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Grant Shapps

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Grant Shapps

MP
Minister of State for Housing and Planning
Incumbent
Assumed office
13 May 2010
Prime MinisterDavid Cameron
Preceded byJohn Healey
Member of Parliament
for Welwyn Hatfield
Incumbent
Assumed office
5 May 2005
Preceded byMelanie Johnson
Majority5,946 (13.3%)
Personal details
Born (1968-09-14) 14 September 1968 (age 56)
Watford, United Kingdom
Political partyConservative
SpouseBelinda Shapps
Alma materManchester Metropolitan University

Grant V Shapps MP (born 14 September 1968, Watford) is the Conservative Member of Parliament for Welwyn Hatfield in the United Kingdom and Minister of State for Housing and Planning. He first won the seat in the 2005 election on 5 May 2005 and was returned to parliament in May 2010 elections with a 17,423 majority[1]

Early life

Shapps was born in Watford in Hertfordshire and educated at Watford Grammar School for Boys, followed by Cassio College where he completed a Business & Finance course at Manchester Metropolitan University (then Manchester Polytechnic), where he received a Higher National Diploma.[2]

Professional career

In 1990, aged 22[3], Grant Shapps founded PrintHouse Corporation, a design, print, website creation and marketing business sited in London. [4][2] As with other members of the Shadow Cabinet, he planned to step down as a Director either before 1 July 2009,[5] or at the next election.[6] [7][8]

Political career

Shapps stood for Parliament during the 1997 election as the Conservative candidate for North Southwark and Bermondsey[9], and for the Welwyn Hatfield constituency for the 2001 election , both unsuccessfully[3].

Shapps was reselected to fight Welwyn Hatfield in 2002 and continued his local campaigning over the next four years, he stood again in the 2005 election and was elected as the Conservative MP for Welwyn Hatfield, defeating the Labour MP and by then Minister for Public Health, Melanie Johnson. He received 22,172 votes (49.6%) recording the second highest swing in the 2005 election of 8.2% from Labour to Conservative, a majority of 5,946 (13.3%). He was re-elected with a further large swing of 11.1% in the May 2010 general election with a 17,423 majority[1]

Shapps publicly backed David Cameron's bid for the leadership of the Conservative Party, seconding Cameron's nomination papers. Upon Cameron's election as Party Leader Shapps was appointed Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party with responsibility for Campaigning.[citation needed]

Shapps was a member of the Public Administration Select Committee between May 2005 and February 2007.

Shadow housing minister

In June 2007, Grant Shapps became Shadow Housing Minister,[10] outside the Shadow Cabinet, but entitled to attend its meetings.

Shapps has argued in favour of a community-up approach to solving the housing crisis and warns against the Government's strategy of top-down Whitehall driven housing targets, which he believes have failed in the past.[3] In his 2007, 2008 and 2009 Conservative Party Conference speeches on Housing, Shapps outlined a vision of localism being used to replace centrally imposed housing targets with the aim of creating more new build overall.[11] Shapps was Shadow Housing Minister during the period of the last four Labour Government Housing Ministers.

In May 2008 Grant Shapps revealed to the parliamentary commissioner that he had accepted tens of thousands of pounds in donations from five companies potentially affected by his role as Shadow Housing Minister.[12]. Accusations were levelled of a conflict of interest [13] The Conservative party denied that Grant Shapps had been influenced by the donations and a party spokesman is reported to have said "Some of the Conservative policy on housing is actually against the policy of the donors." [12]

In April 2009 Grant Shapps launched the Conservative Party's 9th Green Paper on policy called Strong Foundations.[14] In it Shapps argues for new Local Housing Trusts designed to allow local communities to grant themselves planning permission to expand and a new Right To Move intended to encourage more mobility within the social housing sector.[14]

Reports and Research

During his time in Parliament, Grant Shapps researched and published reports on a variety of subjects that received national press coverage.Five of which have focused on the causes and effect of homelessness from rough sleeping through to so-called "sofa surfing".[15] On Christmas Eve 2007, Shapps slept on the pavement of Victoria station in a sleeping bag, waking Christmas morning soaked from a downpour.[3] Shapps says he wanted to draw attention to the fact that there are 130,000 homeless children in England, saying, "It served its purpose. Homelessness struggles to get on the news agenda and I wanted to try and highlight the plight of children who sleep rough every night".[3] His work became sufficiently influential within the homelessness sector that when he launched the Homelessness Foundation with Conservative leader David Cameron in May 2008, leading lights from the sector including Chief Executives from charities like Shelter, Crisis and the Founder of the Big Issue, John Bird, all joined the Advisory Panel of the Conservative Homelessness Foundation.[16] The Foundation's aim is to provide academic research into homelessness[17]

On Christmas Eve 2008 Grant Shapps launched[18] the Conservative Blueprint for Tackling Homelessness[15] at St Mungos Homeless Hostel in Camden.

Expenses

In the MP's expenses scandal of 2009 Grant Shapps was categorised by The Daily Telegraph as an "expenses saint".[19]

Personal life

Shapps married Belinda Goldstone in 1997 and they have three children.[10] He had chemotherapy and recovered from cancer, his children being conceived by IVF after the therapy.[3] Shapps' cousin is Mick Jones, of punk rock band the Clash[20].

References

  1. ^ "Shapps: 'Real desire to make Tory/Lib Dem coalition work'". The Welwyn Hatfield Times 24\date =13 May, 2010. Retrieved 13 May, 2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  2. ^ a b "Meet the MP: Grant Shapps". The BBC online. June 16, 2005. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "How Grant Shapps slept rough for Christmas". The Daily Telegraph online. December 29, 2007. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  4. ^ "Tories' housing plans to raise the roofs". The Guardian. January 20, 2010. Retrieved April 29, 2010. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  5. ^ "Conservative MPs rush to quit second jobs". The Times online. June 21, 2009. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  6. ^ "Tories intend to keep second jobs until next election". The Guardian. June 25, 2009. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  7. ^ "Grant Shapps, Changes to the Register of Members' Interests". They Work For You. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  8. ^ "Public Administration Select Committee: Formal Minutes". UK Parliament. Retrieved Apri 29, 2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  9. ^ "Southwark North and Bermondsey-the 2005 general election". The Guardian. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  10. ^ a b "Parliamentary Candidate for Welwyn Hatfield Shadow Housing Minister". The conservative party. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  11. ^ "In full:Shapps speech on housing". The BBC. October 1, 2007. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  12. ^ a b "Shadow ministers take cash from firms linked to their portfolios". The Guardian. May 16, 2008. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  13. ^ "Senior Shadow Cabinet figures in row over 'cash for influence'". The Independant. May 16, 2008. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  14. ^ a b "Sharp launches new housing policies". The conservative party. April 7, 2009. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  15. ^ a b "National investigations and reports from Grant Shapps". Grant Shapps.com. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  16. ^ "Homelessness a disgrace - Cameron". The BBC online. May 15, 2008. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  17. ^ "Tories launch new group to tackle homelessness". The Guardian online. May 15, 2008. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  18. ^ "Tories unveil homelessness strategy". The Metro. December 24, 2008. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  19. ^ "MPs' expenses: The saints (Part ii)-Grant Shapps". The Telegraph. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  20. ^ Newsnight, BBC2, 14th April 2010
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Welwyn Hatfield
2005–present 		Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Minister of State for Housing and Planning
2010–present 		Incumbent
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