Gillian Merron

Gillian Joanna Merron (born 12 April 1959) was a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Lincoln from 1997 to 2010, when she lost her seat. From 2009 to 2010 she was Minister of State with responsibility for Public Health at the Department of Health.

Personal life

Merron was born in Ilford, Essex to a Jewish family, and was educated at Wanstead High School in Wanstead in east London. She went on to attend Lancaster University Management School, gaining a BSc (Hons) in Management Sciences. She worked as a local government officer, and a UNISON and NUPE union official.

Merron joined the Labour Party in 1984. Before becoming an MP, Merron was the vice 'chair' for the regional Labour Party executive. She co-ordinated the shadow cabinet central region campaign in the 1992 general election and the 1994 European Parliamentary Election.

Since leaving Parliament, following her defeat in the 2010 general election, Merron has become Chair of Bus Users UK formerly known as The National Federation of Bus Users.

Parliament

Merron was made a prospective parliamentary candidate (PPC) through an all-women shortlist, and was elected to the House of Commons in May 1997 with a majority of 11,130. From 1997 until 2007, when Quentin Davies defected to the Labour Party, she was Lincolnshire's only Labour MP - and the first since Margaret Beckett had the seat in 1979. In the 2005 general election, her majority was 4,613. She lost her seat to the Conservative candidate Karl McCartney in the 2010 general election.

From October 2002 until May 2006, she was a government whip and Lord Commissioner of the Treasury. She then moved to the Department for Transport, where she worked until the reshuffle on 29 June 2007, when she became a minister at the Cabinet Office and the first ever minister of the East Midlands.

Following Peter Hain's resignation on 24 January 2008, Merron was reshuffled again, becoming a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Department for International Development, leaving both of her previous roles. Following Gordon Brown's next reshuffle on 5 October 2008, Merron was moved to the Foreign Office in the same post, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State. A promotion to Minister of State soon followed, with Merron moving to the Department of Health to take on responsibility for Public Health.

Merron followed the party line in votes on equal gay rights, the hunting ban, foundation hospitals, a ban on smoking in public places, the Iraq war, 'laws to stop climate change', and The Digital Economy Bill.

She held the following positions:

• July 1998-July 1999 - Parliamentary Private Secretary to Doug Henderson as Minister of State for the Armed Forces
• July 1999-June 2001 - Parliamentary Private Secretary to Baroness Symons as Minister of State for Defence Procurement
• June 2001-October 2002 - Parliamentary Private Secretary to John Reid as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
• October 2002-December 2004 - Assistant Government Whip
• December 2004-May 2006 - Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury & Government Whip
• May 2006-June 2007 - Parliamentary under Secretary of State at the Department for Transport
• June 2007-January 2008 - Parliamentary under Secretary of State at the Cabinet Office
• January 2008-October 2008 - Parliamentary under Secretary of State at the Department for International Development
• October 2008-June 2009 - Parliamentary under Secretary of State at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office
• June 2009– May 2010 - Minister of State for Public Health

Post-Parliamentary career

In May 2014, it was reported that Merron was appointed as the Chief Executive of the Board of Deputies of British Jews.

Expenses

Merron MP's expense claims have always been higher than average. She is one of 98 MPs who voted to support Conservative MP David Maclean's bill to keep their expenses and correspondence secret.

Total expenses claimed

Year	Total Expenses	Ranking	out of
2001/02	£ 94,459	joint 178th	657
2002/03	£123,954	87th	657
2003/04	£136,706	55th	658
2004/05	£139,854	64th	659
2005/06	£133,480	-	-
2006/07	£144,914	176th	645
2007/08	£155,972	172nd	645

On 19 June 2009, MP's expenses were revealed (heavily edited) on the Internet. Merron received criticism for purchasing a television, television stand, home theatre kit, and numerous other goods. She claimed "The majority of claims I make directly pay for professional staff, office costs, communication with constituents, and travel. I do not have a second job, do not employ any family members or friends, nor have I taken the annual increase in ministerial salary."

In the aftermath of the United Kingdom Parliamentary expenses scandal, Sir Thomas Legg recommended that Gillian Merron repay £6,305.17.

External links

• Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Gillian Merron MP
• TheyWorkForYou.com - Gillian Merron MP

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Kenneth Carlisle	Member of Parliament for Lincoln 1997-2010	Succeeded by Karl McCartney
Preceded by Pat McFadden	Parliamentary Secretary of the Cabinet Office 2007-2008	Succeeded by Tom Watson
New office	Minister for the East Midlands 2007–2008	Succeeded by Phil Hope
Preceded by Shriti Vadera	Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development 24 January 2008 – 5 October 2008	Succeeded by Ivan Lewis
Preceded by Meg Munn	Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office 5 October 2008 – 8 June 2009	Succeeded by Chris Bryant
Preceded by Dawn Primarolo	Minister of State for Public Health 8 June 2009 – 12 April 2010	Succeeded by Anne Milton