Cheryl Gillan

The Right Honourable MP Cheryl Gillan
Secretary of State for Wales
Incumbent
Assumed office 12 May 2010
Leader	David Cameron
Preceded by	Bill Wiggin
Member of Parliament for Chesham and Amersham
Incumbent
Assumed office 9 April 1992
Preceded by	Sir Ian Gilmour
Majority	13,798 (29.3%)
Personal details
Born	(1952-04-21) 21 April 1952 Cardiff, Wales
Nationality	British
Political party	Conservative
Spouse	John Coates Leeming
Alma mater	Cheltenham Ladies' College The College of Law
Profession	Marketing executive
Website	www.cherylgillan.co.uk

Cheryl Elise Kendall Gillan (born 21 April 1952) is a British politician for the Conservative Party. She is the Member of Parliament for Chesham and Amersham and Secretary of State for Wales.

Cheryl Gillan was born in Cardiff, Wales. Prior to her parliamentary career, Gillan worked as a marketing executive for several companies. She was first elected to the House of Commons in 1992 and was a junior minister for education and employment from 1995 to 1997. After 1997 she served as a Conservative whip and as a spokesperson for trade and industry, foreign and home affairs. She was the Shadow Welsh Secretary between 2005 and 2010, assuming the cabinet position of Secretary of State for Wales after the United Kingdom general election, 2010.

Personal life

Cheryl Gillan was born in Llandaff, a district of Cardiff, in 1952. Her father was a former British Army officer and a director of a steel company whilst her mother was a Wren. She was brought up in South Wales and her family farms near Usk. She was educated at Elm Tree House and Norfolk House primary schools in Cardiff before her family left Wales when she was aged 11. Gillan attended the independent Cheltenham Ladies' College, the College of Law and is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing. She has been married to John Coates "Jack" Leeming since 1985. Her husband is employed using parliamentary expenses. Her interests include singing (she is a member of the Parliamentary Choir), gardening, golf and keeping chickens. Gillan has an estimated wealth of £1.4 million.

Business career

Gillan joined the International Management Group in 1977 before becoming a director with the British Film Year in 1984. In 1986 she was appointed senior marketing consultant at Ernst & Young, becoming marketing director with Kidsons Impey 1991–1993. She became a Freeman of the City of London in 1991 and is a member of the Worshipful Company of Marketors.

Political career

Gillan served as the chairman of the right-wing Bow Group in 1987–1988 and unsuccessfully contested the Greater Manchester Central seat in the European Parliament election, 1989. She was elected to the House of Commons in the 1992 general election for the Buckinghamshire seat of Chesham and Amersham. She won the seat with a majority of 22,220 and has remained the MP there since. She made her maiden speech on 25 June 1992.

Gillan was active in her early years in Parliament, serving on the Select Committees for Science and Technology (1992–1995) and for Procedure (1994–1995). She was also the Secretary to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Space and a Board Member of the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology in 1995. In 1994 she was appointed as the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal Viscount Cranborne.

In July 1995 Cheryl Gillan joined the government as a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Department for Education and Employment. In this role she expanded the specialist schools programme to include arts and sports colleges, something she considers to be one of her proudest achievements in politics. After the 1997 general election—with the Conservatives now in Opposition—she became a spokesman for Trade and Industry in June 1997 and then, from June 1998, shadow minister for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and International Development. From September 2001 until June 2003 she served in the whip's office. In December 2003 she became Shadow Minister for Home, Constitutional and Legal Affairs. She was promoted to the Shadow Cabinet in December 2005 as the Shadow Secretary of State for Wales.

Gillan represented the British Islands and the Mediterranean on the Executive Committee of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) from 2000 until 2003 and was later elected treasurer of the CPA from 2003 until 2006.

Expenses

In 2009, Gillan was criticised in both the Daily Telegraph and local newspaper the Bucks Free Press for her expenses claims. The Telegraph revealed she had claimed for dog food on her second home allowance. Gillan described the claim as a "mistake" and said she would be repaying it. Gillan also claimed £305.50 to cure "noise problems" with her boiler. When questioned, Gillan said the boiler had broken down and that the claim was within the rules. It was also revealed that Gillan had attempted to claim more money for her gas bill than it was actually worth; the Commons Fees Office refused to pay the full amount.

Gillan was also the subject of criticism from the Bucks Free Press, which revealed Gillan had claimed £8,450 for food and £4,335 for cleaning. It was also revealed that Gillan employed her husband as an 'Office Manager/Researcher'. Gillan wrote to the Bucks Free Press to complain that "insinuating language" had been used.

Following a review of MPs expenses by Sir Thomas Legg, Gillan was also found to have claimed £1,884 more than her mortgage bill was actually worth. The mortgage was on a second home in Battersea, despite the fact that her main home in her constituency lies on the London Underground network. Gillan was ordered to repay the money. On 30 March 2010, it was announced that future MPs from Gillan's constituency would not be allowed to claim for a second home after the 2010 election.

Political positions

Gillan is on the moderate right and is a mild eurosceptic. She was initially opposed to the creation of the National Assembly for Wales, saying that there was not a large enough majority in favour of it in the Welsh devolution referendum, 1997. However after becoming Shadow Welsh Secretary, she declared that she supported the Welsh Assembly, and has maintained the possibility of the Conservatives supporting the devolution of further powers. She has admitted, however, that the Conservative Party is divided on the issue of devolution, and criticised the current state of devolution in Wales as being "complex and cumbersome".

Gillan's other key political positions at April 2010 were:

• Voted strongly against introducing foundation hospitals
• Voted very strongly for laws to stop climate change
• Voted moderately against Labour's anti-terrorism laws
• Voted strongly against the hunting ban
• Voted very strongly for replacing Trident
• Voted moderately against equal gay rights
• Voted moderately for introducing a smoking ban
• Voted very strongly against removing hereditary peers from the House of Lords
• Voted strongly against a wholly elected House of Lords
• Voted strongly against introducing ID cards
• Voted a mixture of for and against a transparent Parliament
• Voted very strongly for the Iraq war
• Voted strongly for an investigation into the Iraq war
• Voted moderately for greater autonomy for schools
• Voted strongly against introducing student top-up fees
• Voted moderately against allowing ministers to intervene in inquests

Styles

• Miss Cheryl Gillan (1952–1985)
• Mrs Cheryl Gillan
• Mrs Cheryl Gillan MP

External links

• Cheryl Gillan MP official constituency website
• Contributions in Parliament at Hansard 1803–2005
• Voting record at Public Whip
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou
• Profile: Cheryl Gillan, BBC News, 10 February 2005

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