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Harriett Baldwin

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Dame Harriett Mary Morison Baldwin DBE (née Eggleston; born 2 May 1960), is a British Conservative Party politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for West Worcestershire since 2010 and Shadow Minister for Development since July 2024.[2] She was Minister of State for Africa and International Development between January 2018 and July 2019. In 2022, Baldwin was elected Chair of the Treasury Select Committee.

Dame Harriett Baldwin
DBE MP
Official portrait, 2024
Shadow Minister for Development
Incumbent
Assumed office
19 July 2024
LeaderRishi Sunak
Preceded byLisa Nandy
Chair of the Treasury Select Committee
In office
9 November 2022 – 30 May 2024
Preceded byMel Stride
Angela Eagle (acting)
Succeeded byMeg Hillier
Minister of State for Africa and International Development
In office
9 January 2018 – 25 July 2019
Prime MinisterTheresa May
Preceded byRory Stewart
Succeeded byAndrew Stephenson
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence Procurement
In office
17 July 2016 – 9 January 2018
Prime MinisterTheresa May
Preceded byPhilip Dunne
Succeeded byGuto Bebb
Economic Secretary to the Treasury
In office
11 May 2015 – 16 July 2016
Prime MinisterDavid Cameron
Preceded byAndrea Leadsom
Succeeded bySimon Kirby
Lord Commissioner of the Treasury
In office
14 July 2014 – 8 May 2015
Prime MinisterDavid Cameron
Preceded bySam Gyimah
Succeeded byMel Stride
Member of Parliament
for West Worcestershire
Incumbent
Assumed office
6 May 2010
Preceded byMichael Spicer
Majority6,547 (12.0%)[1]
Personal details
Born
Harriett Mary Morison Eggleston

(1960-05-02) 2 May 1960 (age 64)
Watford, Hertfordshire, England
Political partyConservative
Spouse
James Baldwin
​
(m. 2004)​
EducationFriends' School, Saffron Walden
Marlborough College
Alma materLady Margaret Hall, Oxford
McGill University
WebsiteOfficial website

Prior to entering parliament, Dame Harriett worked for the investment bank JPMorgan Chase.

Early life and career

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Harriett Eggleston was born on 2 May 1960 in Watford to Anthony Francis Eggleston and Jane Morison Buxton.[3] Her father was headmaster of Felsted School in Essex and previously headmaster of Campion School in Athens.[4][5] Her childhood was spent in Cyprus and Felsted,[6] being educated at two private schools, the Friends' School, Saffron Walden, and Marlborough College, Wiltshire.

Baldwin studied at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford between 1978 and 1982, where she received an MA degree in Modern Languages (French and Russian).[7][8] She furthermore obtained an MBA in International Finance from McGill University (Montreal, Canada) in 1985.[9]

Baldwin joined the investment bank JPMorgan Chase in 1986, becoming managing director and head of currency management at their London office in 1998. She later became a pension fund manager at the bank before leaving in 2008.[7][10] She served as vice-chair of Social Investment Business between 2008 and 2012.[11]

Parliamentary career

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At the 2005 general election, Baldwin was the Conservative candidate in Stockton North, coming second with 20.8% of the vote behind the incumbent Labour MP Frank Cook.[12][13]

Baldwin was elected at the 2010 general election as MP for West Worcestershire, winning with 50.4% of the vote and a majority of 6,754.[14][15]

During the coalition government under Prime Minister David Cameron, she was a member of the Work and Pensions Select Committee until she was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Minister of State for Employment Mark Hoban at the Department for Work and Pensions in 2012.[7] Baldwin was also a member of the UK's delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.[16]

In February 2014, Baldwin became an Assistant Whip and in the Government reshuffle in July, she was promoted to the role of Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury.[10]

At the 2015 general election, Baldwin was re-elected as MP for West Worcestershire with an increased vote share of 56.1% and an increased majority of 22,578.[17][18][19] After the election, she was appointed Economic Secretary to the Treasury and City Minister.[20] Baldwin was also appointed as the Prime Minister's Trade Envoy to Russia.[10]

She supported the UK remaining within the EU in the 2016 membership referendum.[21]

In July 2016, Baldwin was appointed as Parliamentary Under-Secretary and Minister for Defence Procurement at the Ministry of Defence as part of the Government reshuffle by new Prime Minister Theresa May.[22][23]

Baldwin was again re-elected at the snap 2017 general election, with an increased vote share of 61.5% and a decreased majority of 21,328.[24]

Baldwin served as Minister of State for Africa and International Development between January 2018 and July 2019.[25][26] She voted for then Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit withdrawal agreement.[21] In the 2019 Conservative Party leadership election, Baldwin supported Jeremy Hunt.[21]

At the 2019 general election, Baldwin was again re-elected, with a decreased vote share of 60.7% and an increased majority of 24,499.[27]

Baldwin has been a member of the Treasury Select Committee since March 2020 and was elected its chair in 2022.[28] In this role, Baldwin opposed plans of the Sunak ministry to disestablish the Office of Tax Simplification.[29]

A steering committee member of the lockdown-sceptic COVID Recovery Group, a group of Conservative MPs opposed to the UK Government's December 2020 lockdown,[30] she supported Penny Mordaunt in the October 2022 Conservative Party leadership election.[31]

Since 2024, Baldwin sponsors the Hereditary Titles (Female Succession) Bill,[32] a private member's bill to make provision for the succession of female heirs to hereditary titles.[33]

At the 2024 general election, Baldwin was again re-elected, with a decreased vote share of 36.2% and a decreased majority of 6,547.[34]

Personal life

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Married to James Stanley Baldwin since 2004,[35] Baldwin has two stepdaughters and a son from her previous marriage with Charles Richmond.[3]

In March 2024, Baldwin was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for "public and parliamentary service".[36]

References

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  1. ^ "Worcestershire West Parliamentary constituency". Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  2. ^ "Conservative Party announces interim Opposition Front Bench". policymogul.com. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Baldwin, Harriett Mary Morison, (born 2 May 1960), MP (C) West Worcestershire, since 2010; Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence, since 2016". Who's Who. 2010. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.251096.
  4. ^ Eggleston, Anthony Francis. A & C Black. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U14756. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  5. ^ "The Old Felstedian 2016". Felsted School. 11 January 2017. p. 11. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  6. ^ "Harriett Baldwin: Voice of experience". Politics Home. 5 July 2012. Archived from the original on 7 April 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  7. ^ a b c "The Conservative women on the rise in Cameron's reshuffle". BBC News. 15 July 2014. Archived from the original on 24 June 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  8. ^ https://www.harriettbaldwin.com/about About Harriett - personal website of Harriett Baldwin - UK parliament
  9. ^ "Meet the MP: Harriett Baldwin". BBC News. 5 July 2010. Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  10. ^ a b c Hopkins, Kathryn; Aldrick, Philip; Fildes, Nic (26 May 2015). "Osborne turns to City insiders as he finally picks own team". The Times.(subscription required)
  11. ^ Brown, Adrian; Behrens, Lina; Schuster, Anna (July 2015). "A Tale of Two Funds". The Boston Consulting Group. p. 22. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  12. ^ "Result: Stockton North". BBC News. 6 May 2005. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  13. ^ "UK General Election results May 2005". Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  14. ^ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  15. ^ "BBC News - Election 2010 - Constituency - Worcestershire West". Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  16. ^ "Membership of the UK Delegation". parliament.uk. Archived from the original on 23 April 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  17. ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  18. ^ "WORCESTERSHIRE WEST". Sky News. Sky UK. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  19. ^ "West Worcestershire Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  20. ^ "Harriet Baldwin given City Minister position". ITV.com. Archived from the original on 14 May 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  21. ^ a b c Maguire, Patrick (28 July 2019). "Sacked minister Harriett Baldwin to run for Treasury committee chair". New Statesman. Archived from the original on 30 July 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  22. ^ "New ministerial and government appointments announced on July 17 2016 - Press releases - GOV.UK". gov.uk. Archived from the original on 17 July 2016. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
  23. ^ "Defence Minister attends land event Dynamic Vehicle Demonstration 2016". gov.uk. 9 September 2016. Archived from the original on 27 August 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  24. ^ "West Worcestershire Nomination of Candidates" (PDF). Malvern Hills District Council. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  25. ^ "Harriett Baldwin MP". gov.uk. Archived from the original on 25 July 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  26. ^ Greenway, Sam (26 July 2019). "Harriett Baldwin MP loses job after PM's government reshuffle". Worcester News. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  27. ^ "Worcestershire West Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  28. ^ "Parliamentary career for Harriett Baldwin". parliament.uk. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  29. ^ Uddin, Rafe (15 June 2023). "MPs warn against plans to scrap Office for Tax Simplification". Financial Times. Retrieved 17 January 2024. "Disbanding the office established to champion tax simplification risks signalling the government is not serious about the task at hand," said Harriett Baldwin, Conservative chair of the committee."
  30. ^ Hope, Christopher (10 November 2020). "Tory lockdown rebels unite to form Covid Recovery Group". The Telegraph.
  31. ^ "Johnson, Mordaunt or Sunak: who is backing whom as next Tory leader". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
  32. ^ www.parliament.uk
  33. ^ www.telegraph.co.uk
  34. ^ "West Worcestershire - General election results 2024". BBC News. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  35. ^ www.burkespeerage.com
  36. ^ "No. 64374". The London Gazette. 19 April 2024. p. 7898.
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