Hilary Armstrong
Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
---|---|
Assumed office 18 June 2010 Life Peerage | |
Member of Parliament for North West Durham | |
In office 11 June 1987 – 12 April 2010 | |
Preceded by | Ernest Armstrong |
Succeeded by | Pat Glass |
Personal details | |
Born | Paul Corrigan | 30 November 1945
Alma mater | University of East London University of Birmingham |
Website | Official website |
Hilary Jane Armstrong, Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top,
Early life
Armstrong was born on 30 November 1945 to Hannah P. Lamb and Ernest Armstrong, a Labour Party politician. She attended Monkwearmouth Grammar School before going on to take a BSc in sociology at West Ham Technical Institute (now the University of East London) and a Diploma in Social Work from the University of Birmingham.[1][2] A former social worker and university lecturer, Armstrong worked for VSO in Kenya before entering politics. She was first elected as Durham County Councillor for Crook North Division in 1985.
She was shortlisted for the vacant Sedgefield constituency in 1983, only to lose out to Tony Blair, who went on to be elected MP. Four years later, at the 1987 general election, she was elected to her father's North West Durham seat on his retirement, increasing his majority by 3,806 to 10,162.[3]
Parliamentary career
Armstrong was
Armstrong was seen as a politician on the right of the Labour Party, and was close politically to her near neighbour Tony Blair and the
In the 1992 general election, Armstrong retained her North West Durham constituency by defeating two future party leaders, Theresa May of the Conservatives, who became Prime Minister in 2016, and Tim Farron of the Liberal Democrats.[5]
In government
Armstrong spent two years as Minister for Housing and Planning and four years as Minister for Local Government in the
Armstrong also faced criticism after government defeats in the Commons over the length of time suspected terrorists could be detained without charge, and incitement to religious hatred provisions in the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005. Press commentators speculated that in losing these votes through miscalculating government support, and in one instance letting the Prime Minister off the "Whip" because she believed the vote was won, Armstrong's position had become vulnerable.[6] However the rumours that she would resign the post[7] proved unfounded.
Afterwards, Conservative leader David Cameron mocked Armstrong during an exchange with Tony Blair, saying "She must be the first Chief Whip in history to put the Prime Minister in the frame for losing a key vote—which is an interesting career move, to say the least."[8] This was the second time David Cameron had attacked her during Prime Minister's Questions; on his debut as Leader of the Opposition on 7 December 2005, Cameron singled her out by saying, "That's the problem with these exchanges—the chief whip on the Labour side shouting like a child. Is she finished? Are you finished?"[9]
On 5 May 2006 Armstrong was appointed
She formally resigned from the government on 27 June 2007 when Tony Blair resigned as Prime Minister, she was succeeded by Ed Miliband the following day. On becoming Prime Minister, Gordon Brown announced Armstrong's appointment as Chair of a Parliamentary Labour Party Manifesto Committee drawing up policy ideas covering children.[citation needed]
Post-Government
On 4 July 2009, Armstrong announced her intention to stand down at the 2010 general election.[11]
On 18 June 2010, she was created a
She was interviewed in 2014 as part of The History of Parliament's oral history project.[14]
She is a member of the Joint Committee on the Draft Domestic Abuse Bill.
On 19 July 2019, Armstrong's North West Durham constituency party voted to expel her from the party after she and 67 other Labour peers published an advert in
Personal life
Armstrong is married to
References
- )
- ^ https://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/675155.business-networking-through-the-uel-alumni/Waltham Forest Guardian, Business Networking though the UEL Alumni
- ^ "University of Keele – Political Science Resources – 1987 general election". Archived from the original on 22 May 2008. Retrieved 18 July 2008.
- ^ a b "Profile: Hilary Armstrong". 5 May 2006 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ "Tim Farron: the Christian Lefty on course to be elected Liberal Democrat leader". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
- ^ The Times – Whips in turmoil as Blair's no-show castrates hate Bill
- ^ "Government defeated over bill to combat religious hatred". The Guardian. 1 February 2006.
- ^ "Blair to push ahead with reforms". 1 February 2006 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ "He's in front of you, Tony". The Guardian. 7 December 2005.
- ^ The Sunday Herald – Galloway: pledge to pay back taxpayers' money to cover absence (via FindArticles.com)
- ^ "Two North East MPs standing down". BBC News Online. 4 July 2009.
- ^ "No. 59467". The London Gazette. 23 June 2010. p. 11801.
- ^ House of Lords Business, 22 June 2010
- ^ "Hilary Armstrong interviewed by Emma Peplow". British Library Sound Archive. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
- ^ "Hilary Armstrong 'very sad' over vote to expel her from Labour party". The Guardian. 20 July 2019.
- ^ "LFI Supporters in Parliament". Labour Friends of Israel. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
External links
- Hilary Armstrong MP Archived 6 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine official site
- 10 Downing Street – Hilary Armstrong official biography
- North West Durham Labour Party – Hilary Armstrong MP official site
- Profile at the Parliament of the United Kingdom
- Contributions in Parliament at Hansard 1803–2005
- Current session contributions in Parliament at Hansard
- Electoral history and profile at The Guardian
- Voting record at PublicWhip.org
- Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou.com
- Profile at Westminster Parliamentary Record
- Profile at BBC News Democracy Live
- Articles authored at Journalisted
- East London Futures
- UEL Alumni Event – Hilary Armstrong