Oliver Heald
Encyclopedia
Oliver Heald is a British barrister
and Conservative
politician
, and the Member of Parliament
(MP) for North East Hertfordshire.
, and was educated at the Reading School
and Pembroke College, Cambridge
where he studied law
. He was called to the bar
at the Middle Temple
in 1977 and was a practising barrister
in London and East Anglia
from 1979 until he became a government minister in 1995.
Conservative Association for two years from 1984. He unsuccessfully contested the London Borough of Southwark
seat of Southwark and Bermondsey
at the 1987 General Election
but finished in third place some 12,550 behind the sitting Liberal
MP Simon Hughes
. He became the vice president of the Southwark and Bermondsey Conservative Association in 1988 for five years, becoming the president for five years from 1993. He was elected to the House of Commons for North Hertfordshire
at the 1992 general election
following the retirement of the Conservative MP Ian Stewart. He held the seat with a majority of 16,531 and has remained an MP since. He made his maiden speech
on 9 June 1992 in which he spoke of his political beginnings on a soapbox
at Speaker's Corner.http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199293/cmhansrd/1992-06-09/Debate-10.html His seat was abolished and since the 1997 General Election
he has represented the new seat of North East Hertfordshire.
he served on the education select committee for two years from 1992. He was appointed as the Parliamentary Private Secretary
(PPS) to the Minister of State
at the Home Office
Peter Lloyd
in 1994. Later in the year he became the PPS to the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
William Waldegrave
. He was promoted to serve in the government of John Major
in 1995 when he was appointed as the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Social Security
, where he remained until the fall of the Conservative government in 1997. In 1995 he introduced the Insurance Companies (Reserves) Act.http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1995/Ukpga_19950029_en_1.htm
he became an Opposition Whip
under the new leadership of William Hague
, before moving on to become a spokesman on home affairs
with responsibility for police matters. He was made a spokesman on health
by Iain Duncan Smith
for a year in 2001, until he joined his shadow cabinet
as the Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
in 2002. He was appointed Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
by Michael Howard
in 2003. In 2004 he was then appointed to serve as Shadow Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs
and in 2005 was appointed by David Cameron
as the Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
.
In July 2007 he became a backbencher
following 13 years' continuous service on the Conservative Front Bench. In November 2007 Heald was appointed as a member of the Work and Pensions Select Committee and in March 2008 he became a member of the Committee on Standards in Public Life
.
in July 2008.
. He is married to Christine (née Whittle) and they have a son and two daughters. They live in the constituency, in the market town of Royston
. He cites Willie Whitelaw
as a mentor.
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
and Conservative
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
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
, and 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 North East Hertfordshire.
Background
Heald was born in Reading, BerkshireReading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
, and was educated at the Reading School
Reading School
Reading School is a state-funded, selective academy school for boys in the English town of Reading. It is notable for tracing its history back to the school of Reading Abbey, making it one of the oldest schools in England. There are no tuition fees for day pupils, and boarders only pay for food and...
and Pembroke College, Cambridge
Pembroke College, Cambridge
Pembroke College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college has over seven hundred students and fellows, and is the third oldest college of the university. Physically, it is one of the university's larger colleges, with buildings from almost every century since its...
where he studied 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...
. He was called to the bar
Call to the bar
The Call to the Bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party, and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received a "call to the bar"...
at the Middle Temple
Middle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers; the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn...
in 1977 and was a practising barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
in London and East Anglia
East Anglia
East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
from 1979 until he became a government minister in 1995.
Early career
He became the chairman of the North HertfordshireNorth Hertfordshire (UK Parliament constituency)
North Hertfordshire was a parliamentary constituency in Hertfordshire. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom by the first-past-the-post system....
Conservative Association for two years from 1984. He unsuccessfully contested the London Borough of Southwark
London Borough of Southwark
The London Borough of Southwark is a London borough in south east London, England. It is directly south of the River Thames and the City of London, and forms part of Inner London.-History:...
seat of Southwark and Bermondsey
Southwark and Bermondsey (UK Parliament constituency)
Southwark and Bermondsey was a parliamentary constituency centred on the Bermondsey district of South London. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.-History:...
at the 1987 General Election
United Kingdom general election, 1987
The United Kingdom general election of 1987 was held on 11 June 1987, to elect 650 members to the British House of Commons. The election was the third consecutive election victory for the Conservative Party under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher, who became the first Prime Minister since the 2nd...
but finished in third place some 12,550 behind the sitting Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
MP Simon Hughes
Simon Hughes
Simon Henry Ward Hughes is a British politician and Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats. He is Member of Parliament for the constituency of Bermondsey and Old Southwark. Until 2008 he was President of the Liberal Democrats...
. He became the vice president of the Southwark and Bermondsey Conservative Association in 1988 for five years, becoming the president for five years from 1993. He was elected to the House of Commons for North Hertfordshire
North Hertfordshire (UK Parliament constituency)
North Hertfordshire was a parliamentary constituency in Hertfordshire. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom by the first-past-the-post system....
at the 1992 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1992
The United Kingdom general election of 1992 was held on 9 April 1992, and was the fourth consecutive victory for the Conservative Party. This election result was one of the biggest surprises in 20th Century politics, as polling leading up to the day of the election showed Labour under leader Neil...
following the retirement of the Conservative MP Ian Stewart. He held the seat with a majority of 16,531 and has remained an MP since. He made his maiden speech
Maiden speech
A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament.Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country...
on 9 June 1992 in which he spoke of his political beginnings on a soapbox
Soapbox
A soapbox is a raised platform on which one stands to make an impromptu speech, often about a political subject. The term originates from the days when speakers would elevate themselves by standing on a wooden crate originally used for shipment of soap or other dry goods from a manufacturer to a...
at Speaker's Corner.http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199293/cmhansrd/1992-06-09/Debate-10.html His seat was abolished and since the 1997 General Election
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...
he has represented the new seat of North East Hertfordshire.
In Government
In parliamentPalace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, is the meeting place of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons...
he served on the education select committee for two years from 1992. He was appointed as the Parliamentary Private Secretary
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...
(PPS) to the Minister of State
Minister of State
Minister of State is a title borne by politicians or officials in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a "minister of state" is a junior minister, who is assigned to assist a specific cabinet minister...
at the Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
Peter Lloyd
Peter Lloyd (politician)
Sir Peter Robert Cable Lloyd, is a retired English Conservative Party politician.Sir Peter was Member of Parliament for Fareham in the south of England from 1979 to 2001, when he retired and was succeeded by Mark Hoban....
in 1994. Later in the year he became the PPS to the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food was a UK cabinet position, responsible for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. The post was originally named President of the Board of Agriculture and was created in 1889...
William Waldegrave
William Waldegrave, Baron Waldegrave of North Hill
William Arthur Waldegrave, Baron Waldegrave of North Hill, PC , is an English Conservative politician who served in the Cabinet from 1990 until 1997 and is a Life Member of the Tory Reform Group. He is now a life peer. Lord Waldegrave is also the Chairman of the Rhodes Trust and the Chairman of...
. He was promoted to serve in the government of John Major
John Major
Sir John Major, is a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990–1997...
in 1995 when he was appointed as the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Social Security
Department of Social Security
The Department of Social Security is the name of a defunct governmental agency in the United Kingdom.The DSS replaced the older Department of Health and Social Security, from 1988 until 2001, when it was itself largely replaced as a department of the Government of the United Kingdom by the...
, where he remained until the fall of the Conservative government in 1997. In 1995 he introduced the Insurance Companies (Reserves) Act.http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1995/Ukpga_19950029_en_1.htm
In Opposition
Following the 1997 general electionUnited 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...
he became an Opposition Whip
Whip (politics)
A whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy...
under the new leadership of William Hague
William Hague
William Jefferson Hague is the British Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State. He served as Leader of the Conservative Party from June 1997 to September 2001...
, before moving on to become a spokesman on home affairs
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
with responsibility for police matters. He was made a spokesman on health
Department of Health (United Kingdom)
The Department of Health is a department of the United Kingdom government with responsibility for government policy for health and social care matters and for the National Health Service in England along with a few elements of the same matters which are not otherwise devolved to the Scottish,...
by Iain Duncan Smith
Iain Duncan Smith
George Iain Duncan Smith is a British Conservative politician. He is currently the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and was previously leader of the Conservative Party from September 2001 to October 2003...
for a year in 2001, until he joined his shadow cabinet
Shadow Cabinet
The Shadow Cabinet is a senior group of opposition spokespeople in the Westminster system of government who together under the leadership of the Leader of the Opposition form an alternative cabinet to the government's, whose members shadow or mark each individual member of the government...
as the Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is a post in the British Cabinet, responsible for the Department for Work and Pensions. It was created on 8 June 2001 by the merger of the Employment part of the Department for Education and Employment and the Department of Social Security.The Ministry...
in 2002. He was appointed Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Shadow Leader of the House of Commons is a member of the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet responsible for working with the Leader of the House in arranging Commons business and holding the Government to account in its overall management of the House...
by 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...
in 2003. In 2004 he was then appointed to serve as Shadow Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs
Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs
The Secretary of State for Justice is a senior position in the cabinet of the United Kingdom. It was created in 2007 replacing the abolished Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs, which was originally intended to fulfil those functions of the office of Lord Chancellor which related to the...
and in 2005 was appointed by David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
as the Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is, in modern times, a ministerial office in the government of the United Kingdom that includes as part of its duties, the administration of the estates and rents of the Duchy of Lancaster...
.
In July 2007 he became a backbencher
Backbencher
In Westminster parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a Member of Parliament or a legislator who does not hold governmental office and is not a Front Bench spokesperson in the Opposition...
following 13 years' continuous service on the Conservative Front Bench. In November 2007 Heald was appointed as a member of the Work and Pensions Select Committee and in March 2008 he became a member of the Committee on Standards in Public Life
Committee on Standards in Public Life
The Committee on Standards in Public Life is an advisory non-departmental public body of the United Kingdom Government.The Committee on Standards in Public Life is constituted as a standing body with its members appointed for up to three years.-History:...
.
Other interests
Oliver became the executive Chairman of the Society of Conservative LawyersSociety of Conservative Lawyers
The Society of Conservative Lawyers was founded in 1947 and is an affiliate of the Conservative Party of the United Kingdom. A leading Conservative think tank, the society also provides expert legal advice to the Conservative Front Bench and hosts debates on topical issues...
in July 2008.
Personal life
He takes a particular interest in healthcareHealth care
Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...
. He is married to Christine (née Whittle) and they have a son and two daughters. They live in the constituency, in the market town of Royston
Royston, Hertfordshire
Royston is a town and civil parish in the District of North Hertfordshire and county of Hertfordshire in England.It is situated on the Greenwich Meridian, which brushes the towns western boundary, and at the northernmost apex of the county on the same latitude of towns such as Milton Keynes and...
. He cites Willie Whitelaw
William Whitelaw, 1st Viscount Whitelaw
William Stephen Ian Whitelaw, 1st Viscount Whitelaw, KT, CH, MC, PC, DL , often known as Willie Whitelaw, was a British Conservative Party politician who served in a wide number of Cabinet positions, most notably as Home Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister.-Early life:Whitelaw was born in Nairn, in...
as a mentor.