Paul Maynard

Paul Maynard
MP
Lord Commissioner of the Treasury
Assumed office
9 January 2018
Prime Minister Theresa May
Chancellor Philip Hammond
Preceded by Guto Bebb
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
for Transport
In office
17 July 2016 – 9 January 2018
Prime Minister Theresa May
Sec. of State Chris Grayling
Preceded by Claire Perry
Succeeded by Nusrat Ghani
Parliamentary Private Secretary
to the Energy Secretary
In office
29 May 2015 – 13 July 2016
Prime Minister David Cameron
Sec. of State Amber Rudd
Preceded by Stephen Lloyd
Succeeded by Position abolished
Member of Parliament
for Blackpool North and Cleveleys
Assumed office
6 May 2010
Preceded by Constituency Created
Majority 2,023 (4.9%)
Personal details
Born Paul Christopher Maynard
(1975-12-16) 16 December 1975[1]
Crewe, Cheshire, England, United Kingdom[2]
Nationality British
Political party Conservative
Alma mater University College, Oxford
Website paulmaynard.co.uk

Paul Christopher Maynard[3] (born 16 December 1975) is a British Conservative Party politician. He was elected at the 2010 general election as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Blackpool North and Cleveleys. In January 2018, Prime Minister Theresa May made him a Government Whip by awarding him the role of Lord Commissioner of Her Mayesty's Treasury.

Early life

Born in Crewe, Cheshire, Maynard was left with cerebral palsy and a speech defect when he was strangled by the umbilical cord at birth. At the age of 22 he developed epilepsy, meaning he needs to be teetotal to avoid having seizures.[4][5] He attended a special needs school between the ages of three and five before transferring to mainstream education.[6] He attended St. Ambrose College, a grammar school based in Altrincham, and went on to obtain a first class history degree at University College, Oxford. Maynard was a reader at his local church and was also a governor at his local Catholic primary school.[7]

Political career

After leaving university, Maynard worked as an adviser to the Conservative MP Liam Fox and as a speechwriter for William Hague - the Conservative MP and Leader of the Opposition. He unsuccessfully stood as the Conservative candidate in the Custom House and Silvertown ward of Newham Council on the 7 December 2000. He came fourth when he stood unsuccessfully as the Conservative candidate in the Beckton ward of Newham Council on the 29 March 2001 and subsequently failed to get elected as a councillor on the Custom House ward of Newham Council on the 2 May 2002.[8] He unsuccessfully stood as the Conservative candidate for Twickenham in the 2005 general election, finishing second with 32.4% of the vote and a 2% swing to the Liberal Democrats.[9]

Maynard was selected for Blackpool North and Cleveleys in December 2006, having been on the Conservative's "A-List"[10] and moved to the constituency to live. Maynard was elected to the House of Commons in the 2010 general election with a majority of 2,150.[11] He was the second person who has cerebral palsy to become a British MP; Conservative Terry Dicks was the first.[12]

Maynard, who identifies as a Catholic,[13] voted against the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill in 2013.[14]

In the 2015 General Election, Maynard was returned as MP for his seat, with an increased majority of 3,340. Results elsewhere left Maynard as one of only two self-identified disabled MPs.[15]

Maynard supported the UK leaving the European Union prior to the 2016 referendum.[16]

In July 2016, new Prime Minister Theresa May appointed Maynard to replace Claire Perry as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Transport. He had responsibility for major rail projects, rail safety and security, passenger services, transport funding, accessibility, and rail fares and ticketing.[17] He has faced criticism [18] due to unresolved industrial action, and consequent major service disruption, on the Southern (Govia Thameslink Railway) line.

Maynard was again returned as MP in 2017, but with a reduced majority of 2,023. Results elsewhere meant Maynard as one of five self-identified disabled MPs, an increase of three since the last general election.[19]

On 9 January 2018, Prime Minister Theresa May made Maynard a Government Whip by awarding him the role of Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury and he ceased working as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Transport.

Maynard has campaigned on a range of issues, such keeping fuel prices low and investment for rebuilding St Mary’s Catholic College.[20] He has long been an advocate for disabilities, with active links to the RAD [21] Scope and Trailblazers.[22] In May 2016, Paul Maynard played an active role in improving accessibility of apprenticeships for people with learning disabilities. Engaging with a task force he produced a list of recommendations to be reviewed by the BIS and DWP for future consideration.[23]

In Parliament, Maynard previously served on the Work and Pensions Committee and Transport Committee.[24]

Controversy

In 2010, Maynard's expenses attracted media attention after he claimed for a variety of items, including packets of biscuit, in a total claim that was ten times the size of a neighbouring MP. However, he responded by pointing out that he had to set up an office in Blackpool as a new MP and had more costs than longer established neighbours.[25] In 2014, he was featured in media coverage of the continuing high costs of the parliamentary expenses system, with his name included in a group of Conservative MPs with high claims for First Class rail travel.[26]

In February 2011, Maynard told The Times about the abuse he suffered from Labour MPs, who had mocked his disability during a Commons debate on the abolition of the Child Trust Fund on 26 October 2010.[27] Various Labour Party sources confirmed that such behaviour was unacceptable [5] [28] and Rosie Winterton, the Labour chief whip, and her deputy Alan Campbell were reported to have spoken to MPs about the incident shortly afterwards.[29] A few days after Maynard's Times interview, John Bercow, the Speaker of the House of Commons, issued a written statement warning MPs that such abuse was unacceptable. It was reported he had known about the incident for more than three months before speaking to Maynard.[30][31]

In 2013, comments made by Maynard in relation to food banks and disability campaigners caused controversy after he suggested people use food banks out of habit, rather than genuine need, and that disability campaigners that were opposed to welfare reform were 'extremists'. Following criticism from a number of charities, Maynard apologised for causing offence.[32] [33]

A donation, not thought to break parliamentary rules, was made to Maynard's constituency party before his appointment as an advisor to then Energy secretary Amber Rudd following the 2015 general election. He declared a £5,000 donation to his constituency party in the register of members' interests from Addison Projects in March 2015. Addison PLC is an engineering company based in his constituency near to an intended drill site of the Cuadrilla company.[34] In October 2015, in place of a normal debate in the Commons, it emerged that Maynard was a member of a committee of MPs to vote and debate on proposals to allow drilling for shale gas (or fracking) under protected areas, such as national parks, to the disapproval of the Labour opposition and anti-fracking activists.[35]

Personal life

Maynard lives in Blackpool and London.[20]

References

  1. ↑ "Paul Maynard MP". Democracy Live. BBC News. Archived from the original on 12 May 2014. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
  2. ↑ Profile, ukwhoswho.com; accessed 12 May 2015.
  3. ↑ "No. 59418". The London Gazette. 13 May 2010. p. 8743.
  4. ↑ "'MPs pulled faces at me. Quite clearly, I needed roughing up". The Times. 5 February 2011. Retrieved 27 April 2017. (subscription required)
  5. 1 2 Mulholland, Hélène (8 February 2011). "Charity voices anger after MPs 'mocked Tory with disability'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 28 April 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  6. ↑ Dunning, Jeremy (1 July 2010). "Paul Maynard MP: life with cerebral palsy and epilepsy". Community Care. Archived from the original on 28 April 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  7. ↑ "Paul Maynard". Conservative Party. Archived from the original on 18 May 2010. Retrieved 8 May 2010.
  8. ↑ "London Borough Council Elections" (PDF). Greater London Authority. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  9. ↑ "Twickenham". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Archived from the original on 24 September 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  10. ↑ "David Cameron's A list MPs". Channel 4 News. 8 May 2010. Archived from the original on 14 August 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  11. ↑ "Election 2010 – Blackpool North & Cleveleys". BBC News. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  12. ↑ Rentoul, John (6 June 2010). "Unaccustomed as they are..." The Independent. ESI Media. Archived from the original on 9 June 2010. Retrieved 16 June 2010.
  13. ↑ Lee, Ceridwen (27 August 2015). "Fall in Number of Catholic MPs in the House of Commons Ahead of Landmark Debate on Assisted Dying". The Tablet. Archived from the original on 9 August 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  14. ↑ "More Conservative MPs voted against same-sex marriage than for it". Pink News. 5 February 2013. Archived from the original on 27 April 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  15. ↑ "New parliament sees number of disabled MPs plunge". 15 May 2015. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  16. ↑ 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.
  17. ↑ "Blackpool MP given top government job". Blackpool Gazette. 17 July 2016. Archived from the original on 24 October 2016. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  18. ↑ Francis, Paul (5 December 2016). "Southern Rail: Minister Paul Maynard criticised after months of strike action on line". Kent Online. Archived from the original on 21 December 2016. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  19. ↑ "New intake brings number of disabled MPs in Commons to five". 11 June 2017. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  20. 1 2 "Paul Maynard". Conservative Party. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  21. ↑ RDA Northwest Archived 10 July 2016 at the Wayback Machine.
  22. ↑ "Paul Maynard MP wins award for work with Trailblazers". Muscular Dystrophy UK. 28 June 2012. Archived from the original on 4 February 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  23. ↑ "Paul Maynard taskforce recommendations". GOV.UK. 11 July 2016. Archived from the original on 25 April 2017. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  24. ↑ "Paul Maynard MP". GOV.UK. UK Government. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  25. ↑ "MP's biscuit claim among expenses". Blackpool Gazette. Blackpool Gazette. 3 December 2010. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  26. ↑ "Carry On Claiming: MPs' £4.5m Expenses". Sky News. 9 January 2014. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  27. ↑ Asthana, Anushka; Bloch, Sarah (6 February 2011). "Labour treatment of disabled MP 'made me feel sick', says Equalities chief". The Times. Retrieved 27 April 2017. (subscription required)
  28. ↑ Asthana, Anushka (6 February 2011). "Labour treatment of disabled MP 'made me feel sick', says Equalities chief". The Times. Retrieved 27 April 2017. (subscription required)
  29. ↑ "Speaker takes no action over mocking of disabled MP". The Times. 8 February 2011. Retrieved 27 April 2017. (subscription required)
  30. ↑ "Speaker urged to act over disabled MP abuse". The Times. 7 February 2011. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  31. ↑ Sparrow, Andrew (7 February 2011). "Politics live blog – Monday 7 February". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Archived from the original on 1 October 2013. Retrieved 18 February 2011.
  32. ↑ "Tory MP Paul Maynard suggests food banks could become a 'habit' for people in poverty". The Independent. ESI Media. 3 October 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  33. ↑ "Maynard retreats from 'extremists' comments". Disability News Service. 19 July 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  34. ↑ Milmo, Cahal; McSmith, Andy (28 June 2015). "Fracking: Energy Secretary's advisor received £5,000 election donation from company set to benefit from controversial technique". The Independent. Archived from the original on 28 April 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  35. ↑ Mason, Rowena (27 October 2015). "Ministers accused of trying to sneak through new fracking rules". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Archived from the original on 28 April 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
New constituency Member of Parliament for Blackpool North and Cleveleys
2010–present		 Incumbent
Preceded by
Claire Perry		 Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport
2016–2018		 Succeeded by
Nusrat Ghani
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