Esther McVey facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Esther McVey
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Official portrait, 2017
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| Member of Parliament for Tatton |
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| Assumed office 8 June 2017 |
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| Preceded by | George Osborne |
| Majority | 1,136 (2.1%) |
| Minister of State without Portfolio | |
| In office 13 November 2023 – 5 July 2024 |
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| Prime Minister | Rishi Sunak |
| Preceded by | Gavin Williamson |
| Succeeded by | Nick Thomas-Symonds |
| Minister of State for Housing and Planning | |
| In office 24 July 2019 – 13 February 2020 |
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| Prime Minister | Boris Johnson |
| Preceded by | Kit Malthouse |
| Succeeded by | Chris Pincher |
| Secretary of State for Work and Pensions | |
| In office 8 January 2018 – 15 November 2018 |
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| Prime Minister | Theresa May |
| Preceded by | David Gauke |
| Succeeded by | Amber Rudd |
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| In office 2 November 2017 – 8 January 2018 |
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| Prime Minister | Theresa May |
| Preceded by | Julian Smith |
| Succeeded by | Chris Pincher |
| Minister of State for Employment | |
| In office 7 October 2013 – 8 May 2015 |
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| Prime Minister | David Cameron |
| Preceded by | Mark Hoban |
| Succeeded by | Priti Patel |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Disabled People | |
| In office 4 September 2012 – 7 October 2013 |
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| Prime Minister | David Cameron |
| Preceded by | Maria Miller |
| Succeeded by | Mike Penning |
| Member of Parliament for Wirral West |
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| In office 6 May 2010 – 30 March 2015 |
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| Preceded by | Stephen Hesford |
| Succeeded by | Margaret Greenwood |
| Chair of the British Transport Police Authority | |
| In office 19 November 2015 – 2 May 2017 |
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| Preceded by | Millie Banerjee |
| Succeeded by | Ron Barclay-Smith |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Esther Louise McVey
24 October 1967 Liverpool, Lancashire, England |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse |
Philip Davies
(m. 2020) |
| Residences | West Kirby, Wirral Peninsula, England |
| Alma mater |
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Esther Louise, Lady Davies (born 24 October 1967), known as Esther McVey, is a British politician and former television presenter. She is a member of the Conservative Party. She has been a Member of Parliament (MP) for Tatton since 2017. Before that, she was the MP for Wirral West from 2010 to 2015.
As an MP, she has held several important roles in the government. These include Minister of State for Employment (2013–2015), Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (2018), Minister of State for Housing and Planning (2019–2020), and Minister of State without Portfolio (2023–2024).
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About Esther McVey
Esther McVey was born in Liverpool, England. For the first two years of her life, she lived in foster care. She was then raised by her biological family. She went to The Belvedere School and later studied at Queen Mary University of London and City, University of London.
After working in her family's construction business, she became a television presenter. She co-hosted GMTV and other shows.
Early Life and Education
Esther McVey was born in Liverpool. She spent her first two years in foster care as a child supported by the charity Barnardo's. She attended the Belvedere School. Later, she studied law at Queen Mary University of London. She also studied radio journalism at City, University of London. In 2009, she earned a Master of Science degree from Liverpool John Moores University.
From 2000 to 2006, McVey was a director in her family's construction business. The company worked on demolition and land regeneration projects.
Media Career
After university, Esther McVey started a career in media. She worked as both a presenter and a producer.
She co-presented the children's TV show But First This in 1991. She also hosted and produced many other programmes. These included GMTV, BBC1's How Do They Do That?, 5's Company, and The Heaven and Earth Show.
Later, McVey started her own business called Making It (UK) Ltd. This company helped small businesses with training and office space. She also founded Winning Women, which supported women in business.
In 2021, McVey joined GB News. She presents a weekly show with her husband, Philip Davies. In 2023, the media regulator Ofcom said that GB News had broken rules about being fair during an interview she and her husband conducted.
Becoming a Member of Parliament
Esther McVey first tried to become an MP in 2005 for Wirral West. She came in second place.
First Term as MP (2010–2015)
In the 2010 general election, Esther McVey was elected as the MP for Wirral West. She won with 42.5% of the votes.
In 2010, she became a Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Employment Minister. From 2012 to 2013, she was a Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Work and Pensions.
In 2013, she was asked to pay back about £300. This was because she had used official House of Commons notepaper and postage for political campaigning. She apologized for this.
In October 2013, Prime Minister David Cameron made McVey the Minister of State for Employment. She was sworn into the Privy Council in 2014. In April 2014, she apologized for a social media post. The timing of the tweet, sent during a memorial service, was seen as disrespectful by some.
Out of Parliament (2015–2017)
In the 2015 general election, Esther McVey lost her seat in Wirral West. She was defeated by the Labour candidate, Margaret Greenwood.
After losing her seat, McVey became the chair of the British Transport Police Authority in November 2015. She resigned from this role in 2017 when a new general election was announced. During this time, she also held other part-time jobs.
Second Term as MP (2017–2019)
In April 2017, McVey was chosen to be the Conservative candidate for the Tatton seat. This seat was previously held by George Osborne. In the 2017 general election, she was elected as the MP for Tatton. She won with 58.6% of the votes.
After the election, she was appointed Deputy Chief Government Whip.
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (2018)
On 8 January 2018, Esther McVey became the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. She held this role until November 2018.
In July 2018, she apologized to the House of Commons. This was because she had misinterpreted a report from the National Audit Office about the new Universal Credit welfare system. She had claimed the report suggested the system should be rolled out faster, but the report actually recommended pausing it.
On 15 November 2018, McVey resigned from her government role. She disagreed with Prime Minister Theresa May's proposed plan for Brexit. She was replaced by Amber Rudd.
In March 2019, she shared a claim on social media about the UK being forced to join the Euro. This claim was later found to be incorrect, and she deleted the tweet.
Conservative Party Leadership Campaign (2019)
In May 2019, Esther McVey announced she wanted to become the leader of the Conservative Party. This was after Theresa May resigned. She started a group called "Blue Collar Conservatives" as part of her campaign.
However, McVey finished in last place in the first vote among the Conservative Party leadership candidates and was eliminated.
Minister of State for Housing and Planning (2019–2020)
After Boris Johnson became Prime Minister in July 2019, McVey returned to the government. She was made Minister of State for Housing and Planning.
Third Term as MP (2019–2024)
In the 2019 general election, Esther McVey was re-elected as MP for Tatton. Her share of the vote was slightly lower, but her majority increased.
In February 2020, McVey was removed from her government role during a reshuffle by Boris Johnson.
Backbencher (2020–2023)
After leaving the government, McVey became a "backbencher." This means she was an MP but not part of the government's main team. She disagreed with some of the government's lockdown measures during the COVID-19 pandemic. She also called for the government to stop building the HS2 high-speed railway due to its high cost.
In May 2023, McVey and six other Conservative MPs wrote a letter. They warned against giving new powers to the World Health Organization.
Return to the Cabinet: Minister of State without Portfolio (2023–2024)
In November 2023, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak appointed Esther McVey as Minister of State without Portfolio. This means she had a role in the Cabinet but without a specific department. Her role was reported to be about promoting "common sense" in government.
In May 2024, McVey spoke about tackling certain views in the public sector. She suggested that civil servants might be banned from wearing rainbow lanyards. However, the updated guidance for civil servants did not explicitly ban them.
Fourth Term as MP (2024–Present)
In the 2024 general election, Esther McVey was re-elected as MP for Tatton. Her vote share and majority were lower than in the previous election. After this election, she returned to being a backbench MP.
Personal Life
Esther McVey lives in Cheshire, which is part of her Tatton constituency. On 19 September 2020, she married fellow MP Philip Davies in a private ceremony in Westminster.
See also
In Spanish: Esther McVey para niños
