John Healey facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
John Healey
|
|||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
_2.jpg)
Official portrait, 2024
|
|||||||||||||
| Secretary of State for Defence | |||||||||||||
| Assumed office 5 July 2024 |
|||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Keir Starmer | ||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Grant Shapps | ||||||||||||
| Minister of State for Housing and Planning | |||||||||||||
| In office 5 June 2009 – 11 May 2010 |
|||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Gordon Brown | ||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Margaret Beckett | ||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Grant Shapps | ||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
| Member of Parliament for Rawmarsh and Conisbrough Wentworth and Dearne (2010–2024) Wentworth (1997–2010) |
|||||||||||||
| Assumed office 1 May 1997 |
|||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Peter Hardy | ||||||||||||
| Majority | 6,908 (20.4%) | ||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||
| Born | 13 February 1960 Wakefield, West Riding of Yorkshire, England |
||||||||||||
| Political party | Labour | ||||||||||||
| Spouse |
Jackie Bate
(m. 1993) |
||||||||||||
| Children | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Education | St Peter's School, York, Lady Lumley's School | ||||||||||||
| Alma mater | Christ's College, Cambridge (BA) | ||||||||||||
John Healey (born 13 February 1960) is a British politician. He has been the Secretary of State for Defence since July 2024. He is a member of the Labour Party.
Healey has been a Member of Parliament (MP) since 1997. He represents the area of Rawmarsh and Conisbrough. Before that, he represented Wentworth and Wentworth and Dearne.
Healey held several important roles in government. He was a minister for adult skills, finance, local government, and housing. After 2010, he served in the Shadow Cabinet. This meant he was a main spokesperson for the Labour Party while they were not in power. He was the Shadow Secretary of State for Health and later for Housing. From 2020 to 2024, he was the Shadow Secretary of State for Defence.
Contents
Early Life and Education
John Healey was born on 13 February 1960 in Wakefield, England. His father was Aidan Healey. John went to Lady Lumley's School and then St Peter's School, York.
He studied Social and Political Science at Christ's College, Cambridge. He earned his degree in 1982.
Early Career
After university, Healey worked as a journalist for a year. He was the deputy editor of The House magazine. This magazine is for people who work in the Palace of Westminster.
In 1984, he became a full-time campaigner for disability rights. He worked for several national charities. Later, he worked in communications for a trade union. He also became a campaign director for the Trades Union Congress. He held this role until he was elected to Parliament.
Parliamentary Career
John Healey first tried to become an MP in 1992. He ran for the Ryedale area but did not win.
In Government (1997–2010)
In the 1997 general election, Healey was elected as the MP for Wentworth. He won with a large number of votes.
From 1997 to 1999, he was part of the education and employment committee. In 1999, he became a special assistant to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown.
Healey was re-elected as MP for Wentworth in 2001 and 2005. After the 2001 election, he became a minister for adult skills. In 2007, he moved to a role helping local communities. He helped with recovery efforts after widespread flooding in the UK that year.
In 2009, he became the Minister of State for Housing and Planning. He was in charge of housing plans.
In Opposition (2010–2024)
In the 2010 general election, Healey was elected as the MP for the new area of Wentworth and Dearne.
After this election, he was chosen to be part of the Labour Party's Shadow Cabinet. He became the Shadow Secretary of State for Health. He stepped down from this role in 2011 to spend more time with his family.
Healey was re-elected as MP for Wentworth and Dearne in 2015. In 2017, some MPs, including Healey, took legal action against a politician who made false claims about them. The MPs were awarded money because the claims were untrue.
After Jeremy Corbyn became Labour leader, Healey was appointed Shadow Minister for Housing in 2015. He became the Shadow Secretary of State for Housing in October 2016.
He was re-elected in the 2017 and 2019 general elections.
Shadow Cabinet Roles
After Keir Starmer became Labour leader in 2020, Healey was appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Defence.
As Shadow Defence Secretary, Healey strongly supported Ukraine after Russia's invasion in 2022. He said the UK should continue to help Ukraine. In May 2024, he visited Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian officials. He stated that a Labour government would have a strong commitment to Ukraine.
Healey also argued for more money to be spent on the British military. He wanted a larger armed force and closer work with NATO and European countries on security. He suggested a strong defence agreement between the UK and Germany.
In April 2024, Healey promised to increase Britain's defence spending. He also pledged to build new Dreadnought-class submarines to replace older ones. This plan is called Labour's nuclear deterrent "triple lock."
Healey voted for Britain to be involved in the 2003 Iraq War. In 2024, he said that the decision to go to war was not well-founded at the time. He learned that military action needs strong diplomatic and economic follow-up to succeed.
Secretary of State for Defence (2024–present)
In the 2024 general election, Healey was elected as the MP for the new area of Rawmarsh and Conisbrough. After Labour won the election, Keir Starmer appointed Healey as Secretary of State for Defence on 5 July 2024. Soon after, Healey visited Ukraine and met with President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Healey attended the 2024 NATO Summit on 9 July. He told reporters that Britain would be a "leading European nation" in defence spending. He also said Britain would be "democracy's most reliable ally." He recognized that European NATO members need to take on more responsibility for defence.
Healey supported a major review of Britain's defence forces. He said problems in the British military were "worse than we thought." He warned that "tough choices" might be needed to manage defence spending.
On 3 September 2024, the government paused some export licenses to Israel. Healey explained that the government had a "legal responsibility" to check if anything supplied could be linked to serious violations of international law. He also stated that the government would follow international law regarding arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court.
In October 2024, Healey signed an important agreement with Germany to work together more closely on defence. In November 2024, he announced that some older military equipment, like warships and aircraft, would be removed from service. This was to save money and invest in newer, more advanced weapons.
Healey launched a new Defence Industrial Strategy in December 2024. This plan aims to invest in UK defence companies. It hopes to create jobs and make the country safer. In January 2025, the UK government bought back military housing properties. This decision is expected to save money each year.
Regarding the war in Ukraine, Healey quickly directed officials to send more military support to Ukraine. This included artillery and Brimstone missiles. On 13 February 2025, Healey warned that there could be no talks about Ukraine's future without Ukraine itself being involved.
.jpg)
Personal Life
John Healey married Jackie Bate on 25 October 1993. They have one son.
See also
In Spanish: John Healey para niños
