British Labour politician
Anthony James "Tony" McNulty
(born 3 November 1958) is a British politician who was the
Labour
Member of Parliament (MP) for
Harrow East
from
1997
to
2010
. During his ministerial career, which began in 2003, he was
Minister for London
and later
Minister of State for Employment and Welfare Reform
at the
Department for Work and Pensions
. He resigned his position on 5 June 2009 after allegations in the press regarding his expenses.
Background, education and early political career
[
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His father migrated to England from
County Donegal
, Ireland.
[1]
McNulty was educated at the
Salvatorian College, Wealdstone
and at
Stanmore Sixth Form College
. He graduated from the
University of Liverpool
with a
BA
in Political Theory and Institutions and an
MA
in Political Science from
Virginia Tech
in the United States.
[2]
Before becoming an MP, he was leader of the Labour group on Harrow council and a senior lecturer in
Organisational Behaviour
, at the
University of North London
from 1983?97. In 1986, he was elected to Harrow Council for Stanmore South ward.
[3]
Parliamentary career
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]
McNulty was an unsuccessful Labour candidate for
Harrow East
in the
1992 general election
, but was elected as the constituency's MP in the
May 1997 general election
. He served as a Whip from 1999 to 2002, following a period as Parliamentary Private Secretary to
David Blunkett
. McNulty was then appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister with responsibility for neighbourhood renewal, housing and planning. He was moved to the
Department for Transport
in June 2003 as Parliamentary Under Secretary with responsibility for aviation, local transport, and London, and was promoted to Minister of State with responsibility for Rail and London in September 2004.
[4]
[5]
McNulty moved to the
Home Office
on 9 May 2005 as Minister of State for Immigration, following the
general election
reshuffle. In May 2006 his
Home Office
portfolio changed to responsibility over the policing and crime, security and counter-terrorism.
[6]
In July 2007, he became a
Privy Councillor
. In
Gordon Brown
's reshuffle on 3 October 2008, McNulty moved to become
Minister of State
for Employment and Welfare Reform at the
Department for Work and Pensions
and
Minister for London
, and was permitted to attend cabinet meetings until his resignation on 5 June 2009. During his period as Minister, McNulty was concerned with benefit fraud suggesting that "we are absolutely determined to stop benefit thieves stealing from the British taxpayer. Our commitment extends beyond the borders of the UK. Even in sunny Spain, we're closing in on benefit fraud".
[7]
MPs' expenses controversy
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In 2009, McNulty was one of many MPs who were involved in a political scandal following the
disclosure of expenses of Members of the United Kingdom Parliament
. In March 2009, he admitted claiming expenses on a second home, occupied by his parents, which was 8 miles away from his primary residence, after details appeared in
The Mail on Sunday
.
[8]
McNulty said that the claim was appropriate, but he ceased claiming the allowances.
[
citation needed
]
He was asked to apologise to the House of Commons and repay £13,837,
[9]
which he did.
[10]
In an article headlined "Tony McNulty, Benefit Cheat",
Alex Massie
in a blog for
The Spectator
contrasted the statements made by McNulty regarding benefit cheats with his own claims for expenses.
[11]
On 18 May 2007, McNulty was one of the 98 MPs who voted in favour of exempting parliamentarians from the application of the
Freedom of Information Act 2000
.
[12]
On 5 June 2009, after the revelations in the expenses scandal, McNulty resigned from the government.
[13]
At the
2010 general election
, McNulty lost to
Bob Blackman
of the
Conservative Party
.
[10]
Personal life
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]
In September 2002, McNulty married
Christine Gilbert
,
Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools for Ofsted
, in Hammersmith and Fulham. Gilbert was headmistress of
Whitmore High School
for eight years, starting when she was 32. It was the second marriage for both. McNulty had first married in 1994 to Gillian Travers, who later stood as a Labour candidate for
Ruislip-Northwood
in 2001.
[
citation needed
]
In the 1980s McNulty played rugby union for Watford RFC, as did his brother Richard (Dickie).
References
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]
External links
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Cabinet members
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Also attended meetings
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Attended while on agenda
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Minister of State for Asylum and Immigration
1999?2002
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Minister of State for Immigration, Citizenship and Counter-Terrorism
2002?2005
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Minister of State for Immigration, Citizenship and Nationality
2005?2006
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Minister of State for Borders and Immigration
2006?2010
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Minister of State for Immigration
2010?2023
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Minister of State for Legal Migration and Delivery
2023?present
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