Jump to content

Heather Wheeler

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Heather Wheeler
OBE
Official portrait, 2020
Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office
In office
8 February 2022 – 7 September 2022
Prime MinisterBoris Johnson
Preceded byJulia Lopez
Succeeded byBrendan Clarke-Smith[1]
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Asia and the Pacific
In office
26 July 2019 – 13 February 2020
Prime MinisterBoris Johnson
Preceded byMark Field
Succeeded byNigel Adams
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing and Homelessness
In office
9 January 2018 – 26 July 2019
Prime MinisterTheresa May
Preceded byMarcus Jones
Succeeded byLuke Hall
Lord Commissioner of the Treasury
In office
15 June 2017 – 9 January 2018
Prime MinisterTheresa May
Preceded byGuy Opperman
Succeeded byRebecca Harris
Member of Parliament
for South Derbyshire
In office
6 May 2010 – 30 May 2024
Preceded byMark Todd
Succeeded bySamantha Niblett
Personal details
Born (1959-05-14) 14 May 1959 (age 65)[2]
Norwich, Norfolk, England[3]
Political partyConservative
SpouseRobert Wheeler (d. 2018)
Children1
Websiteheatherwheeler.org.uk

Heather Kay Wheeler[4] OBE (née Wilkinson; born 14 May 1959) is a British Conservative Party politician, who was first elected at the 2010 general election as the member of Parliament (MP) for South Derbyshire, taking the seat from the Labour Party after 13 years.[5] In the 2024 general election she lost the seat to the Labour party candidate, Samantha Niblett, on a swing of over 22% [6]

Early life and local government career

[edit]

Wheeler was born in Norwich, Norfolk on 14 May 1959. She was brought up in Wandsworth, London. She was educated at Grey Coat Hospital, an all-girls state school in Westminster, London.[7]

She was elected a Conservative member for West Hill ward on Wandsworth London Borough Council at the age of 23 in 1982.[8] After serving a full council term, she married Robert Wheeler, moving in 1986 to Bretby, South Derbyshire.[9]

After working for Lloyd's insurance brokers for 10 years, qualifying by exam as an Associate, she became a member of the Chartered Insurance Institute.[9]

Wheeler was first elected to South Derbyshire District Council in 1995 for the safe Conservative seat of Repton. She went on to become leader of the council's Conservative group and became Leader of the Council between 2007 and 2010. She was re-elected as a councillor for Repton ward until 2011; her daughter Harriet unsuccessfully stood as a Conservative candidate in Swadlincote ward in 2011, whilst husband Bob successfully defended his marginal Linton ward and continued as Leader of the council.[10]

Parliamentary career

[edit]

Wheeler stood unsuccessfully at the 2001 and 2005 general elections as her party's candidate for Coventry South.[11] Wheeler was a member of the Conservative Party's A-List[12] prior to being selected to contest the South Derbyshire constituency. At the 2010 general election, she gained the seat from Labour with a majority of 7,128; there was a 9.8% swing to the Conservatives. Following her election as a Member of Parliament she stood aside as Conservative council group leader. She was re-elected in 2015 and 2017, with the former defying polling that suggested her seat would be vulnerable following the Conservative Government's failure to award a major contract to local train manufacturer Bombardier.[13][14]

In the House of Commons she sat on the Standards and Privileges Committee, the European Scrutiny Committee and the Communities and Local Government Committee.[11] She was also a member of the Public Bill Committee for the Defence Reform Act 2014.[15]

Wheeler was one of 79 Conservative MPs who supported a 2011 rebel motion calling for a referendum on the European Union.[16] She also joined a 2013 rebel amendment expressing regret at not including the referendum in the government's plans.[17] She subsequently backed the government's plans to hold a referendum in 2017 and opposed a proposal to hold it in 2014.[18] Wheeler backed Leave in the referendum.[19]

On 9 January 2018, Wheeler was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, with responsibility for homelessness and rough sleeping as well as the private rented and leasehold sectors, in the second May ministry.[20]

In March 2018, following her promotion to a Government position with responsibility for homelessness, Wheeler told The Guardian newspaper that she did not know why the number of rough sleepers had increased in recent years. Wheeler rejected the suggestion that welfare reforms and council cuts relating to her Government had contributed to the rise.[21] Earlier in the same month, Wheeler promised to resign if the number of people rough sleeping got worse while she was in office.[22]

On 26 July 2019, Wheeler was appointed as the Parliamentary under-secretary of state for Asia and the Pacific at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in the first Johnson ministry. She resigned for family reasons in February 2020.[citation needed]

In 2021, she unsuccessfully ran for election to become chair of the 1922 Committee.[23]

On 17 September 2021, Wheeler was appointed an assistant Government whip in the second cabinet reshuffle of the second Johnson ministry.[24]

Wheeler was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2023 Birthday Honours for political and public service.[25]

In June 2023, she was one of six Conservative MPs to vote against censuring Boris Johnson following the Commons Privileges Committee investigation.[26]

Controversies

[edit]

In August 2016, following the 2016 Rio Olympics, the European Union social media account shared a modified medals table showing its combined member states in first place. Wheeler tweeted in response that the British Empire had won the 2016 Rio Olympics along with a map of former imperial territories.[27][28][29] Her comments were described by Labour MP David Lammy as "deeply offensive to so many people and their ancestors". Wheeler rejected calls to apologise, stating that her comments were "tongue-in-cheek".[30]

In June 2019, it was revealed that in October 2017, three months before she became minister, and whilst she was the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing and Homelessness, Wheeler described rough sleepers in her constituency as "the traditional type, old tinkers, knife-cutters wandering through". In response, Wheeler faced calls to resign from Stephen Robertson, the chief executive of the Big Issue Foundation and a representative from a leading national charity which works on behalf of Gypsies, Travellers and Roma described the language as "disgraceful". Wheeler issued an apology for her "inappropriate language", and said it "is not at all representative of the great cultural contribution and rich heritage that the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities make to this country".[31]

In June 2022, Wheeler was criticised by Labour for comments made at a lunch in London, in which she described Birmingham and Blackpool as "godawful" places. Wheeler later apologised and said she made an "inappropriate remark that does not reflect my actual view".[32][33][34][35]

Personal life

[edit]

Wheeler's late husband Bob was a Conservative councillor who was made leader of South Derbyshire District Council in 2010, after his wife stepped down from the role on becoming an MP. He stood down as Leader of the Council in January 2018; he died in late 2018.[36]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Parliamentary Secretary - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  2. ^ "Heather Wheeler MP". BBC Democracy Live. BBC. Archived from the original on 2 February 2011. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
  3. ^ "Who's Who 2015: WHEELER, Heather". ukwhoswho.com. Who's Who (UK).
  4. ^ "No. 59418". The London Gazette. 13 May 2010. pp. 8740–8740.
  5. ^ "Election 2010: South Derbyshire". thisisderbyshire.co.uk. Archived from the original on 13 May 2010. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  6. ^ "Derbyshire South | General Election 2024". Sky News. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  7. ^ "Wheeler, Heather, (born 14 May 1959), MP (C) South Derbyshire, since 2010; an Assistant Government Whip, since 2021". Who's Who 2022. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  8. ^ "Wandsworth Council Election Results 1964-2010" (PDF). Plymouth University. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  9. ^ a b "About Heather Wheeler". Archived from the original on 6 April 2017. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  10. ^ "South Derbyshire Council Election Results 1973-2011" (PDF). Plymouth University. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  11. ^ a b "Heather Wheeler". Parliament UK. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  12. ^ "Seats and candidates: Where are the original A-Listers now? The 27 who have been selected for target seats". conservativehome.blogs.com. ConservativeHome.
  13. ^ "Heather Wheeler wins her seat in South Derbyshire". Burton Mail. 9 June 2017. Archived from the original on 9 June 2017. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  14. ^ "Poll boosts Labour hopes of ousting Heather Wheeler MP on back of Siemens trains deal". Conservative Home. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  15. ^ "House of Commons Public Bill Committee on the Defence Reform Bill 2013-14". Parliament.uk. Retrieved 17 September 2013.
  16. ^ "Rebel MPs: the full list". New Statesman. Progressive Media International. 25 October 2011. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  17. ^ "The 114 Tory rebels in EU protest vote". The Daily Telegraph. London. 15 May 2013. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  18. ^ "Craig Whittaker: Referendum on the UK's membership of the EU". Public Whip. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  19. ^ "EU vote: Where the cabinet and other MPs stand". BBC News. 22 June 2016.
  20. ^ "Heather Wheeler MP". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  21. ^ Brooks, Libby (18 March 2018). "Homelessness minister: I don't know why rough sleeper numbers are up". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  22. ^ "Homelessness minister gives herself ultimatum". BBC News. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  23. ^ "Race to be backbench Tory MPs' champion hots up". BBC News. 17 June 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  24. ^ "Ministerial appointments: September 2021". 16 September 2021.
  25. ^ "No. 64082". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 June 2023. p. B16.
  26. ^ Home, Conservative (20 June 2023). "The six Conservative MPs who voted against the motion to censure Johnson". Conservative Home. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  27. ^ Heather Wheeler [@HeatherWheeler] (22 August 2016). "Now that's what I call winning!!! Well done Team GB & all our Commonwealth friends, now for the Trade Agreements..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  28. ^ Withnall, Adam (23 August 2016), "'British Empire' won the Olympics, claims Conservative MP Heather Wheeler", The Independent
  29. ^ Muir, Rod (23 August 2016). "Conservative MP celebrates performance of 'British Empire' in Rio". Total Politics. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  30. ^ "MP Heather Wheeler sparks Twitter backlash with British Empire post". BBC News. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  31. ^ Greenfield, Patrick; Marsh, Sarah; McDevitt, Johnny (20 June 2019). "Homelessness minister accused of racist remarks about rough sleepers". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
  32. ^ "Minister sorry for 'godawful' Birmingham and Blackpool comment". BBC News. 11 June 2022. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  33. ^ "'The Mask Has Slipped': Tory Minister Says Blackpool And Birmingham Are 'Godawful'". HuffPost UK. 10 June 2022. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  34. ^ "Tory MP apologises for calling Birmingham and Blackpool 'godawful'". The Guardian. 10 June 2022. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  35. ^ "Minister apologises for describing Birmingham and Blackpool as 'godawful'". The Independent. 10 June 2022. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  36. ^ "Cllr Robert Wheeler". South Derbyshire Council. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Heather Wheeler.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for South Derbyshire
2010–2024 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Lord Commissioner of the Treasury
2017–2018 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing and Homelessness
2018–2019 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Asia and the Pacific
2019–2020 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office
2022–present 		Incumbent
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Heather_Wheeler&oldid=1243546654"