| The Right Honourable Caroline Spelman MP |
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 Spelman during the 2009 Conservative Party Conference. |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 12 May 2010 |
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| Prime Minister | David Cameron |
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| Preceded by | Hilary Benn |
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| In office 19 January 2009 – 12 May 2010 |
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| Leader | David Cameron |
| Preceded by | Eric Pickles |
| Succeeded by | John Denham |
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| In office 2 July 2007 – 19 January 2009 |
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| Leader | David Cameron |
| Preceded by | Francis Maude |
| Succeeded by | Eric Pickles |
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Member of Parliament
for Meriden |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 1 May 1997 |
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| Preceded by | Iain Mills |
| Majority | 16,253 (31.2%) |
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| Born | 4 May 1958 Bishop's Stortford, United Kingdom |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse(s) | Mark Spelman |
| Alma mater | Queen Mary College, University of London. |
| Religion | Anglicanism[1] |
Caroline Alice Spelman (née Cormack; born 4 May 1958) is a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Meriden in the West Midlands since 1997. In May 2010 she became Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in David Cameron's coalition cabinet, and was sworn as a Privy Counsellor on 13 May 2010.[2]
Contents |
Early life
Born in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, Spelman attended Herts and Essex High School for Girls (now called The Hertfordshire and Essex High School), in Warwick Road, Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, and received a BA First Class in European Studies from Queen Mary College, University of London.
She was Sugar Beet commodity secretary for the National Farmer's Union from 1981 to 1984. She was deputy director of the International Confederation of European Beet Growers (officially known as La Confédération Internationale des Betteraviers Européens – CIBE) in Paris from 1984–9, then a research fellow for the Centre for European Agricultural Studies (part of the University of Kent and since 2000 known as the Centre for European Agri-Environmental Economics) from 1989 to 1993. She co-owns Spelman, Cormack & Associates, a lobbying firm for the food and biotechnology industry, with her husband.[3] Based in Dorridge (her constituency is in the borough of Solihull).
Parliamentary career
Before entering Parliament in 1997, she stood unsuccessfully in the Bassetlaw constituency in Nottinghamshire at the 1992 general election.
In 2001, Iain Duncan Smith appointed Spelman Shadow Secretary of State for International Development, a post she maintained until Duncan Smith's departure as Conservative Party leader. Duncan Smith's successor, Michael Howard, opted for a streamlined Shadow Cabinet and omitted Spelman; however, he later appointed her as a front bench spokeswoman on Environmental Affairs working for Theresa May. In March 2004, Spelman re-entered the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Secretary of State for Local and Devolved Government Affairs, succeeding David Curry. Under David Cameron's leadership of the Conservative Party, in 2007 she was promoted further to become Conservative Party Chairman. In 2009 she was moved in another reshuffle to the role of Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, replacing Eric Pickles.
"Nannygate" controversy
On 6 June 2008, Spelman was the subject of controversy when it was suggested that for around twelve months from May 1997 she paid her child's nanny, Tina Haynes, from her parliamentary staffing allowance, contrary to the rule governing such allowances and fears of the misuse of them. Spelman claims that her nanny also acted as her constituency secretary and was paid from the public taxpayers' purse for this aspect of her further employment. Haynes confirms that occasionally she would answer phone calls and post documents but initially she denied such happenings when interviewed on BBC Two's Newsnight via telephone. The accusations came at a time when Conservative Party leader David Cameron had tasked Spelman with reviewing the use of parliamentary allowances by Conservative MPs and MEPs in the wake of the Derek Conway affair.[4] The allegation against Spelman came shortly after two Conservative MEPs, Giles Chichester (Leader of the Conservatives in the EU Parliament) and Den Dover (Conservative Chief Whip in the EU Parliament), were forced to resign amid claims they misused their parliamentary allowances. However, Spelman was not urged to resign by party leader, David Cameron. She referred the matter pertaining to herself, her nanny and parliamentary funds to John Lyon, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards.[5] Senior Conservative colleagues including former Shadow Home Secretary David Davis stated their support for Spelman.[6]
New revelations were exposed on the BBC's Newsnight programme that nine years previously Mrs Spelman's secretary, Sally Hammond, complained to the Conservative Party leadership that she was using Parliamentary allowances to pay her nanny and that the arrangement with the nanny was over a two year period and not one. [7]
In March 2009, the Commons Standards and Privileges Committee ruled Mrs Spelman had misused her allowances to pay for nannying work in 1997 and 1998.
Expenses
In 2009, during the expenses crisis it was reported that Spelman had received £40,000 for cleaning and bills for her constituency home, this was despite her husband claiming it was their main home, and in 2008 she reportedly over-claimed hundreds of pounds towards her council tax.[8]
Personal life
She married Mark Spelman, a senior partner at Accenture, on 25 April 1987 in south-east Kent. They have two sons and a daughter. Her husband stood as a Conservative candidate in the 2009 European elections for the West Midlands region.
The couple own a constituency home, a London townhouse and a villa in Algarve, Portugal,[9] Her wealth is estimated as £1.5m.[10]
She is a trustee of the Conservative Christian Fellowship.
References
- ^ The Committee Office, House of Commons. "House of Commons - Mrs Caroline Spelman - Standards and Privileges Committee". Publications.parliament.uk. http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmselect/cmstnprv/316/31605.htm. Retrieved 2010-05-13.
- ^ "Privy Council appointments, 13 May 2010". Privy Council. http://www.privy-council.org.uk/files/other/13th%20May2010%20List.doc. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
- ^ "The new ruling class". NewStatesman. http://www.newstatesman.com/uk-politics/2009/10/oxford-universitywealth-school. Retrieved 11 October 2009.
- ^ Tory MP paid nanny from expenses, BBC
- ^ Tory chairman Caroline Spelman to meet standards commissioner over nanny expenses, Daily Telegraph 7 June 2008
- ^ Tories rally round Spelman Yahoo! News 8 June 2008
- ^ "MPs call for Spelman to be sacked". BBC News. 26 June 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7476527.stm. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
- ^ "The new ruling class". NewStatesman. http://www.newstatesman.com/uk-politics/2009/10/oxford-universitywealth-school. Retrieved 11 October 2009.
- ^ Worden, Tom (15 March 2009). ""Nannygate" Tory Caroline Spelman's properties worth nearly £5million". Sunday Mirror. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2009/03/15/nannygate-tory-caroline-spelman-s-properties-worth-nearly-5million-115875-21199633/. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
- ^ Glen Owen The coalition of millionaires: 23 of the 29 member of the new cabinet are worth more than £1m... and the Lib Dems are just as wealthy as the Tories Mail on Sunday 23 May 2010
External links
- Caroline Spelman MP official constituency website
- Contributions in Parliament at Hansard 1803–2005
- Electoral history and profile at The Guardian
- Voting record at PublicWhip.org
- Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou.com
- Profile at Westminster Parliamentary Record
- Website at ePolitix.com
- Profile: Caroline Spelman BBC News, 16 October 2002
- Audio clips
- Video clips
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Iain Mills |
Member of Parliament for Meriden 1997–present |
Incumbent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by David Curry |
Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 2004–2007 |
Succeeded by Eric Pickles |
| Preceded by Eric Pickles |
Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 2009–2010 |
Succeeded by TBD |
| Preceded by Hilary Benn |
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 2010–present |
Incumbent |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by Francis Maude |
Chairman of the Conservative Party 2007–2009 |
Succeeded by Eric Pickles |
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