Theresa May

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For the British glamour model and porn actor, see Teresa May.

Theresa Mary May (born in Eastbourne, Sussex, England, on October 1, 1956 as Theresa Mary Brasier) is a British politician, former chairman of the Conservative Party, and Member of Parliament for Maidenhead.

May studied at St Hugh's College, Oxford and obtained a Geography MA. From 1985 to 1997, she worked as a financial consultant, and was also a councillor in the London Borough of Merton from 1986 to 1994, where she was Chairman of Education (1988–1990) and Deputy Group Leader and Housing Spokesman (1992–1994). In the 1992 general election she stood (and lost) in the safe Labour seat of North West Durham and then unsuccessfully contested the 1994 Barking by-election. In the 1997 general election she was elected the Conservative MP for Maidenhead.

Having entered parliament she soon became a member of William Hague's front-bench team as Shadow Spokesman for Schools, Disabled People and Women (1998 – June 1999). May became the first of the 1997 MPs to enter the Shadow Cabinet when in 1999 she was appointed Shadow Education and Employment Secretary. After the 2001 election the new Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith retained her services in the Shadow Cabinet, moving her to the Transport portfolio. In this role she opposed then Transport Secretary Stephen Byers in the period leading up to his resignation.

May was appointed the first female chairman in July 2002. During her speech at the 2002 Conservative Party Conference while making a point about why her party must change, she controversially stated that the Conservatives were currently perceived as the "nasty party". After Michael Howard became Conservative leader in 2003 he made May Shadow Secretary of State for Transport and the Environment. However in June 2004 she was moved to the new position of Shadow Secretary of State for the Family. After the 2005 election her portfolio was expanded and she became Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whilst remaining Shadow Secretary of State for the Family. David Cameron appointed her Shadow Leader of the House in December 2005 after his accession to the leadership.

May is known for her love of shoes; in the register of members interests she declared that she had '[received a] discount card on the purchase of shoes from Russell and Bromley which has the potential to be of registrable value.' She is married to Philip May and lives in Sonning, Berkshire.

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Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
new constituency		 Member of Parliament for Maidenhead
1997 – present		 Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by
David Davis		 Chairman of the Conservative Party
2002–2003		 Succeeded by
Liam Fox
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