Susan Frances Maria Williams, Baroness Williams of Trafford (née McElroy; born 16 May 1967)''Baroness Williams of Trafford''
Profile at Democracy Live. Retrieved 8 February 2014. is a

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 i ...

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 ...

serving as the Chief Whip of the House of Lords and

Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms The Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms is a post in the Government of the United Kingdom that has been held by the Government Chief Whip in the House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the ...

. In March 2022 she was made a member of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

. She held the position of Minister of State for six years, thus she holds the record of being a mid-level minister for the longest time.

Education

Williams was educated at

La Sagesse School La Sagesse School was a 3–18, Catholic Church, Roman Catholic, Private schools in the United Kingdom, private school for Single-sex education, girls in Jesmond, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. It was established in 1906 and closed ...

, a Roman Catholic private school in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

, and

Huddersfield Polytechnic , mottoeng = Thus not for you alone , established = 1825 – Huddersfield Science and Mechanics' Institute1992 – university status , type = Public , endowment = £2.47 million (2015) , chancellor = George W. Buckley , vice_chancell ...

, where she gained a BSc Hons in Applied Nutrition.

Career

Early political career

She was a member of

Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council Trafford Council is the local authority of the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford in Greater Manchester, England. It is a metropolitan district council, one of ten in Greater Manchester and one of 36 in the metropolitan counties of England, and pr ...

from 1998 to 2011, representing

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester city centre, southwest of Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2011 Census, it had a population o ...

, and the council's leader from 2004 to 2009, leading a Conservative majority until she stepped down. She has also been a member of various public bodies in the North West region. As a parliamentary candidate, she first stood unsuccessfully for the safe Labour

Wythenshawe and Sale East Wythenshawe and Sale East is a parliamentary constituency in the city of Manchester and the borough of Trafford. It returns one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past ...

constituency in 2001, and for the Bolton West constituency in the 2010 general election, losing by 92 votes.

House of Lords and ministerial career

On 20 September 2013 she was created a

as Baroness Williams of Trafford, of

Hale Hale may refer to: Places Australia *Hale, Northern Territory, a locality *Hale River, in southeastern Northern Territory Canada *Hale, Ontario, in Algoma District United Kingdom * Hale, Cumbria, a hamlet near Beetham, Cumbria *Hale, Greater Man ...

in the county of

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...

. In April 2014, Williams succeeded

Earl Attlee Earl Attlee is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 16 December 1955 for Clement Attlee, the former Labour prime minister. At the same time he was made Viscount Prestwood, of Walthamstow in the County of Essex, which s ...

baroness-in-waiting Lords-in-waiting (male) or baronesses-in-waiting (female) are peers who hold office in the Royal Household of the sovereign of the United Kingdom. In the official Court Circular they are styled "Lord in Waiting" or "Baroness in Waiting" (without ...

(

government whip A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. This means ensuring that members of the party vote according to the party platform, rather than according to their own individual ideology o ...

). In 2015,

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 ...

appointed Williams to his second government as a

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (or just Parliamentary Secretary, particularly in departments not led by a Secretary of State) is the lowest of three tiers of government minister in the UK government, immediately junior to a Minister ...

for

Communities and Local Government The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), formerly the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for housing, communities, local government in ...

. On 28 May 2015 she introduced the Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill 2015–16 to the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

. Williams was appointed Minister for Countering Extremism, the Home Office representative in the

in the

First May ministry Theresa May formed the first May ministry in the United Kingdom on 13 July 2016, after having been invited by Elizabeth II, Queen Elizabeth II to form a new administration. Then the Home Secretary, May's appointment followed the resignation of ...

. She was appointed Minister of State for Equalities in January 2018 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 the

2020 British cabinet reshuffle Boris Johnson carried out the first significant reshuffle of his majority government on 13 February 2020. Following the December 2019 general election, there was considerable speculation that Johnson was planning a major reshuffle of the Cabine ...

, Williams was made Minister of State at the Home Office, and in March 2022 was made a member of the

, entitling her to the post-nominals PC for life. Following the resignation of

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 F ...

, and the appointment of

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 down ...

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern pr ...

, Williams was appointed as

Chief Whip of the Conservative Party The Chief Whip of the Conservative Party oversees the whipping system in the party, which is responsible for ensuring that Conservative MPs or members of the House of Lords attend and vote in parliament in the desired way of the party leadershi ...

in the

and

References

External links

Baroness Williams of Trafford
– www.parliament.uk {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Susan, Baroness Williams of Trafford 1967 births Living people Williams of Trafford Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II Williams of Trafford Alumni of the University of Huddersfield People from Altrincham People from Cork (city) Female interior ministers Irish emigrants to the United Kingdom British people of Irish descent Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom