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Helen Olivia Bicknell Whately (''
née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
'' Lightwood; born 23 June 1976) is a British politician serving as Minister of State for Social Care since October 2022, and previously from 2020 to 2021. She also served as
Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury is a junior ministerial post in His Majesty's Treasury, ranked below the First Lord of the Treasury, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the Paymaster General and the Fina ...
from 2021 to 2022. A member of the
Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...
, she has been
Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
(MP) for Faversham and Mid Kent since 2015. Whately was appointed
Deputy Chair of the Conservative Party The chairman of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom is responsible for party administration and overseeing the Conservative Campaign Headquarters, formerly Conservative Central Office. When the Conservatives are in government, the offic ...
by
Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Lady May (; née Brasier; born 1 October 1956) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served in David Cameron's cab ...
in 2019, and was retained in the position by new Prime Minister
Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as ...
. She served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Arts, Heritage and Tourism from September 2019 to February 2020. In the 2020 cabinet reshuffle, Johnson moved her to the post of Minister of State for Social Care. Whately was the Social Care Minister during the
COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom The COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom is a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In the United Kingdom, it has resulted in confirm ...
. In the 2021 cabinet reshuffle, Johnson moved her to the post of Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, serving under Chancellor
Rishi Sunak Rishi Sunak (; born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party since October 2022. He previously held two cabinet positions under Boris Johnson, lastly as ...
. In July 2022, she resigned from the position in protest at Johnson's leadership amid a
government crisis A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
. She served on the backbenches during
Liz Truss Mary Elizabeth Truss (born 26 July 1975) is a British politician who briefly served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from September to October 2022. On her fiftieth day in office, she stepped dow ...
's tenure as Prime Minister, before returning to her former role of Social Care Minister in October 2022 under Sunak.


Early life and career

Helen Olivia Bicknell Lightwood was born in
Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the Episcopal see, See of ...
on 23 June 1976, and grew up near Redhill,
Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...
. Her father was a surgeon and her mother a physician. She was educated at
Woldingham School Woldingham School is an independent school for girls, located in the former Marden Park of outside the village of Woldingham, Surrey, in South East England. It is a Roman Catholic school and a member of the global Network of Sacred Heart Schoo ...
, Surrey, a day and boarding school for girls aged 11–18, before entering the
sixth form In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for ...
at the
independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...
Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...
in London. During her school years she undertook work experience in hospitals, with the intention of following her parents into a medical career, but Whately commented in her maiden speech as MP that it instead incentivised her to pursue a career in which she could improve healthcare as a whole. After leaving school, she taught English in rural
Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...
for a year. Lightwood read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at
Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford Lady Margaret Hall (LMH) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, located on the banks of the River Cherwell at Norham Gardens in north Oxford and adjacent to the University Parks. The college is more form ...
, and was a member of debating society the
Oxford Union The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford England, whose membership is drawn primarily from the University of Oxford. Founded in 1823, it is one of Britain's oldest ...
, but she did not have any interest in student politics, later saying that she felt that it "did not seem to be about getting stuff done". After university, she worked at
PricewaterhouseCoopers PricewaterhouseCoopers is an international professional services brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounti ...
for two years as a management consultant trainee, before working at
AOL AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by the current incarnation of Yahoo! Inc. ...
, where she was involved in setting up its internet film service. After this she worked as a media policy advisor for the then shadow secretary of state for culture, media and sport and
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
MP
Hugo Swire Hugo George William Swire, Baron Swire, (born 30 November 1959) is a British politician. He served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for East Devon from 2001 until 2019. A member of the Conservative Party, he has had several ministerial roles, ...
. This experience inspired her to pursue a political career. In 2008, British society magazine ''
Tatler ''Tatler'' is a British magazine published by Condé Nast Publications focusing on fashion and lifestyle, as well as coverage of high society and politics. It is targeted towards the British upper-middle class and upper class, and those interes ...
'' selected Whately as one of ten young rising stars of the Conservative Party and tipped her as a future health secretary. She unsuccessfully contested the 2010 general election in the Kingston and Surbiton constituency for the Conservative Party, losing to the incumbent
Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology. Active parties Former parties See also *Liberal democracy *Lib ...
MP
Ed Davey Sir Edward Jonathan Davey (born 25 December 1965) is a British politician who has served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats since 2020. He served in the Cameron–Clegg coalition as Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change from 201 ...
by 7,560 votes (13.3%). From 2007 to 2015, Whately worked as an engagement manager for the management consultancy firm
McKinsey & Company McKinsey & Company is a global management consulting firm founded in 1926 by University of Chicago professor James O. McKinsey, that offers professional services to corporations, governments, and other organizations. McKinsey is the oldest and ...
in its healthcare division.


Parliamentary career

Whately was selected by the
Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...
in February 2015 to contest the Faversham and Mid Kent seat in an
all-women shortlist All-women shortlists (AWS) is an affirmative action practice intended to increase the proportion of female Members of Parliament (MPs) in the United Kingdom, allowing only women to stand in particular constituencies for a particular political p ...
. The constituency's previous Conservative MP Hugh Robertson had chosen in January not to seek re-election. She had also made the shortlist for the Wealden, North East Hampshire,
South Cambridgeshire South Cambridgeshire is a local government district of Cambridgeshire, England, with a population of 162,119 at the 2021 census. It was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of Chesterton Rural District and South Cambridgeshire Rural District. ...
,
Bury St Edmunds Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as Bury, is a historic market, cathedral town and civil parish in Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton ...
and
Banbury Banbury is a historic market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. It had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area of north Oxfordshir ...
constituencies. She was elected as MP for Faversham and Mid Kent at the 2015 general election with 24,895 votes (54%) and a majority of 16,652 (36.4%). The constituency is considered as a
safe seat A safe seat is an electoral district (constituency) in a legislative body (e.g. Congress, Parliament, City Council) which is regarded as fully secure, for either a certain political party, or the incumbent representative personally or a combina ...
, and has been represented by Conservative MPs since its creation in 1997. Whately's maiden speech on 2 June focused on the
National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...
. In July, she was chosen to sit on the Commons Health Select Committee. In December, she voted to support Prime Minister
David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...
's plans to carry out airstrikes against
ISIL An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...
targets in Syria. Whately supported the United Kingdom remaining in the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
in the 2016 membership referendum. She stated her reason for this was that British membership of the EU meant greater economic growth, security, standards of living for British people, and British influence in international affairs. In July 2016, Whately was appointed as the
parliamentary private secretary A Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) is a Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom who acts as an unpaid assistant to a minister or shadow minister. They are selected from backbench MPs as the 'eyes and ears' of the minister in the ...
(PPS) to the international trade minister
Greg Hands Gregory William Hands (born 14 November 1965) is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Chelsea and Fulham, previously Hammersmith and Fulham, since 2005. A member of the Conservative Party, he has served as ...
. In October, she was selected as the chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Mental Health and the APPG for Fruit and Vegetable Farmers. In February 2017, she voted to support the government's motion for the invoking of Article 50 to formally start the process of the UK's withdrawal from the EU. Whately, a "Remain" supporter, explained her decision as honouring the result of the referendum. Whately held her seat at the 2017 general election, with 30,390 (61.1%) votes and an increased majority of 17,413 (35%). Following the election she became the PPS to the
secretary of state for education The secretary of state for education, also referred to as the education secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the work of the Department for Education. The incumbent is a member of the C ...
and
minister for women and equalities The minister for women and equalities is a ministerial position in the United Kingdom which leads the Government Equalities Office. This is an independent department within the wider Cabinet Office that has responsibility for addressing all form ...
,
Justine Greening Justine Greening (born 30 April 1969) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Education from 2016 to 2018. Prior to that, she served as Economic Secretary to the Treasury from 2010 to 2011, Secretary of State for Transpor ...
. She also became the chair of the APPG for Health, and Personalised Medicine and continued to be chair of the APPG for Mental Health, and Fruit and Vegetable Farmers. In July 2017, Whately was criticised for accepting several thousand pounds' worth of hospitality from the Saudi Arabian government before going on to defend its record in a parliamentary debate. The debate followed an urgent question by Liberal Democrat MP
Tom Brake Thomas Anthony Brake (born 6 May 1962) is a British Liberal Democrat politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Carshalton and Wallington in London from 1997 to 2019. He was appointed Director of the cross party pressure group Unloc ...
over fears of the imminent execution of 14 men for protest-related offences, including a number who were children at the time of their alleged offences. Whately had urged parliamentarians to "appreciate that the government of Saudi Arabia are taking to steps to improve their actions on human rights", but was criticised by an opposition Labour Party MP as a "serial apologist for the regime". In January 2018, she was appointed as PPS to
Brandon Lewis Brandon Kenneth Lewis (born 20 June 1971) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor from September to October 2022. He previously served as Chairman of the Conservative Party from 2018 to 2019 and ...
, the
minister without portfolio A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet ...
and Conservative Party chair. Later in the year, she became Vice Chair of the Conservative Party for Women, after
Maria Caulfield Maria Colette Caulfield (born 6 August 1973) is a British politician and nurse serving as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Mental Health and Women’s Health Strategy and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Women since Octobe ...
stood down in protest at the Government's approach to Brexit. In 2019, Whately voted for the then prime minister Theresa May's Brexit withdrawal agreement. She also stated her opposition to a referendum on any Brexit withdrawal agreement. On 17 April, Whately was promoted to Deputy Chair of the Conservative Party. On 10 September, she was appointed as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Arts, Heritage and Tourism by Prime Minister
Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as ...
. At the December general election, she was re-elected with an increased majority of 21,976 (43.6%). In February 2020, Whatley joined the
Department for Health and Social Care The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for government policy on health and adult social care matters in England, along with a few elements of the same matters which are not otherwis ...
as the minister of state for social care. Whately was appointed
Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury is a junior ministerial post in His Majesty's Treasury, ranked below the First Lord of the Treasury, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the Paymaster General and the Fina ...
in the 2021 cabinet reshuffle. She resigned on the morning of 7 July 2022 as part of a series of mass resignations against Prime Minister Boris Johnson.


Campaigns

Whately campaigned with the
Kent County Council Kent County Council is a county council that governs most of the county of Kent in England. It is the upper tier of elected local government, below which are 12 district councils, and around 300 town and parish councils. The county council h ...
for two new schools to be opened in
Maidstone Maidstone is the largest town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, linking it wi ...
, Kent, to relieve pressure on primary school places, as well as offering more places for children with
special needs In clinical diagnostic and functional development, special needs (or additional needs) refers to individuals who require assistance for disabilities that may be medical, mental, or psychological. Guidelines for clinical diagnosis are given in b ...
. This resulted in the opening of Maidstone Primary Academy and the secondary
special school Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...
, Bearsted Academy. She campaigned against Maidstone's Local Plan (a policy document that defines the framework for development in the area until 2031) as she felt that it did not have enough funding for improvements in infrastructure and roads and could damage local landmarks such as
Leeds Castle Leeds Castle is a castle in Kent, England, southeast of Maidstone. It is built on islands in a lake formed by the River Len to the east of the village of Leeds. A castle has existed on the site since 857. In the 13th century, it came into th ...
. Both Whately and Maidstone and The Weald MP Helen Grant wrote to the then
secretary of state for communities and local government The secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities, also referred to as the levelling up secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the overall leadership and strategic direction ...
Sajid Javid Sajid Javid (; born 5 December 1969) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care from June 2021 to July 2022, having previously served as Home Secretary from 2018 to 2019 and Chancellor of the Exchequer ...
in September 2017 to intervene in the matter, but he declined as he felt that it was a decision that should be made locally. Maidstone Borough Council formally adopted the Local Plan in October.


Personal life

Whately lives in London and in a village near Faversham. She has been married to Marcus Whately (whom she met at the
University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...
) since 2005, who is the founder and co-chief executive officer of an energy company. They have three children. She has one older brother. Since 2015, she has been a vice-president of the
Maidstone Maidstone is the largest town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, linking it wi ...
branch of the learning disability charity
Mencap The Royal Mencap Society is a charity based in the United Kingdom that works with people with a learning disability. Its Charity Number is 222377. History Established by Judy Fryd in 1946 as The National Association of Parents of Backwards Ch ...
. As a horse rider she was a member of the British Junior Eventing Squad, and at university she was captain of the riding team and won two half-
blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the ...
.


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Whately, Helen 1976 births Living people Alumni of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford People educated at Westminster School, London Politicians from Norwich People from Redhill, Surrey People from Faversham Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs 2017–2019 UK MPs 2019–present 21st-century British women politicians 21st-century English women 21st-century English people