Nationality British Majority 9,128 (16.6%) Role Politician | Name Therese Coffey Leader Chris Grayling Political party Conservative | |
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Education University of Oxford, Somerville College, Oxford, University College London | ||
Heather brooke and therese coffey on maria miller s expenses newsnight
Thérèse Anne Coffey (born 18 November 1971) is an English Conservative Party politician and parliamentary candidate for the Suffolk Coastal constituency, having won the seat at the general election in May 2010.
Contents
- Heather brooke and therese coffey on maria miller s expenses newsnight
- Dr therese coffey mp
- Early life and education
- Career
- Controversy
- Personal life
- References
Dr therese coffey mp
Early life and education
Coffey was born in Billinge, Merseyside (then Lancashire), and grew up in Liverpool. Coffey attended St Mary's College, Crosby and St Edward's College, Liverpool. She studied at Somerville College, Oxford and then at University College London, where she was awarded a PhD in Chemistry in 1998.
Career
On graduation in 1997 she joined Mars, Incorporated in Hampshire as a chemist, later training as a Chartered Management Accountant, rising to hold the position of Finance director for Mars Drinks UK. As her political career progressed, she moved her work base to London; in 2009 she held the position of Property Finance manager at the BBC.
Coffey stood as Conservative Party candidate for the Wrexham constituency, in Wales, at the 2005 general election. She came third with 6,079 votes (20% of the vote).
In the European Parliament elections in June 2004, she failed to be elected to the European Parliament for the South East region of England. The Conservative Party won 35.2% of the vote, giving them four seats, but Coffey was seventh on the list in this proportional representation system.
In 2009, at the next European elections, Coffey was living in Andover, Hampshire; she missed out by one place on being elected to the European Parliament for the South East region. The Conservative Party won 34.79% of the vote, giving them four seats, but she was fifth on the party list.
After being selected on 6 February 2010 to stand as Conservative candidate in the Suffolk Coastal constituency, Coffey moved from Hampshire to Westleton. The Rev. David Miller, the vice-chairman of the local Liberal Democrats, raised questions over the status of her residency there, claiming that "The address at which Ms Coffey currently resides is a holiday let" with reference to her Westleton property. She owns a flat and partly owns a house, both in Hampshire, and has the tenancy of a house in Westleton.
She has supported the Aldeburgh Cottage Hospital and other small local hospitals in her constituency against the threats of cuts and closures.
At the general election on 6 May 2010 she won the Suffolk Coastal seat, becoming the constituency's first female member of parliament. Coffey received 25,475 votes (46.4% of the vote), an increase of 1.8% on John Gummer's 2005 campaign. She is a supporter of the Free Enterprise Group.
On 6 July 2011, Coffey defended Rebekah Brooks in the News of the World phone-hacking scandal. Coffey said a "witch hunt" was developing against Brooks. She said that simply to say she was editor of the newspaper at the time is not enough evidence against her. She became a member of the Culture, Media and Sports Select Committee inquiry into the hacking scandal in 2012. In that committee, she declined to support any motions critical of Rupert and James Murdoch. However, she later joined the majority of her party in voting for exemplary damages to be a default consequence to deter press misbehaviour.
Government appointments
Coffey was a member of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee from July 2010 to October 2012, when she was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to Michael Fallon, Minister for Business and Energy. In July 2014 she was appointed Assistant Government Whip.
She was appointed Deputy Leader of the House of Commons on 11 May 2015.
Controversy
Coffey's decision to author a paper for the Free Enterprise Group recommending pensioners should be forced to pay National Insurance provoked backlash among older constituents, claiming that in an already tough economic environment, it was wrong to tax pensioners further. However, Mrs Coffey said that she had "no regrets writing about National Insurance" and that it was "a policy proposal - it is by no means, at this stage, anymore than that."
The Member of Parliament has also faced criticism from Suffolk residents over her support for the Government's proposal to sell off forestry and woodland in public ownership, in 2011. Protestors argued that "previous experience shows us that when private landowners come in they close car parks and make access as difficult as possible.". Although Dr Coffey voted for the bill, the proposal has since been dropped by the government.
Coffey has also been criticised for accepting hospitality worth £890 from Ladbrokes after supporting the gambling industry in parliament as part of the culture, media and sport committee. Coffey denied that she had been "influenced in her considerations on matters of related policy by any hospitality received". However Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said: "Accepting gifts from Ladbrokes at the same time as supporting reductions in gambling safeguards looks very shady. The Fixed Odds Betting Terminals which Ms Coffey is so keen to defend are highly addictive and have been shown to destroy lives and suck money out of deprived communities.”
Personal life
An avid football fan, she supports Liverpool F.C., signing the Early Day Motion set down by Labour Liverpool Walton MP Steve Rotheram, requesting a knighthood for Kenny Dalglish. She is a keen fan of the rock band Muse.