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Gavin Williamson

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This article is about the English politician. For other people of the same name, see Gavin Williamson (disambiguation).

The Right Honourable
Gavin Williamson
CBE MP
Secretary of State for Defence
Assumed office
2 November 2017
Prime MinisterTheresa May
Preceded byMichael Fallon
Chief Whip of the House of Commons
Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury
In office
14 July 2016 – 2 November 2017
Prime MinisterTheresa May
Preceded byMark Harper
Succeeded byJulian Smith
Parliamentary Private Secretary to
the Prime Minister
In office
7 October 2013 – 13 July 2016
Prime MinisterDavid Cameron
Preceded bySam Gyimah
Succeeded byGeorge Hollingbery
Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Transport
In office
11 September 2012 – 7 October 2013
Prime MinisterDavid Cameron
Preceded byAndrew Jones
Succeeded byIain Stewart
& Julian Sturdy
Member of Parliament
for South Staffordshire
Assumed office
6 May 2010
Preceded byPatrick Cormack
Majority22,733 (44.3%)
Personal details
Born
Gavin Alexander Williamson

(1976-06-25) 25 June 1976 (age 48)
Scarborough, England, UK
Political partyConservative
SpouseJoanne Eland
Children2
Alma materUniversity of Bradford
WebsiteOfficial website

Gavin Alexander Williamson, CBE (born 25 June 1976) is a British Conservative Party politician who was appointed as Secretary of State for Defence in November 2017. He was first elected at the 2010 general election as Member of Parliament (MP) for South Staffordshire.[1] Williamson was Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to Patrick McLoughlin as Secretary of State for Transport.[2] Williamson was then appointed PPS to the Prime Minister, David Cameron, in October 2013. On 14 July 2016, he was appointed Chief Whip in Theresa May's government,[3] and on 2 November 2017 he was promoted to Secretary of State for Defence.

Early life and career

Williamson is originally from Scarborough, North Yorkshire. Both of his parents were Labour voters.[4] Williamson was educated at East Ayton Primary School, at Raincliffe School, and the Scarborough Sixth Form College, where he studied 'Government and Politics' and 'Economics' as A-levels. He obtained a BSc in Social Sciences from the University of Bradford.[5]

Williamson was the penultimate national chairman of Conservative Students, before it was abolished in 1998 and the separate youth wings of the party were amalgamated as Conservative Future. He was elected a county councillor in 2001 for the Seamer division in North Yorkshire but later stood down in 2005.

Williamson previously worked in the Staffordshire pottery industry and for an architectural design firm.[6][2] Williamson is a former Deputy Chairman of Staffordshire Area Conservatives, Chairman of Stoke-on-Trent Conservative Association, and Vice-Chairman of Derbyshire Dales Conservative Association.[7]

In the 2005 General Election, he stood unsuccessfully as the Conservative Party candidate in Blackpool North and Fleetwood.[6] After 2005, Williamson then moved to Derbyshire.[6]

Parliamentary career

In the 2010 General Election, Williamson was elected in South Staffordshire and was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to Hugo Swire, Minister of State for Northern Ireland, in October 2011.[8] In September 2012, Williamson became PPS to the Patrick McLoughlin, Secretary of State for Transport, and in 2013 became PPS to the Prime Minister, David Cameron.[9]

In Parliament, Williamson was a member of the Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee and was Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Motor Neurone Disease.[2]

In October 2013, Gavin Williamson was reprimanded by the Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, for being noisy during Prime Minister's Questions. Bercow told Williamson that his job was to "nod his head in the appropriate places and to fetch and carry notes".[10]

Williamson supported the United Kingdom's remain campaign during the 2016 EU membership referendum.[11] Williamson campaigned to remain in the EU in the 2016 Referendum. [12]

Chief Whip

Following David Cameron's resignation, Williamson "privately vowed" to stop the front-runner Boris Johnson from becoming Conservative Party leader. He assessed Theresa May to be the likeliest candidate to beat Johnson, offered his help to her, and was invited to be her parliamentary campaign manager.[4] Following May's ascension, Williamson was appointed Chief Whip.[4] He was criticised by parliamentary authorities over bringing his pet tarantula Cronus to the Houses of Parliament.[13]

Following the Con–DUP pact after the 2017 General Election, Williamson visited Belfast to discuss arrangements with the DUP.[14]

Defence Secretary

Williamson was appointed defence secretary after the resignation of Michael Fallon in November 2017.

Personal life and honours

Williamson is married to Joanne, a former primary school teacher. The couple have two daughters, Annabel and Grace.[7] He was a Charitable Trustee at a Citizen's Advice Bureau, and a school governor.[2]

In the 2016 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours, Williamson was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) "for political and public service".[15]

References

  1. ^ "The Conservative Party | People | Members of Parliament | Gavin Williamson MP". Conservatives.com. 19 July 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  2. ^ a b c d "About Gavin". Rt. Hon. Gavin Williamson MP.
  3. ^ "Profile: Gavin Williamson, the "baby-faced assassin" who was Chief Whip. As of 2nd November 2017 he became the new defense secretary– Conservative Home".
  4. ^ a b c Eaton, George. "Gavin Williamson: the cunning Tory chief whip with a tarantula on his desk". The New Statesman.
  5. ^ "Who's Who". Ukwhoswho.com. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  6. ^ a b c "ConservativeHome's Seats & Candidates blog: Gavin Williamson selected for South Staffordshire". Conservativehome.blogs.com. 30 January 2010. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  7. ^ a b "The Rt. Hon. Gavin Williamson CBE MP". South Staffordshire – Conservative Association.
  8. ^ "PoliticsHome.com". PoliticsHome.com.
  9. ^ "Gavin Williamson MP". Democracy Live. BBC News. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  10. ^ "PMQs: Speaker tells Cameron PPS to nod and carry notes". BBC News. 30 October 2013. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  11. ^ Goodenough, Tom (16 February 2016). "Which Tory MPs back Brexit, who doesn't and who is still on the fence?". The Spectator. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  12. ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/11/02/gavin-williamson-meteoric-rise-tarantula-owning-remain-voting/
  13. ^ McCann, Kate (24 November 2016). "Revealed: The first picture of Cronus, the chief whip's pet tarantula". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  14. ^ "Who is the most powerful person in Britain?". ITV. 11 June 2017. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  15. ^ "Resignation Honours 2016" (pdf). GOV.UK. Cabinet Office. 4 August 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for South Staffordshire
2010–present 		Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Chief Whip of the House of Commons
2016–2017 		Succeeded by
TBA
Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury
2016–2017
Preceded by Secretary of State for Defence
2017–present 		Incumbent
Party political offices
Preceded by Conservative Chief Whip of the House of Commons
2016–2017 		Succeeded by
TBA
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