsible for promoting high ethical standards in local democracy...
.
Since late September 2008, Villiers has dedicated a considerable proportion of her public announcements to aviation policy, specifically the expansion of airports in the South East of England. There has been considerable debate within Conservative Party grassroots membership about her policies. Many commentators have defended her policies as environmentalist and politically expedient (given the high number of marginal constituencies around London Heathrow Airport
London Heathrow Airport
London Heathrow Airport or Heathrow , in the London Borough of Hillingdon, is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom and the third busiest airport in the world in terms of total passenger traffic, handling more international passengers than any other airport around the globe...
), while others have criticised her for putting businesses and even family holidays at risk by undermining Heathrow as a major international hub airport and intentionally supporting higher costs for flights. Criticism of Villiers's aviation policy was heightened when she spoke out against the Mayor of London
Mayor of London
The Mayor of London is an elected politician who, along with the London Assembly of 25 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Greater London. Conservative Boris Johnson has held the position since 4 May 2008...
's proposals for a new London airport based in the Thames Estuary
Thames Estuary
The Thames Mouth is the estuary in which the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea.It is not easy to define the limits of the estuary, although physically the head of Sea Reach, near Canvey Island on the Essex shore is probably the western boundary...
, and alternative expansions at Gatwick and Stansted
Stansted
Stansted usually refers to London Stansted Airport.Stansted may also refer to other places in England:*Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex*Stansted, Hampshire*Stansted, Kent*Stansted Park, West Sussex...
airports, favouring a high speed rail link from London to Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
as an alternative policy.
Personal life
Villiers married fellow lawyer Sean Wilken in 1997, and the couple wrote an academic legal book. They have since divorced.Quotations
- "The European Union has been one of the greatest offenders in excluding developing countries from participating in European markets. There is simply no way that impoverished African farmers can compete with the subsidies given to farmers under the Common Agricultural Policy"
- "The (European) Constitution is designed to create a country called Europe and give ever more power to Brussels at the expense of nationally elected governments. I think that's bad for democracy, bad for Britain and bad for Europe"
External links
- Theresa Villiers MP official constituency website
Video clips