Theresa Villiers

Shadow Cabinet

In December 2005, following the election of David Cameron as Conservative Party leader, Villiers was promoted to the Shadow Cabinet after just seven months in parliament, as Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury. In July 2007, Cameron promoted her to Shadow Secretary of State for Transport.

Government

Following the 2010 general election, the Conservatives, short of an overall majority, formed a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats. This required positions in Cabinet to be awarded to Lib Dem MPs, so Villiers did not become Secretary of State for Transport as might have been expected in the event of a majority Conservative government taking office. That role went instead to Philip Hammond, who had shadowed the post of Chief Secretary to the Treasury. Villiers instead became a Minister of State at the Department for Transport.^[9]

At the NI Investment Conference 2013 in Belfast, with Martin McGuinness, David Cameron and Peter Robinson

Villiers was appointed Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in September 2012, but continued to spend three days a week in her North London constituency of Chipping Barnet.^[10] Her time in Northern Ireland gained mixed reviews.^[11]

She made a speech in February 2016 defending the Royal Ulster Constabulary and the British Army, which had been accused of colluding with loyalist murderers in the Loughinisland massacre. The Police Ombudsman who investigated the murders, Dr. Michael Maguire, later stated with regard to law enforcement authorities colluding with the murderers: "I have no hesitation in unambiguously determining that collusion is a significant feature of the Loughinisland murders".^[12]

Villiers had said that "a pernicious counter-narrative" of the Troubles was emerging whereby responsibility for acts of terrorism was being shifted onto the security forces "through allegations of collusion, misuse of agents and informers or other forms of unlawful activity".^[13]

Villiers was one of the six Cabinet ministers who came out in support of Brexit during the EU referendum. Despite the nationwide vote to leave the EU, both her constituency, Chipping Barnet, and area of cabinet responsibility, Northern Ireland, had majorities voting overwhelmingly to remain. Following the referendum, on 14 July 2016, Villiers resigned from her position as Northern Ireland Secretary^[3] after explaining that new Prime Minister Theresa May had offered her a post outside the Cabinet which was "not one which I felt I could take on".^[14]

Parliamentary expenses and second home

The Daily Telegraph reported on 11 May 2009 that Theresa Villiers had bought a property in Kennington, London, for £345,000. In 2007-08 she claimed a total of £18,181 in parliamentary allowances for a second home.

She also has a house in Arkley in her North London constituency of Chipping Barnet. The house, a semi-detached property that she bought for £296,500 in May 2004, is an eight-minute drive away from High Barnet tube station, from which commuters can reach Westminster in about forty-five minutes.^[15]

Political opinions

Villiers supported the temporary suspension of Ken Livingstone, then-Mayor of London, by the Adjudication Panel for England, which examined the case after a complaint from the Board of Deputies of British Jews to the Standards Board for England. Villiers is a member of Conservative Friends of Israel.^[16]

Theresa Villiers is a member of, and since 2017 Vice-Chair, of Conservative Friends of Israel.^[17] On 19 July 2018 she was the only MP of any party to attend a rally of about 200-300 Jewish and other persons called by the "Campaign Against Antisemitism" (CAA) in Parliament Square, London, to protest against Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party.^[18] On the same day, she had complained about an MP leaving a chocolate wrapper on the green benches of the House of Commons.^{[19] [20]}She has, on previous occasions, attended CAA protests similar to that of 19 July 2018 against Labour.^[21]

Since late-September 2008, Villiers has dedicated a considerable proportion of her public announcements to aviation policy, specifically the expansion of airports in the South East of England. Villiers underlined that despite differences of opinion, the Coalition government's policy was opposed to a third runway.^[22]

She has also spoken out against Boris Johnson's favoured proposal for a new London airport to be built in the Thames Estuary, and alternative expansions at Gatwick and Stansted airports, arguing that airlines should make greater use of the UK's regional airports, though some regional airports themselves have expressed concern about being adversely affected by capacity shortages in the South East.^[23] Villiers favours construction of a high-speed rail link from London to Birmingham and Manchester, arguing that flyers could use capacity at airports such as Birmingham International and Manchester International Airport.

In November 2016, Villiers was one of several Conservative MPs who signed a letter to Theresa May demanding a "hard Brexit" (i.e. withdrawal from both the single market and the customs union).

In May 2017, Villiers announced that she fundamentally supports the ban on hunting of wild animals with dogs but suggested that there remains scope for reform of the Hunting Act 2004.^[24]