Shadow Cabinet posts 1997–2010

Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office
In office 2 July 2007 – 11 May 2010
Leader	David Cameron
Preceded by	Tim Collins (2002)
Succeeded by	Tessa Jowell
Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
In office 2 July 2007 – 11 May 2010
Leader	David Cameron
Preceded by	Oliver Heald
Succeeded by	Rachel Reeves (2020)
Shadow Foreign Secretary
In office 2 February 2000 – 18 September 2001
Leader	William Hague
Preceded by	John Maples
Succeeded by	Michael Ancram
Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
In office 2 June 1998 – 1 February 2000
Leader	William Hague
Preceded by	Peter Lilley
Succeeded by	Michael Portillo
Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
In office 11 June 1997 – 2 June 1998
Leader	William Hague
Preceded by	Virginia Bottomley
Succeeded by	Peter Ainsworth

Ministerial offices 1987–1992

Financial Secretary to the Treasury
In office 14 July 1990 – 11 April 1992
Prime Minister	John Major
Preceded by	Peter Lilley
Succeeded by	Stephen Dorrell
Minister of State for Europe
In office 25 July 1989 – 14 July 1990
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	Lynda Chalker
Succeeded by	Tristan Garel-Jones
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Trade and Industry
In office 13 June 1987 – 26 July 1989
Prime Minister	Margaret Thatcher
Preceded by	Robert Atkins
Succeeded by	John Redwood

Parliamentary offices

Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
Life peerage 28 May 2015
Member of Parliament for Horsham
In office 1 May 1997 – 30 March 2015
Preceded by	Peter Hordern
Succeeded by	Jeremy Quin
Member of Parliament for North Warwickshire
In office 9 June 1983 – 16 March 1992
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	Mike O'Brien

Personal details

Born

4 July 1953 (age 71)
Abingdon-on-Thames, Berkshire, England

Political party

Conservative

Spouse

Christina Hadfield

(m. 1984)

Children

Alma mater

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
University of Law

Francis Anthony Aylmer Maude, Baron Maude of Horsham, PC (born 4 July 1953) is a British Conservative Party politician. He held important roles in the UK government and Parliament for over 25 years.

He was the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General from 2010 to 2015. Before that, he served in several key positions while the Conservatives were not in power. These included Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer and Shadow Foreign Secretary.

Francis Maude was a Member of Parliament (MP) for North Warwickshire from 1983 to 1992. Later, he represented Horsham from 1997 to 2015. After leaving the House of Commons in 2015, he became a life peer in the House of Lords.

He also served as Minister of State for Trade and Investment from 2015 to 2016. After leaving government, he started his own business, Francis Maude Associates. This company helps governments around the world become more efficient.

Early Life and Education
Political Journey
Life After Parliament (2016–Present)
Personal Life
See also

Early Life and Education

Abingdon School

Francis Maude was born on 4 July 1953. His father, Angus Maude, was also a Conservative politician. Francis spent some of his childhood in Sydney, Australia. His father worked there as an editor for a newspaper.

When his family returned to the UK, he attended Abingdon School. He then studied at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge and the College of Law. In 1977, he became a lawyer, specializing in criminal law. He also served as a member of Westminster City Council from 1978 to 1984.

Political Journey

Francis Maude has had a long and varied career in British politics. He served in government, then in opposition, and later returned to government.

First Time in Government (1983–1992)

Maude first became an MP in 1983, representing North Warwickshire. He quickly took on different roles in government. He worked as an assistant government whip and later as Minister for Corporate and Consumer Affairs.

In 1989, he became the Minister for Europe. He worked on policies related to Britain's role in Europe. He also helped sign the Maastricht Treaty in 1992. This treaty was important for the future of the European Union.

In 1990, he was one of the politicians who spoke with Margaret Thatcher about her leadership. After John Major became Prime Minister, Maude was made the Financial Secretary to the Treasury. However, he lost his seat in the 1992 general election. This meant he had to leave his government roles.

Time Outside Parliament (1992–1997)

After leaving Parliament in 1992, Francis Maude worked in the business world. He was a managing director at Morgan Stanley, a big banking company. He also served on the board of ASDA Group plc.

From 1994 to 1997, he chaired the government's Deregulation Task Force. This group looked for ways to reduce unnecessary rules and make things simpler. This experience helped him later when he worked to make government more efficient.

Working in Opposition (1997–2010)

In 1997, Francis Maude was elected MP for Horsham. He quickly rejoined the Conservative Party's team in Parliament, which was now the opposition. He held several important roles, including Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer and Shadow Foreign Secretary.

He played a key role in modernizing the Conservative Party. He co-founded a group called Conservatives for Change, or CChange. This group aimed to help the party adapt and appeal to more people. He also helped create Policy Exchange, a think tank that develops new ideas for policies.

After the 2005 election, Maude became Chairman of the Conservative Party. He worked closely with the new party leader, David Cameron. They focused on making the party more modern and inclusive. This included creating an "A-List" of parliamentary candidates, giving priority to women and people from ethnic minorities.

In 2007, he became Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office. His job was to prepare the Conservative Party for taking over the government. He worked to make sure they were ready to start making changes from day one if they won the next election.

Back in Government (2010–2016)

In 2010, the Conservative Party formed a government with the Liberal Democrats. Francis Maude was appointed Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office. In this role, he focused on making the government work better and more efficiently.

Making Government Efficient

One of his main tasks was to make government departments more efficient. He set up the Efficiency and Reform Group (ERG) to work on this. Their goals included:

Stopping wasteful spending.
Improving how the government buys goods and services.
Reducing money lost from fraud and errors.
Selling empty or unused government buildings.

These efforts led to significant savings for the government. By 2015, his work had saved over £50 billion. This included saving money by reducing the size of the Civil Service and improving how departments bought things together.

Improving Public Services

Maude also worked on reforming the Civil Service. He wanted to improve the skills of civil servants and make their work more effective. He also focused on improving government IT systems and how major projects were managed.

Making Government More Open

He led the government's efforts to be more transparent. This meant making more government data available to the public. Websites like Data.gov.uk were created, sharing information on crime, hospital rates, and government spending.

This work helped the UK government become one of the most open in the world. It also led to the creation of useful apps and services for the public.

Digital Government Services

Francis Maude was responsible for creating the Government Digital Service. This project aimed to combine many different government websites into one easy-to-use site: gov.uk. The new website won awards for its design and was copied by other countries.

The goal was to move government services online. This would save a lot of money, as digital transactions are much cheaper than phone calls or letters.

Moving to the House of Lords

In 2015, Francis Maude decided to step down as an MP. Soon after, he was made a life peer and became Baron Maude of Horsham. This allowed him to join the House of Lords.

He then served as Minister of State for Trade and Investment. He worked to promote trade for the UK. He resigned from this role in 2016 to focus on his own business ventures.

Life After Parliament (2016–Present)

Since leaving government, Francis Maude has taken on several new business roles. He is an advisor for a bank called OakNorth Bank. He also advises a real estate investment company and a law firm.

His main work is with Francis Maude Associates, a consulting firm he co-founded. This company helps governments around the world improve their efficiency. His work is based on his experience as Minister for the Cabinet Office.

In 2024, Lord Maude supported Kemi Badenoch in her campaign for the leadership of the Conservative Party.

Personal Life

Francis Maude married Christina Jane Hadfield in 1984. They have five children together. He was also involved with Abingdon School, serving on its governing body and as Chairman of the Governors for many years.

Francis Maude facts for kids

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