Yvette Cooper
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 5 June 2009 |
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| Prime Minister | Gordon Brown |
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| Preceded by | James Purnell |
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| In office 24 January 2008 – 5 June 2009 |
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| Prime Minister | Gordon Brown |
| Preceded by | Andrew Burnham |
| Succeeded by | Liam Byrne |
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| In office 28 June 2007 – 24 January 2008 |
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| Prime Minister | Gordon Brown |
| Preceded by | Hilary Armstrong |
| Succeeded by | Caroline Flint |
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Member of Parliament
for Pontefract and Castleford |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 1 May 1997 |
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| Preceded by | Geoffrey Lofthouse |
| Majority | 23,804 (51.8%) |
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| Born | 20 March 1969 Inverness, United Kingdom |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse | Ed Balls |
| Alma mater | Balliol College, Oxford London School of Economics |
Yvette Cooper (born 20 March 1969) is a British politician. She is the Labour Member of Parliament for Pontefract and Castleford and is the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.
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[edit] Early life
Born in Inverness, her father is Tony Cooper,[1] former General Secretary of the Union Prospect, a member of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and a former Chairman of the British Nuclear Industry Forum. He was appointed to the government's Energy Advisory Panel by the Conservatives and has been described by the Nuclear Industry Association as an "articulate, persuasive and well-informed advocate of nuclear power".[2] She was educated at the comprehensive Eggar's School on London Road in Holybourne near Alton and Alton College. She studied at Balliol College, Oxford where she was awarded a BA in PPE. She was awarded a Kennedy Scholarship in 1991 to Harvard University and finished her studies with a MSc in Economics at the LSE.
She began her career as an economics researcher to the shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer John Smith MP in 1990 before becoming a domestic policy specialist, working in Arkansas, for the United States Democratic Party presidential candidate Bill Clinton in 1992. Later in the year she became a policy advisor to the new Shadow Chief Secretary to The Treasury (Harriet Harman MP) who was deputy to the new Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown MP and in 1994 found herself working as a research associate for the Centre for Economic Performance. In 1995 she became the economic correspondent with The Independent until her election to Westminster.
[edit] Member of Parliament
She was selected at a very late stage in April 1997 to contest the very safe Labour seat of Pontefract and Castleford at the 1997 General Election on the retirement of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons Geoff Lofthouse. She held the seat very comfortably with a majority of 25,725 and she has held the seat easily since. She spoke of her constituency's struggle with unemployment in her maiden speech on 2 July 1997.[3] Yvette Cooper rose rapidly in parliament, after two years on the Education and Employment Select Committee.
[edit] In government
In 1999, she became a member of the Labour government as the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Health, and in 2003 moved to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. After the 2005 General Election, she was promoted within the same department to Minister of State, which has subsequently become the Department of Communities and Local Government.
Yvette Cooper was promoted to Housing Minister on 28 June 2007 when Gordon Brown became Prime Minister; Cooper had previously been identified as a supporter of Brown. Cooper did not have cabinet rank though, but attended cabinet meetings, having to introduce the HIPS scheme into the public eye following her promotion, to much controversy. According to Conservative columnist Matthew Parris, Cooper conceived HIPS but managed to dodge direct criticism for its problems thanks to her connection with Brown, and Ruth Kelly was blamed instead.[4]
The Labour government under Brown has identified affordable housing as one of its core objectives. In July 2007, Cooper told Parliament: "Unless we act now, by 2026 first time buyers will find average house prices are ten times their salary. That could lead to real social inequality and injustice. Every part of the country needs more affordable homes — in the North and the South, in urban and rural communities".[5]
In the reshuffle following Peter Hain's resignation as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on 24 January 2008, Cooper became the first woman to be promoted to Chief Secretary to the Treasury. As husband Ed Balls was already a cabinet minister, her promotion to the cabinet meant that they were the first married couple to serve as cabinet ministers simultaneously. After a number of ministerial resignations, including James Purnell, Cooper was moved within the cabinet by Gordon Brown on 5 June 2009 to become Secretary of State for Work and Pensions as part of his reshuffle.
For the year April 2006 – March 2007 Yvette Cooper claimed £148,421 Tax Free Members’ Allowance Expenditure. Her husband, Ed Balls claimed £157,076 of these tax free allowances. [6]
[edit] Allegations over allowances
In May 2009, it was revealed that Balls and Cooper together 'flipped' the designation of their second home three times in a 24-month period, in order to fund a property portfolio, despite being warned several times by expenses officials that their claims were excessive [7].
[edit] References
- ^ Yvette Cooper Official website
- ^ "Tony Cooper is new Chairman of BNIF", 28 June 2002, Nuclear Industry Association
- ^ House of Commons Hansard Debates for 2 Jul 1997 (pt 39)
- ^ Why heroic Ruth should have been in Gordon’s book | Matthew Parris: My Week - Times Online
- ^ "£8 Billion investment and reforms announced to tackle housing shortages", Communities and Local Government official website, 23 July 2007. Retrieved on 17 June 2008.
- ^ Members’ Allowance Expenditure April 2006 – March 2007
- ^ Ed Balls and Yvette Cooper 'flipped' homes three times: MPs' expenses; Daily Telegraph, 15th May 2009)
[edit] External links
- Yvette Cooper official site
- Guardian Politics Ask Aristotle - Yvette Cooper MP
- TheyWorkForYou.com - Yvette Cooper MP
- BBC Politics page
- Members’ Allowance Expenditure April 2006 – March 2007
[edit] News items
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
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| Preceded by Geoffrey Lofthouse |
Member of Parliament for Pontefract and Castleford 1997–present |
Incumbent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Hilary Armstrong |
Minister of State for Housing and Planning 2007–2008 |
Succeeded by Caroline Flint |
| Preceded by Andy Burnham |
Chief Secretary to the Treasury 2008–2009 |
Succeeded by Liam Byrne |
| Preceded by James Purnell |
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 2009–present |
Incumbent |
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