Theresa Villiers

The Right Honourable Theresa Villiers MP
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Incumbent
Assumed office 4 September 2012
Prime Minister	David Cameron
Preceded by	Owen Paterson
Minister of State for Transport
In office 13 May 2010 – 4 September 2012
Prime Minister	David Cameron
Preceded by	Sadiq Khan
Succeeded by	Simon Burns
Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
In office 2 July 2007 – 11 May 2010
Leader	David Cameron
Preceded by	Chris Grayling
Succeeded by	The Lord Adonis
Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
In office 6 December 2005 – 2 July 2007
Leader	David Cameron
Preceded by	Philip Hammond
Succeeded by	Philip Hammond
Member of Parliament for Chipping Barnet
Incumbent
Assumed office 5 May 2005
Preceded by	Sir Sydney Chapman
Majority	11,927 (23.6%)
Member of the European Parliament for London
In office 15 July 1999 – 5 May 2005
Preceded by	Constituency Created
Succeeded by	Syed Kamall
Personal details
Born	(1968-03-05) 5 March 1968 London, England
Nationality	British
Political party	Conservative
Alma mater	University of Bristol Jesus College, Oxford
Profession	Barrister
Website	Theresa Villiers MP

Theresa Anne Villiers (born 5 March 1968) is a British Conservative Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Chipping Barnet since 2005 and the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland since 2012.

Early life

Villiers was born in London in 1968, the daughter of George Edward Villiers and Anne Virginia (née Threlfall). On her father's side she is a descendant of the Honourable Edward Ernest Villiers (1806–1843), brother of George Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon, Thomas Hyde Villiers, Charles Pelham Villiers and Henry Villiers. She is also a distant relative of the actor James Villiers.

Growing up in North London, she was educated at the independent Francis Holland School. Villiers gained a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree with first class honours in 1990 from the University of Bristol, and went on to obtain a Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL) from Jesus College, Oxford, in 1991. After graduating she worked as a barrister and as a lecturer at King's College London (1994–99).

Member of the European Parliament

Villiers was elected Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the London constituency in 1999, and was re-elected in 2004. She stood down after the 2005 general election when she was elected as the Member of Parliament for Chipping Barnet.

As an MEP, her main interests were finance and financial services, the preservation of London's green belt, Cyprus, animal welfare and campaigning against the Euro and the European Constitution. She served as Deputy Leader of the Conservatives in the European Parliament between 2001 and 2002. She also served as a member of the governing board of the Conservative Party during this period.

“	Now is a crucial time for the talks and it is important that everyone who is a friend of Cyprus makes their support clear in the push for a just, lasting and balanced settlement in Cyprus which will see the whole island united again with a single sovereignty, a single international personality and a single citizenship.	”
—Theresa Villiers at Conservative Party Conference on Cyprus.

Member of Parliament

In 2003, following Sir Sydney Chapman's announcement that he would retire at the following election, Villiers was selected as the Conservative parliamentary candidate for Chipping Barnet. Although Chapman's majority at the 2001 general election was only 2,701 Chipping Barnet was considered a "safe" Conservative seat, and in the 2005 general election she held the seat with an increased majority of 5,960. She resigned her seat as an MEP, which under the list system was filled by the next candidate on the Conservatives' London regional list, Syed Kamall. She lives in the constituency, in Arkley.

She was appointed as a Privy Counsellor on 9 June 2010.

Shadow Cabinet

In December 2005, following the election of David Cameron as Conservative leader, Villiers was promoted to the Shadow Cabinet after just seven months in Parliament, as Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury. In July 2007, Cameron promoted her to Shadow Secretary of State for Transport.^{[citation needed]}

MPs' Expenses: Second London home

The Daily Telegraph reported on 11 May 2009 that Theresa Villiers bought a £345,000 property in Kennington. In 2007-08 she claimed a total of £18,181 in parliamentary allowances for this second London home.

She also has a house in Arkley in her north London constituency of Chipping Barnet. The house, a semi-detached property that she bought for £296,500 in May 2004, is an 8 minute drive away from High Barnet tube station, from which commuters can reach Westminster in about 45 minutes.

Political positions

Villiers supported the temporary suspension of Ken Livingstone by the Adjudication Panel for England, who examined the case after a complaint from the Board of Deputies of British Jews to the Standards Board for England.

Since late September 2008, Villiers has dedicated a considerable proportion of her public announcements to aviation policy, specifically the expansion of airports in the South East of England. There has been considerable debate within Conservative Party grassroots membership about her policies. Many commentators have defended her policies as environmentalist and politically expedient (given the high number of marginal constituencies around London Heathrow Airport), while others have criticised her for putting businesses and even family holidays at risk by undermining Heathrow as a major international hub airport and intentionally supporting higher costs for flights.

Criticism of Villiers's aviation policy was heightened when she spoke out against the Mayor of London's proposals for a new London airport based in the Thames Estuary, and alternative expansions at Gatwick and Stansted airports. Villiers favoured a high speed rail link from London to Birmingham and Manchester as an alternative policy, as well as utilising spare capacity at regional airports such as Manchester Airport to create more airport capacity in South East England.

Northern Ireland Secretary

Villiers was appointed Northern Ireland Secretary in September 2012 but will continue to spend three days a week in her North London constituency of Chipping Barnet.

Personal life

Villiers married fellow lawyer Sean Wilken in 1997, and the couple wrote an academic legal book. They have since divorced.

Quotations

• "The European Union has been one of the greatest offenders in excluding developing countries from participating in European markets. There is simply no way that impoverished African farmers can compete with the subsidies given to farmers under the Common Agricultural Policy"
• "The (European) Constitution is designed to create a country called Europe and give ever more power to Brussels at the expense of nationally elected governments. I think that's bad for democracy, bad for Britain and bad for Europe"

Publications

• Theresa Villiers & Sean Wilken (29 April 1998). Law of Estoppel, Variation and Waiver. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0-471-96921-4. 

External links

• Official website
• Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Contributions in Parliament at Hansard 1803–2005
• Current session contributions in Parliament at Hansard
• Electoral history and profile at The Guardian
• Voting record at PublicWhip.org
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou.com
• Profile at Westminster Parliamentary Record
• Profile at BBC News Democracy Live
• Articles authored at Journalisted
• Theresa Villiers at the Internet Movie Database
• Question Time February 2006 BBC (RealPlayer)

European Parliament
Preceded by Constituency Created	Member of European Parliament for London 1999–2005	Succeeded by Syed Kamall
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Sir Sydney Chapman	Member of Parliament for Chipping Barnet 2005–present	Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Philip Hammond	Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury 2005–2007	Succeeded by Philip Hammond
Preceded by Chris Grayling	Shadow Secretary of State for Transport 2007–2010	Succeeded by The Lord Adonis
Preceded by Sadiq Khan	Minister of State for Transport 2010–2012	Succeeded by Simon Burns
Preceded by Owen Paterson	Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 2012–present	Succeeded by Incumbent