Esther McVey
Encyclopedia
Esther Louise McVey is a British
Conservative Party
politician who has been the Member of Parliament
(MP) for Wirral West since May 2010. She has also been a television
presenter and business woman.
and educated at the city's Belvedere School
, before undertaking a law
degree at Queen Mary & Westfield College
, London
. In July 2009 McVey graduated from Liverpool John Moores University
with a distinction for her MSc in Corporate Governance, and won the North of England Excellence Award for her studies.
and site clearance, land reclamation and regeneration.
She returned to the family business after University, while undertaking a post graduate course in radio journalism at City University, London
before embarking on a career in the media, both as a presenter and producer. McVey has presented and produced a wide range of programmes, co-hosting GMTV
, BBC1's science entertainment series How Do They Do That?
, 5's Company, The Heaven and Earth Show
, Shopping City, BBC2's youth current affairs programme Reportage, and Channel 4's legal series Nothing But The Truth with Ann Widdecombe
. McVey has debated at the Oxford Union and took part in Eve Ensler
's The Vagina Monologues
at the Liverpool Empire Theatre
.
McVey returned to Liverpool and set up her own business, Making It (UK) Ltd, which provides training for SME's and through which she founded Winning Women. McVey was nominated for Merseyside Woman of the Year and Cheshire Woman of the Year 2004/05.
McVey stood as a Conservative Party
candidate in the 2005 general election
, in the Wirral West constituency, losing to the sitting Labour MP Stephen Hesford
by 1097 votes. In January 2008, McVey agreed an out of court settlement to pay Hesford £6,500 in damages and legal costs after a member of her team copied on her blog an article from The Mail on Sunday
that the MP was planning to take part in what was described as a cricket “junket” to Australia and New Zealand. Hesford had intended to go on the tour and had paid a substantial deposit but later cancelled.
In the general election in May 2010, McVey won the seat of Wirral West, with 42.5% of the votes cast, beating Labour's Phil Davies by 2436 votes.. Since 2010, McVey has served as PPS
to Employment Minister Chris Grayling
. As a longstanding friend of Kate McCann, McVey helped her family set up the Madeleine McCann Fund and remained part of the board for eight months.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Conservative Party
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 who 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 Wirral West since May 2010. She has also been a television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
presenter and business woman.
Biography
McVey was born in LiverpoolLiverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
and educated at the city's Belvedere School
The Belvedere School
The Belvedere Academy is an all-ability state-funded girls’ Academy secondary school in Liverpool, England. Its predecessor, The Belvedere School, was founded in 1880 as Liverpool High School. It is non-denominational, non-feepaying, and one of the 29 schools of the Girls' Day School Trust...
, before undertaking a law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
degree at Queen Mary & Westfield College
Queen Mary, University of London
Queen Mary, University of London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. In July 2009 McVey graduated from Liverpool John Moores University
Liverpool John Moores University
Liverpool John Moores University is a British 'modern' university located in the city of Liverpool, England. The university is named after John Moores and was previously called Liverpool Mechanics' School of Arts and later Liverpool Polytechnic before gaining university status in 1992, thus...
with a distinction for her MSc in Corporate Governance, and won the North of England Excellence Award for her studies.
Career
McVey has worked in the family business which specialises in demolitionDemolition
Demolition is the tearing-down of buildings and other structures, the opposite of construction. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a building apart while carefully preserving valuable elements for re-use....
and site clearance, land reclamation and regeneration.
She returned to the family business after University, while undertaking a post graduate course in radio journalism at City University, London
City University, London
City University London , is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1894 as the Northampton Institute and became a university in 1966, when it adopted its present name....
before embarking on a career in the media, both as a presenter and producer. McVey has presented and produced a wide range of programmes, co-hosting GMTV
GMTV
GMTV was the national Channel 3 breakfast television contractor, broadcasting in the United Kingdom from 1 January 1993 to 3 September 2010. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of ITV plc. in November 2009. Shortly after, ITV plc announced the programme would end...
, BBC1's science entertainment series How Do They Do That?
How Do They Do That?
How Do They Do That? is a British television show, produced by Reg Grundy Productions and broadcast on BBC1 from 1994 to 1997. Originally presented by Des Lynam and Jenny Hull, it explored feats of engineering, organization, and special effects...
, 5's Company, The Heaven and Earth Show
The Heaven and Earth Show
The Heaven and Earth Show was a BBC television programme that aired on Sunday mornings from 10am to 11am on BBC One. The show ran for nine years between 1998 and 2007, looking at spiritual and moral issues...
, Shopping City, BBC2's youth current affairs programme Reportage, and Channel 4's legal series Nothing But The Truth with Ann Widdecombe
Ann Widdecombe
Ann Noreen Widdecombe is a former British Conservative Party politician and has been a novelist since 2000. She is a Privy Councillor and was the Member of Parliament for Maidstone from 1987 to 1997 and for Maidstone and The Weald from 1997 to 2010. She was a social conservative and a member of...
. McVey has debated at the Oxford Union and took part in Eve Ensler
Eve Ensler
Eve Ensler is an American playwright, performer, feminist and activist, best known for her play The Vagina Monologues.- Personal life :...
's The Vagina Monologues
The Vagina Monologues
The Vagina Monologues is an episodic play written by Eve Ensler which ran at the Off Broadway Westside Theatre after a limited run at AFRICA in 1996. Ensler originally starred in the production which was produced by David Stone, Nina Essman, Dan Markley, The Araca Group, Willa Shalit, Mike Skipper...
at the Liverpool Empire Theatre
Liverpool Empire Theatre
Liverpool Empire Theatre is located on the corner of Lime Street and London Road in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. The theatre is the second to be built on the site, and was opened in 1925. It has the largest two-tier auditorium in Britain and can seat 2,350 people...
.
McVey returned to Liverpool and set up her own business, Making It (UK) Ltd, which provides training for SME's and through which she founded Winning Women. McVey was nominated for Merseyside Woman of the Year and Cheshire Woman of the Year 2004/05.
Political career
A supporter of Conservative Way ForwardConservative Way Forward
Conservative Way Forward is a British campaigning group that operates within the Conservative Party. It is a Thatcherite group in outlook and agenda, and Baroness Thatcher herself is the President....
McVey stood as a Conservative Party
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...
candidate 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....
, in the Wirral West constituency, losing to the sitting Labour MP Stephen Hesford
Stephen Hesford
Stephen Hesford is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for Wirral West from 1997 to 2010...
by 1097 votes. In January 2008, McVey agreed an out of court settlement to pay Hesford £6,500 in damages and legal costs after a member of her team copied on her blog an article from The Mail on Sunday
The Mail on Sunday
The Mail on Sunday is a British conservative newspaper, currently published in a tabloid format. First published in 1982 by Lord Rothermere, it became Britain's biggest-selling Sunday newspaper following the closing of The News of the World in July 2011...
that the MP was planning to take part in what was described as a cricket “junket” to Australia and New Zealand. Hesford had intended to go on the tour and had paid a substantial deposit but later cancelled.
In the general election in May 2010, McVey won the seat of Wirral West, with 42.5% of the votes cast, beating Labour's Phil Davies by 2436 votes.. Since 2010, McVey has served as PPS
Parliamentary Private Secretary
A Parliamentary Private Secretary is a role given to a United Kingdom Member of Parliament by a senior minister in government or shadow minister to act as their contact for the House of Commons; this role is junior to that of Parliamentary Under-Secretary, which is a ministerial post, salaried by...
to Employment Minister Chris Grayling
Chris Grayling
Christopher Stephen "Chris" Grayling, PC, MP , is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served in the Shadow Cabinet from 2005 to 2010 and was the party's Shadow Home Secretary from 2009 to 2010. Following the 2010 general election, he was appointed a Minister of State in the...
Personal life
Presently single, McVey lives in West KirbyWest Kirby
West Kirby is a town on the north-west corner of the coast of the Wirral Peninsula, England, at the mouth of the River Dee across from the Point of Ayr in North Wales. To the north-east of the town lies Hoylake, with the suburbs of Grange and Newton to the east, and the village of Caldy to the...
. As a longstanding friend of Kate McCann, McVey helped her family set up the Madeleine McCann Fund and remained part of the board for eight months.
External links
- Esther McVey MP official blog
- Wirral West Conservatives
- Making It (UK) Ltd virtual office space and media consultancy
- Winning Women the female business network founded by McVey, now Forward Ladies
- Friends Of Meols Park Group McVey is Chairman