British Liberal Democrat politician
Jennifer Nancy Willott
OBE
(born 29 May 1974)
[1]
is a British politician. She was the
Liberal Democrat
Member of Parliament for
Cardiff Central
from
2005
to
2015
.
[2]
Willott became a junior minister in the
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
and
Government Equalities Office
in December 2013, temporarily standing in for
Jo Swinson
while she was on
maternity leave
[ambiguous sentence]. She was the first woman and first Liberal Democrat to represent her seat. Willott was a councillor in the
London Borough of Merton
from 1998 to 2000.
Education
[
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]
Willott was born in
Wimbledon
, London. She was educated at
Uppingham School
, studied
Classics
at
St Mary's College
,
Durham University
, and attended the
London School of Economics
, obtaining an MSc in
Development Studies
.
Political career
[
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]
After university, Willott was chief researcher for
Lembit Opik
, Liberal Democrat MP for
Montgomeryshire
.
Willott's
2005 campaign
was closely linked to specific local and national issues and her support was widespread across all wards.
[
citation needed
]
In her
maiden speech
, Willott pledged to "make Cardiff proud" and celebrated the
cultural diversity
of her constituency. She declared her priorities in parliament would be
local health services
,
tuition
and
top-up fees
, and
council tax
.
[3]
She supported
Sir Menzies Campbell
in the
leadership election in 2006
, and was later appointed Shadow Minister for Youth Affairs, Whip, and
Deputy Chief Whip
.
In 2008 she was appointed as Shadow
Minister for Justice
and later Shadow
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
. In January 2009 she was appointed Shadow
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
.
[4]
In December 2010 she resigned her post as
parliamentary aide
to
Chris Huhne
shortly before a vote to increase tuition fees as recommended by the
Browne Review
, to keep her pledge to constituents that she would vote against any increase in fees.
[5]
In a
mini-reshuffle
of the
Coalition
Government on 3 February 2012 caused by
Huhne's prosecution
and subsequent resignation, Willott was appointed an
Assistant Whip
.
[6]
In May 2014 Willott complained about the hostile atmosphere of
Prime Minister's Questions
and the low number of female ministers. She called for
all-female shortlists
for MPs, something which was not Liberal Democrat party policy.
[7]
In 2014, she left the Government but was appointed to the
Privy Council
by
David Cameron
.
[8]
In 2015, she lost her seat in the House of Commons to the
Labour Party
's
Jo Stevens
.
Controversy
[
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]
Willott was subject to criticism from rival political parties and the media in the wake of the
expenses scandal
, as it emerged she claimed more in expenses and administration costs than any other Welsh MP. Her expenses and office costs were £57,000 in a year, including claims for a new flat and costs of moving offices in central Cardiff.
[9]
Willott also came under some pressure from political opponents over her support for the
bedroom tax
. A protest outside her Cardiff office about the issue led to her not going in to her office on that day.
[10]
After Parliament
[
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]
Willott works as The Director of Enterprise and Innovation at
St Mary’s University, Twickenham
.
[11]
She is also a member of
IPSAs
board.
[12]
She was appointed an
Officer of the Order of the British Empire
(OBE) in the
2018 Birthday Honours
, for political and public service.
[13]
Personal life
[
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]
Willott is married to Andrew Poole and they have two children;
[14]
the birth of her second child in February 2013 notably necessitated her absence from a vote on the
Marriage (Same-Sex Couples) Bill
.
[15]
References
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]
External links
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]