Michael David Wills, Baron Wills (born 20 May 1952) is a British politician and

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

who served as Minister of State for Justice from 2007 to 2010. A member of the Labour Party, he was

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 of ...

(MP) for Swindon North from

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

Early life

Wills was born in 1952 to Stephen Wills and his wife Elizabeth (''nee McKeowen''). He has a younger sister. He went to the independent

Haberdashers' Boys' School Haberdashers' Boys' School (also known as Haberdashers', Habs, or Habs Boys), until September 2021 known as Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School, is a public school for pupils age 4 to 18 in Elstree, Hertfordshire, England. The school is a m ...

Elstree Elstree is a large village in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire, England. It is about northwest of central London on the former A5 road, that follows the course of Watling Street. In 2011, its population was 5,110. It forms part of the ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

and studied at

Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refounded ...

, where he graduated with a double first in History ( BA). Following that, he joined the diplomatic service, gaining the highest mark in the entrance exam. He worked for

HM Diplomatic Service His Majesty's Diplomatic Service (HMDS) is the diplomatic service of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, dealing with foreign affairs and representing British interests overseas, as opposed to the Home Civil Service, which ...

from 1976 to 1980. He became a researcher for

London Weekend Television London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 unt ...

from 1980 to 1984, being a colleague of

Peter Mandelson Peter Benjamin Mandelson, Baron Mandelson (born 21 October 1953) is a British Labour Party politician who served as First Secretary of State from 2009 to 2010. He was President of the Board of Trade in 1998 and from 2008 to 2010. He is the ...

. From 1984 to 1997, he was a Director of Juniper Productions.

Political career

He was elected as the MP for Swindon North in 1997 and quickly joined the government, working in various capacities. He eventually left the government to campaign against the

Common Agricultural Policy The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is the agricultural policy of the European Union. It implements a system of agricultural subsidies and other programmes. It was introduced in 1962 and has since then undergone several changes to reduce the ...

. This campaign appears to have subsided. He was re-elected as an MP in 2001 and 2005. He has worked as an advisor and speechwriter to Gordon Brown. It was announced he would be appointed to the Privy Council in October 2008. On 14 September 2009, Wills announced his intention to stand down at the 2010 general election. In the

2010 Dissolution Honours The 2010 Dissolution Honours List was issued on 28 May 2010 at the advice of the outgoing Prime Minister, Gordon Brown. The list was gazetted on 15 June. Life Peerages Conservative * Timothy Eric Boswell - former Whip and Parliamentary secreta ...

, he was awarded a

life peerage In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages Ac ...

, which was created on 10 July 2010 with the title Baron Wills, ''of

North Swindon North Swindon is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Justin Tomlinson, a Conservative. History North Swindon was created in 1997 and has been a bellwether since then. However, during the 2010s, ...

, in the

County of Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

''.

Voting record

How Michael Wills voted on key issues since 2001:They Work For You
* Voted for introducing a smoking ban. * Voted for introducing ID cards. * Voted for introducing foundation hospitals. * Voted for introducing student top-up fees. * Voted for Labour's anti-terrorism laws. * Voted for the Iraq war. * Voted against investigating the Iraq war. * Voted for replacing

Trident A trident is a three- pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and historically as a polearm. The trident is the weapon of Poseidon, or Neptune, the God of the Sea in classical mythology. The trident may occasionally be held by other marine ...

. * Voted for the

hunting ban The Hunting Act 2004 (c 37) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which bans the hunting of most wild mammals (notably foxes, deer, hares and mink) with dogs in England and Wales, subject to some strictly limited exemptions; the A ...

. * Voted for equal gay rights.

Personal life

He married Jill Freeman on 19 January 1984 in

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

. They have three sons and two daughters.

Literary career

Michael Wills published two crime novels under the pen name David McKeowen (using his mother's birth name): * Grip (2005) * Trapped (2007)

References

External links

Guardian Unlimited Politics – Ask Aristotle: Michael Wills MP

TheyWorkForYou.com – Michael Wills MP

News items

Missing data discs in November 2007

Common Agricultural Policy in November 2004

Ask Michael Wills – Technology in Schools – May 2000

Video clips

YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wills, Michael 1952 births Living people People educated at Haberdashers' Boys' School Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1997–2001 UK MPs 2001–2005 UK MPs 2005–2010 Labour Party (UK) life peers Life peers created by Elizabeth II Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom