Andrew Lansley facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
The Lord Lansley
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Official portrait, 2018
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| Leader of the House of Commons | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 4 September 2012 – 14 July 2014 |
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| Prime Minister | David Cameron | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | George Young | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | William Hague | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 4 September 2012 – 14 July 2014 |
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| Prime Minister | David Cameron | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | George Young | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | The Baroness Stowell of Beeston | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Secretary of State for Health | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 12 May 2010 – 4 September 2012 |
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| Prime Minister | David Cameron | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Andy Burnham | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Jeremy Hunt | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 11 December 1956 Hornchurch, England |
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| Political party | Social Democrats (Before 1988) Conservative (1988–present) |
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| Spouses | Marilyn Biggs (Divorced) Sally Low |
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| Children | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | University of Exeter | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Andrew David Lansley, Baron Lansley (born 11 December 1956) is a British Conservative politician. He has held important roles in the UK government. These include Secretary of State for Health and Leader of the House of Commons. He was also a Member of Parliament (MP) for South Cambridgeshire from 1997 to 2015.
Lansley was born in Hornchurch, England. He studied politics at the University of Exeter. Before becoming an MP, he worked in the civil service. He helped manage the Conservative Party's election campaigns in 1992 and 2001.
He served as the Shadow Secretary of State for Health from 2004 to 2010. Then he became the Secretary of State for Health from 2010 to 2012. After that, he was Leader of the House of Commons from 2012 to 2014. As Health Secretary, he was involved with the Health and Social Care Act 2012. In 2015, he decided not to run for MP again. He was later given a life peerage, which means he became a member of the House of Lords for life.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Andrew Lansley was born in Hornchurch, Essex. He went to Brentwood School. Later, he studied politics at the University of Exeter. In 1977, while at university, he was elected to lead the student union. His father, Thomas, worked in a medical laboratory. He helped create important councils for medical professions.
Before entering politics, Lansley worked for the government. He was a private secretary for Norman Tebbit at the Department of Trade and Industry. This was during a time when Tebbit was seriously injured in a bombing. Lansley was praised for his support during that difficult period.
In 1990, he started working for the Conservative Party's research department. He helped run the party's campaign for the 1992 general election. He considers this one of his proudest achievements. In 1996, he was given the honour of Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his political work.
Political Career in Parliament
Lansley became an MP for South Cambridgeshire in 1997. He immediately joined a special committee in the House of Commons that focused on health.
In the 2001 election, he again took on a key role for the Conservative Party. He helped plan how the party would announce its policies. After the election, the party's leader, William Hague, resigned. Lansley chose to work as a regular MP for a while. He was appointed a Privy Counsellor in 2010. This is a special group of advisors to the King or Queen.
Shadow Health Secretary
When Michael Howard became the new leader of the Conservative Party, Lansley returned to a more senior role. He became the Shadow Secretary of State for Health. This meant he was the main spokesperson for the opposition party on health matters. In this role, he worked on ideas to improve the National Health Service (NHS). His ideas often focused on giving people more choice in their healthcare.
Cabinet Minister Roles
In May 2010, David Cameron became Prime Minister. He appointed Lansley as Health Secretary in the new government. This was a very busy two years for him as he worked on big changes to health services.
On 4 September 2012, Lansley's role changed. He became the Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Commons. He held these positions until 14 July 2014. After this, he stepped down from the government. He announced that he would not seek re-election as an MP in 2015.
Health Reforms and the NHS
As Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley introduced the Health and Social Care Act 2012. This law aimed to make big changes to the NHS. The government believed these changes were needed to improve healthcare.
The reforms suggested that groups of local doctors, called GP consortia, would manage most of the NHS budget. They would be in charge of planning and buying many health services. However, some doctors and nurses were worried. They felt the changes were happening too quickly. They also worried that putting costs first might affect the quality of patient care.
Because of these concerns, the government decided to pause the new law in April 2011. This allowed them to listen to feedback and make improvements.
In May 2012, Lansley spoke at a conference for nurses. He said that while the number of qualified nurses had gone down, the total number of clinical staff had increased. Many nurses disagreed with his statement. They felt there was a lot of unhappiness among healthcare professionals.
In June 2012, doctors at a British Medical Association conference voted. They said they had no confidence in Andrew Lansley and asked him to resign. They felt he had not been clear about the health reforms. On 4 September 2012, Jeremy Hunt replaced Lansley as Health Secretary.
Salt Reduction Policy
In 2010, the Department of Health became responsible for policies about nutrition. Andrew Lansley was involved in efforts to reduce the amount of salt in food. This work aimed to help people eat healthier.
House of Lords
After leaving the House of Commons, Andrew Lansley was made a Life Peer. This means he was given the title of Baron Lansley and became a member of the House of Lords for the rest of his life. He took his seat in the House of Lords on 5 October 2015.
Personal Life
Andrew Lansley married Marilyn Biggs in 1985. They had three daughters. They later divorced in 2001. Lansley then married Sally Low, and they have a son and a daughter together.
In 2018, Lansley shared that he was diagnosed with stage 3 bowel cancer. He has since spoken about the importance of widening cancer screening programs on the NHS.
Images for kids
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A poster about Andrew Lansley at a protest in 2011.
