Hilary Armstrong

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The Rt Hon Hilary Armstrong
In office
May 5, 2006 – present
Preceded by John Hutton
Succeeded by Incumbent
Constituency Durham North West
Majority 13,443 (34%)
Born November 30, 1945
Political party Labour
Spouse Paul Corrigan

Hilary Jane Armstrong (born 30 November 1945, Sunderland) is a British Labour Party politician. She has been Member of Parliament for North West Durham since 1987. On May 5, 2006 she was appointed as Minister for the Cabinet Office and Social Exclusion and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in the UK Government.

[edit] Personal life and career

She was first promoted into the Cabinet of the United Kingdom as Chief Whip after the 2001 election, after spending four years as Minister for Local Government, in which time she was responsible for introducing controversial new local government structures. She was re-appointed as Chief Whip following Labour's third-term victory in the 2005 General Election.

Her promotion to the UK Cabinet was the high point of a career which has been low-key but inexorably successful; it had taken something of a knock with controversies over select committee membership and over allegations of strong arm tactics with Labour dissenters over military action in Afghanistan.

Armstrong also faced criticism after government defeats in the Commons over the length of time suspected terrorists can be detained without charge and incitement to religious hatred in the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005. Press commentators have speculated that in losing these votes through miscalculating government support and letting the Prime Minister off the "Whip", Armstrong's position had become vulnerable[citation needed]. Conservative Party 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.” This was the second time David Cameron had attacked her during Prime Ministers Questions, on his debut as leader of the opposition on 7th December 2005 she was singled out by him when he said "That's the problem with these exchanges - the chief whip on the Labour side shouting like a child. Is she finished? Are you finished?"[1]

In 2006 Armstrong launched a petition on behalf of the Bethnal Green and Bow Labour Party against Respect MP George Galloway's participation in Channel 4's Big Brother. She criticised Galloway for being paid as an MP during the time he was in the Big Brother house, which was false, as Galloway had agreed to repay this part of his salary.

Armstrong was educated at Monkwearmouth School, West Ham College of Technology and the University of Birmingham. 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.

The daughter of Labour MP Ernest Armstrong, she was shortlisted for the vacant Sedgefield constituency in 1983, only to lose out to Tony Blair. Four years later, she was elected to her father's North West Durham seat on his retirement.

Seen as a politician on the centre right of the Labour Party, Armstrong has remained close to her near neighbour Tony Blair and loyal to New Labour's agenda.

She was parliamentary private secretary to the late John Smith during his time as Labour leader, and played a large part in his successful fight to institute one member one vote at Labour's conference.

A member of the Amicus trades union (formerly MSF), her trades union links also came in useful when she helped to shore up support for the rewriting of Clause IV.

Armstrong is married to one Paul Corrigan. In 2001 he was appointed as a special advisor to her close Cabinet colleague, Alan Milburn, who was then Secretary of State for Health. He then served as Special Advisor to Milburn's successor, Dr John Reid. Corrigan is credited as the man behind the Labour government's policy on "Foundation Hospitals". In 2006, Paul Corrigan returned to the government as a policy adviser to the Prime Minister. She is a keen supporter of Sunderland F.C.. Prof Corrigan's enthusiastic championing of the role of the private sector in public service provision has long been a source of concern for some of Armstrong's trades union colleagues.

In the 2005 general election, Labour suffered a 6.8% swing to the Liberal Democrats in the North West Durham constituency.


[edit] External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Ernest Armstrong		 Member of Parliament for North West Durham
1987 – present		 Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by
Ann Taylor		 Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury
2001-2006		 Succeeded by
Jacqui Smith
Government Chief Whip
2001-2006
Preceded by
John Hutton		 Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
2006 – present		 Incumbent
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../h/i/l/Hilary_Armstrong_94ce.html"
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