Oliver Heald

For the Canadian soccer player, see Ollie Heald.

The Right Honourable
Sir Oliver Heald
KC
Official portrait, 2020
Minister of State for Courts and Justice
In office
16 July 2016 – 12 June 2017
Prime MinisterTheresa May
Preceded byMike Penning
Succeeded byDominic Raab
Solicitor General for England and Wales
In office
4 September 2012 – 14 July 2014
Prime MinisterDavid Cameron
Preceded byEdward Garnier
Succeeded byRobert Buckland
Shadow Cabinet positions
Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
In office
8 May 2007 – 2 July 2007
LeaderDavid Cameron
Preceded byHimself (Constitutional Affairs)
Succeeded byNick Herbert
Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
In office
8 December 2005 – 2 July 2007
LeaderDavid Cameron
Preceded byEric Forth (2003)
Succeeded byFrancis Maude
Shadow Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs
In office
15 March 2004 – 8 May 2007
LeaderMichael Howard
David Cameron
Preceded byAlan Duncan
Succeeded byHimself (Justice)
Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
In office
11 November 2003 – 10 May 2005
LeaderMichael Howard
Preceded byEric Forth
Succeeded byChris Grayling
Member of Parliament
for North East Hertfordshire
North Hertfordshire (1992–1997)
In office
9 April 1992 – 30 May 2024
Preceded byIan Stewart
Succeeded byChris Hinchliff
Personal details
Born (1954-12-15) 15 December 1954 (age 70)
Reading, Berkshire, England
Political partyConservative
SpouseChristine Whittle
Residence(s)Royston, Hertfordshire, England
Alma materPembroke College, Cambridge
City Law School
WebsiteOfficial website

Sir Oliver Heald, KC (born 15 December 1954) is a British barrister and Conservative Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for North East Hertfordshire, formerly North Hertfordshire, from 1992 to 2024.

Early life and career

Oliver Heald was born on 15 December 1954 in Reading, Berkshire, and was educated at the Reading School and Pembroke College, Cambridge, where he read Law. He was called to the Bar at the Middle Temple in 1977 and was a practising barrister in London and East Anglia at Fenners Chambers in Cambridge from 1979 until he was elected to Parliament.

He was Chairman of the North Hertfordshire Conservative Association for two years from 1984.

At the 1987 general election, Heald stood as the Conservative candidate in Southwark and Bermondsey, coming third with 12.6% of the vote behind the incumbent Liberal MP Simon Hughes and the Labour candidate.[1]

He became the Vice-President of the Southwark and Bermondsey Conservative Association in 1988 for five years, becoming the President for five years from 1993.[2]

Parliamentary career

Heald was elected to the House of Commons as MP for North Hertfordshire at the 1992 general election with 49.8% of the vote and a majority of 16,531.[3][4] He made his maiden speech on 9 June 1992 in which he spoke of his political beginnings on a soapbox at Speakers' Corner.[5]

In Parliament he served on the Education Select committee for two years from 1992. He was appointed as the Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Minister of State at the Home Office Peter Lloyd in 1994. Later in the year he became the PPS to the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, William Waldegrave.

He was promoted to serve in the Government of John Major in 1995 when he was appointed as the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Social Security, where he remained until the fall of the Conservative government in 1997. In 1995 he introduced the Insurance Companies (Reserves) Act.[6]

Prior to the 1997 general election, Heald's constituency of North Hertfordshire was abolished, and replaced with North East Hertfordshire. At the election, Heald was elected to Parliament as MP for North East Hertfordshire with 41.7% of the vote and a majority of 3,088.[7]

After the election he became an Opposition Whip under the new leadership of William Hague, before moving on to become a Spokesman for Home Affairs with responsibility for police matters.

Heald was re-elected as MP for North East Hertfordshire at the 2001 general election with an increased vote share of 44.1% and an increased majority of 3,444.[8]

He was made a Spokesman for Health by Iain Duncan Smith in 2001.

He joined Michael Howard's Shadow Cabinet as the Shadow Leader of the House of Commons in 2003. In 2004 he was then appointed to serve as Shadow Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs and in 2005 was appointed by David Cameron as the Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.

At the 2005 general election, Heald was again re-elected with an increased vote share of 47.3% and an increased majority of 9,138.[9]

From November 2007 to September 2012 he was a member of the Work and Pensions Select Committee, and from March 2008 – September 2012 he was a member of the Committee on Standards in Public Life.

At the 2010 general election, Heald was again re-elected with an increased vote share of 53.5% and an increased majority of 15,194.[10]

From July 2010 until September 2012 he was appointed to the House of Commons Standards and Privileges Committee and he has also been a member of the UK Delegation to the Council of Europe.

In 2012, Heald returned to Government as Solicitor-General. He had previously helped to lead the rebellion against the House of Lords Reform Bill, eventually abstaining on the vote.[11]

At the 2015 general election, Heald was again re-elected with an increased vote share of 55.4% and an increased majority of 19,080.[12][13][14]

Heald was opposed to Brexit prior to the 2016 referendum.[15]

On 29 September 2016, he was appointed to the Privy Council of the United Kingdom and may therefore use the style The Right Honourable.[16]

Heald was again re-elected at the snap 2017 general election, with an increased vote share of 58.6% and a decreased majority of 16,835.[17][18]

Insignia of a Knight Bachelor

In December 2017 Heald voted with fellow Conservative Dominic Grieve and nine other Conservative MPs against the government, and in favour of guaranteeing Parliament a "meaningful vote" on any deal Theresa May agrees with Brussels over Brexit.[19][20]

At the 2019 general election, Heald was again re-elected, with a decreased vote share of 56.6% and an increased majority of 18,189.[21][22]

Heald was knighted in the 2014 Special Honours.[23]

In January 2024, Heald announced that he would stand down at the 2024 general election.[24] The Conservative Party candidate to replace him was former special adviser Nikki da Costa.[25]

Personal life

Heald became the Executive Chairman of the Society of Conservative Lawyers in July 2008. He takes a particular interest in healthcare.

He and his wife Christine (née Whittle) live in his former Hertfordshire constituency, in the market town of Royston; they have a son and two daughters.[26] His daughter Sarah stood as a Conservative candidate in Manchester Withington in the 2017 election.

References

  1. ^ "Info". www.politicsresources.net. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  2. ^ "www.ukwhoswho.com".
  3. ^ "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  4. ^ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
  5. ^ "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 9 Jun 1992". publications.parliament.uk.
  6. ^ www.opsi.gov.uk
  7. ^ "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  8. ^ "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  9. ^ "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  10. ^ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  11. ^ "The Rt Hon Sir Oliver Heald QC MP – GOV.UK". www.gov.uk.
  12. ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  13. ^ "North East Hertfordshire – Telegraph". www.telegraph.co.uk. Archived from the original on 11 May 2015.
  14. ^ "GENERAL ELECTION 2015: North East Hertfordshire | Hertfordshire Mercury". Archived from the original on 12 May 2015.
  15. ^ Goodenough, Tom (16 February 2016). "Which Tory MPs back Brexit, who doesn't and who is still on the fence?". The Spectator. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  16. ^ "Privy Council appointments: Oliver Heald, Brandon Lewis and John McDonnell". GOV.UK. Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street. 29 September 2016. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  17. ^ "Election Results 2017". 9 June 2017. Archived from the original on 31 July 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  18. ^ "Commons Briefing Paper 7979. General Election 2017: results and analysis" (PDF) (Second ed.). House of Commons Library. 29 January 2019 [7 April 2018]. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 November 2019.
  19. ^ "Theresa May: We're on course to deliver Brexit despite vote". BBC News. 14 December 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  20. ^ Austin, Henry (13 December 2017). "Brexit vote: The 11 Tory rebel MPs who defeated the Government". The Independent. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  21. ^ "Hertfordshire North East Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Archived from the original on 27 January 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  22. ^ "Commons Briefing Paper 8749. General Election 2019: results and analysis" (PDF). London: House of Commons Library. 28 January 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 November 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  23. ^ "No. 60957". The London Gazette. 8 August 2014. p. 15566.
  24. ^ "North East Herts MP Sir Oliver Heald will not stand at next election". Royston Crow. 22 January 2024. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  25. ^ "General Election 2024: Conservatives select Nikki da Costa for North East Herts". The Comet. 4 June 2024. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
  26. ^ Debrett's People of Today Archived 6 August 2014 at archive.today
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Oliver Heald.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for North Hertfordshire
1992–1997 		Constituency abolished
New constituency Member of Parliament
for North East Hertfordshire
1997–2024 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
2003–2005 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Shadow Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs
2004–2007 		Succeeded by
Himself
as Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
Vacant
Title last held by
Eric Forth 		Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
2005–2007 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Himself
as Shadow Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs 		Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
2007 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Solicitor General for England and Wales
2012–2014 		Succeeded by