Mike Penning
Minister of State for Disabled People | |
---|---|
In office 7 October 2013 – 15 July 2014 | |
Prime Minister | David Cameron |
Preceded by | Esther McVey |
Succeeded by | Mark Harper |
Minister of State for Northern Ireland | |
In office 4 September 2012 – 7 October 2013 | |
Prime Minister | David Cameron |
Preceded by | Hugo Swire |
Succeeded by | Andrew Robathan |
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport | |
In office 12 May 2010 – 4 September 2012 | |
Prime Minister | David Cameron |
Preceded by | Chris Mole |
Succeeded by | Stephen Hammond |
Member of Parliament for Hemel Hempstead | |
In office 5 May 2005 – 30 May 2024 | |
Preceded by | Tony McWalter |
Succeeded by | TBC |
Personal details | |
Born | Finchley, Middlesex, England | 28 September 1957
Political party | Conservative |
Spouse | Angela Smith |
Children | 2 daughters |
Residence(s) | Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England |
Military service | |
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Branch/service | Grenadier Guards |
Years of service | 1974–1980 |
Rank | Guardsman |
Commands | Kenya Germany Northern Ireland |
Sir Michael Alan Penning (born 28 September 1957) is a British Conservative Party politician, who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hemel Hempstead from 2005 to 2024.
Penning was the
Early life and career
Penning was born in
After leaving the Army, Penning subsequently worked as a firefighter for Essex County Fire and Rescue Service, before joining his family business and then becoming a political journalist.[5]
Political career
In the mid-1990s, Penning worked as a media adviser to the
Member of Parliament
At the
The Buncefield fire occurred on 11 December 2005 and led to some 2,700 claims for compensation.[7] In the words of neighbouring MP Peter Lilley, "There is something providential about the fact that the worst fire in western Europe since the Second World War should occur in a constituency represented by a fireman. It was undoubtedly in the interests of all his constituents and mine to have someone so knowledgeable, as well as so vigorous in their response, to represent their interests."[8] Penning, who arrived on the scene within half an hour of the explosion, had himself been trained to deal with much smaller petroleum fires; the scenario was that one tank not twenty was affected.[9]
According to
Penning "occasionally rebelled", with two per cent of his votes being against the Whip, and was "very strongly" in favour of a smoking ban. Penning's parliamentary expenses details have been published as part of a general publication of all MPs' expenses. In 2009, he claimed a total of £135,078, 502nd of all MPs.[15] The Legg Report found no problem with his expenses.[17] Penning did, however, voluntarily repay £2.99 for a dog bowl, which was the lowest recorded repayment by any MP.[18][19]
Subsequent elections
Penning achieved one of the largest increases in his majority of all MPs at the 2010 general election, when he took 50% of the vote share to hold the seat with a majority of 13,406.[20] This result relegated Labour's Ayfer Orhan to third place behind the Liberal Democrat candidate Richard Grayson, representing the largest swing from the Labour Party to the Conservative Party (a 14.4% swing) in the country.[20][21][22]
In the 2015 general election, Penning increased his majority by 2.9% to 52.9% to hold his seat with a 14,420 majority.[23] In the subsequent reshuffle, Penning was appointed as Minister of State in the Home Office for Policing and Criminal Justice.[24] In the June 2017 general election he held Hemel Hempstead with a reduced majority of 9,445, but with an increased share of the vote (55%). He was re-elected in the 2019 general election.[25]
On 17 May 2022, he announced that he would stand down at the 2024 general election.[26]
Minister of State
After the 2010 election, Prime Minister
In the reshuffle of 4 September 2012, Penning was moved to become
Political positions
Penning was a supporter of Brexit during the 2016 referendum.[32]
In May 2021, Penning tabled and was the sole signatory of an early day motion stating as the "UK has left the European Union, the UK should now leave the Eurovision Song Contest, calling on the BBC to no longer spend licence fee money on an event designed to humiliate the UK and notes that, if the winning song is to be broadcast on the public airwaves, it should be preceded by a public health warning."[33]
Penning resigned as vice chairman of the
Personal life
Penning lives in Hemel Hempstead with his wife Angela.[35] He employs his wife as his Office Manager on an annual salary up to £40,000. He has two daughters.[36]
He is a supporter of Tottenham Hotspur F.C.[37]
Honours
- General Service Medal with ‘NORTHERN IRELAND’ Clasp
- Privy Counsellor(2014)
- Knight Bachelor (2017)[38]
References
- ^ a b "Michael Moore axed as Scottish secretary in coalition reshuffle". BBC News. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
- ^ "Sir Mike Penning Personal website". Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- ^ "The Rt Hon Sir Mike Penning MP". Government of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
- ^ "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 21 May 2008 (pt 0003)". publications.parliament.uk.
- ^ "Mike Penning Personal website". Retrieved 10 April 2010.
- ^ Wegg-Prosser, Benjamin (13 September 2001). "Guardian 7/9/2001, – What's cooking in the Tory kitchen cabinet". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 15 April 2010.
- ^ "Buncefield victims in court move". BBC News. 17 March 2006. Retrieved 17 May 2010.
- ^ "Buncefield Debate Westminster Hall,Speaker=Peter Lilly". TheyWorkForYou.com. 9 January 2008.
- ^ "Buncefield Debate Westminster Hall,Speaker=Mike Penning". TheyWorkForYou.com. 9 January 2008. Retrieved 17 May 2010.
- ^ "HC Deb, 22 July 2008". theyworkforyou. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
- ^ Limbajee, Khevyn (28 October 2005). "London: Pension crisis". BBC. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
- ^ "HC Deb, 18 April 2007, c361". theyworkforyou. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
- ^ "dexion speaker:Michael Penning". theyworkforyou. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
- ^ Cowie, Ian (21 February 2007). "Pensioners win victory in High Court". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
- ^ a b "Michael Penning". Retrieved 18 March 2010.
- ^ a b Hurst, Greg (27 February 2006). "The MPs who can't stop talking". London: Times Newspapers. Archived from the original on 16 February 2007. Retrieved 17 February 2011.
- ^ "Review of past ACA payments" (PDF). House of Commons Members Estimate Committee. 4 February 2010. Retrieved 5 February 2010.
- ^ "MPs' expenses in detail (repayments)". BBC. 14 May 2009. Retrieved 14 April 2010.
- ^ "MPs' expenses in detail". BBC. 7 September 2009. Retrieved 18 March 2010.
- ^ a b "BBC News Election 2010 Constituency Hemel Hempstead". Retrieved 7 May 2010.
- ^ Amie Mulderrig (11 May 2010). "Re-elected Hemel Hempstead MP Mike Penning achieves largest swing from Labour to Conservative in the country". Watford Observer. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
- ^ "How Britain voted". Guardian Supplement. 8 May 2010. p. 8.
- ^ "BBC News Election 2015 Constituency Hemel Hempstead". Retrieved 20 May 2015.
- ^ "West Yorkshire Police Federation". Retrieved 20 May 2015.
- ^ "Hemel Hempstead parliamentary constituency - Election 2019 - BBC News". Retrieved 20 May 2022.
- ^ "Hemel Hempstead MP Sir Mike Penning to retire at next election". BBC News. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
- ^ "Her Majesty's Government". UK Parliament.
- ^ "Greek News Agenda". www.greeknewsagenda.gr.
- ^ Roelof Wittink Executive Director, Dutch Cycling Embassy (24 April 2012). "Sorry minister, it is the Brits who must learn from the Dutch on #cyclesafe". The Times. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
- ^ "MP Penning promoted to head Northern Ireland security". www.hemeltoday.co.uk.
- ^ "Homepage | Sir Mike Penning MP - Member of Parliament for Hemel Hempstead".
- ^ Goodenough, Tom (16 February 2016). "Which Tory MPs back Brexit, who doesn't and who is still on the fence?". The Spectator. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
- ^ "Eurovision song contest - Early Day Motions - UK Parliament". edm.parliament.uk. Retrieved 29 November 2021.[non-primary source needed]
- ^ Cowburn, Ashley (13 July 2022). "Tory vice-chair resigns to publicly campaign for leadership candidate Penny Mordaunt". The Independent. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
- ^ "MP website". GOV.UK. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
- ^ "They Work For You". GOV.UK. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
- ^ "Iain Dale: IDS and Penning only sing when they're winning". Conservative Home. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
- ^ "Knighthoods: Michael Penning and Robert Syms". Retrieved 23 November 2018.
External links
Media related to Mike Penning at Wikimedia Commons