Justine Greening
Encyclopedia
Justine Greening is a Conservative Party
politician in the United Kingdom. She has been the Member of Parliament
(MP) for Putney
since 2005
. She was appointed Economic Secretary to the Treasury
in May 2010, and became Secretary of State for Transport
on 14 October 2011. Her promotion followed the appointment of her predecessor, Philip Hammond
, as Secretary of State for Defence following the resignation of Liam Fox
.
, where she attended Oakwood Comprehensive School
. She attended the University of Southampton
, where she studied Economics, and the London Business School
(MBA). Prior to entering Parliament
, she trained and qualified as an accountant, before working as an accountant/finance manager for, amongst others, Price Waterhouse Coopers, GlaxoSmithKline
and Centrica
.
in the 2005 General Election
on 5 May 2005. Greening won 15,497 votes (42.4% of the vote) giving her a majority of 1,766 (4.8%). She unseated Tony Colman, who had held the seat for Labour since defeating David Mellor
in 1997
. As the first Conservative elected on the evening of the election, her victory was the first real sign that the Conservative Party was to achieve a degree of success and begin to recover from landslide defeats of the 1997 and 2001
General Elections. Michael Howard
, who had visited Putney to give a speech on his first day as Conservative Leader, returned there on the morning after the Election to congratulate Putney Conservatives and give the speech in which he announced his intention to step down.
Greening was appointed a Vice-Chairman (with responsibility for Youth) of the Conservative Party on 15 December 2005, having earlier that year been appointed a member of the Work and Pensions Committee. In July 2007, following a Shadow Ministerial reshuffle, she was promoted to be a junior Shadow Minister for the Treasury. In January 2009, following a further Shadow Ministerial reshuffle, Greening was promoted to Shadow Minister for London, within the Communities and Local Government Team with responsibility for Local Government Finance. Within this brief, she focussed on transport and local community benefits such as the lift at Southfields station. In March 2010, she was put in charge of co-ordinating the Conservative campaign for the 2010 General Election in London. She became Economic Secretary to the Treasury
in May 2010 after the coalition government came to power. In October 2011, she became Secretary of State
for Transport and was appointed a Privy Councillor.
She was the youngest female Conservative MP in the House of Commons until Chloe Smith
(who coincidentally succeeded her at HM Treasury
) was elected to Parliament
on 12 October 2009.
During the Parliamentary expenses scandal
, Greening was ranked as the 9th best value for money MP in research carried out by the right-wing think tank, the Adam Smith Institute
, and of all her expenses claims she was the 599th lowest out of the 645 MPs.
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Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
politician in the United Kingdom. She has been the Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for Putney
Putney (UK Parliament constituency)
-Elections 1950–1979:-Elections 1918–1945:-Notes and references:...
since 2005
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
. She was appointed Economic Secretary to the Treasury
Economic Secretary to the Treasury
The Economic Secretary to the Treasury is the fifth most senior ministerial post in the UK Treasury, after the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the Paymaster-General and the Financial Secretary...
in May 2010, and became Secretary of State for Transport
Secretary of State for Transport
The Secretary of State for Transport is the member of the cabinet responsible for the British Department for Transport. The role has had a high turnover as new appointments are blamed for the failures of decades of their predecessors...
on 14 October 2011. Her promotion followed the appointment of her predecessor, Philip Hammond
Philip Hammond
Philip Hammond MP is a British Conservative Party politician. He is the current Defence Secretary in the Coalition government led by David Cameron, having succeeded Liam Fox on 14 October 2011...
, as Secretary of State for Defence following the resignation of Liam Fox
Liam Fox
Liam Fox MP is a British Conservative politician, Member of Parliament for North Somerset, and former Secretary of State for Defence....
.
Early life
Greening was born in RotherhamRotherham
Rotherham is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Don, at its confluence with the River Rother, between Sheffield and Doncaster. Rotherham, at from Sheffield City Centre, is surrounded by several smaller settlements, which together form the wider Metropolitan Borough of...
, where she attended Oakwood Comprehensive School
Oakwood Technology College
Oakwood Technology College is a secondary school in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. It is situated on Moorgate Road, almost in the centre of Rotherham, and receives children from a number of primary schools throughout Rotherham....
. She attended the University of Southampton
University of Southampton
The University of Southampton is a British public university located in the city of Southampton, England, a member of the Russell Group. The origins of the university can be dated back to the founding of the Hartley Institution in 1862 by Henry Robertson Hartley. In 1902, the Institution developed...
, where she studied Economics, and the London Business School
London Business School
London Business School is an international business school and a constituent college of the federal University of London, located in central London, beside Regent's Park...
(MBA). Prior to entering Parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
, she trained and qualified as an accountant, before working as an accountant/finance manager for, amongst others, Price Waterhouse Coopers, GlaxoSmithKline
GlaxoSmithKline
GlaxoSmithKline plc is a global pharmaceutical, biologics, vaccines and consumer healthcare company headquartered in London, United Kingdom...
and Centrica
Centrica
Centrica plc is a multinational utility company, based in the United Kingdom but also with interests in North America. Centrica is the largest supplier of gas to domestic customers in the UK, and one of the largest suppliers of electricity, operating under the trading names "Scottish Gas" in...
.
Political career
Greening contested the constituency of Ealing, Acton & Shepherd's Bush in 2001, finishing second with a reduced share of the vote for the Conservatives. She won the seat of PutneyPutney
Putney is a district in south-west London, England, located in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is situated south-west of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London....
in the 2005 General Election
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
on 5 May 2005. Greening won 15,497 votes (42.4% of the vote) giving her a majority of 1,766 (4.8%). She unseated Tony Colman, who had held the seat for Labour since defeating David Mellor
David Mellor
David John Mellor, QC is a British politician, non-practising barrister, broadcaster, journalist and football pundit. A member of the Conservative Party, he served in the Cabinet of Prime Minister John Major as Chief Secretary to the Treasury and Secretary of State for National Heritage , before...
in 1997
United Kingdom general election, 1997
The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...
. As the first Conservative elected on the evening of the election, her victory was the first real sign that the Conservative Party was to achieve a degree of success and begin to recover from landslide defeats of the 1997 and 2001
United Kingdom general election, 2001
The United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats...
General Elections. Michael Howard
Michael Howard
Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne, CH, QC, PC is a British politician, who served as the Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005...
, who had visited Putney to give a speech on his first day as Conservative Leader, returned there on the morning after the Election to congratulate Putney Conservatives and give the speech in which he announced his intention to step down.
Greening was appointed a Vice-Chairman (with responsibility for Youth) of the Conservative Party on 15 December 2005, having earlier that year been appointed a member of the Work and Pensions Committee. In July 2007, following a Shadow Ministerial reshuffle, she was promoted to be a junior Shadow Minister for the Treasury. In January 2009, following a further Shadow Ministerial reshuffle, Greening was promoted to Shadow Minister for London, within the Communities and Local Government Team with responsibility for Local Government Finance. Within this brief, she focussed on transport and local community benefits such as the lift at Southfields station. In March 2010, she was put in charge of co-ordinating the Conservative campaign for the 2010 General Election in London. She became Economic Secretary to the Treasury
Economic Secretary to the Treasury
The Economic Secretary to the Treasury is the fifth most senior ministerial post in the UK Treasury, after the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the Paymaster-General and the Financial Secretary...
in May 2010 after the coalition government came to power. In October 2011, she became Secretary of State
Secretary of State
Secretary of State or State Secretary is a commonly used title for a senior or mid-level post in governments around the world. The role varies between countries, and in some cases there are multiple Secretaries of State in the Government....
for Transport and was appointed a Privy Councillor.
She was the youngest female Conservative MP in the House of Commons until Chloe Smith
Chloe Smith
Chloe Rebecca Smith is a British politician and the Conservative Member of Parliament for Norwich North. She was elected to the seat in a by-election on 23 July 2009 following the resignation of Labour MP Ian Gibson after the MPs' expenses scandal.-Early life:Born in Ashford, Kent, she was aged 3...
(who coincidentally succeeded her at HM Treasury
HM Treasury
HM Treasury, in full Her Majesty's Treasury, informally The Treasury, is the United Kingdom government department responsible for developing and executing the British government's public finance policy and economic policy...
) was elected to Parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
on 12 October 2009.
During the Parliamentary expenses scandal
United Kingdom Parliamentary expenses scandal
The United Kingdom parliamentary expenses scandal was a major political scandal triggered by the leak and subsequent publication by the Telegraph Group in 2009 of expense claims made by members of the United Kingdom Parliament over several years...
, Greening was ranked as the 9th best value for money MP in research carried out by the right-wing think tank, the Adam Smith Institute
Adam Smith Institute
The Adam Smith Institute, abbreviated to ASI, is a think tank based in the United Kingdom, named after one of the founders of modern economics, Adam Smith. It espouses free market and classical liberal views, in particular by creating radical policy options in the light of public choice theory,...
, and of all her expenses claims she was the 599th lowest out of the 645 MPs.
External links
- Justine Greening MP Conservative Party profile
- www.dft.gov.uk
- Debrett's People of Today
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