Huw Merriman
Huw Merriman | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2019 | |
| Minister of State for Rail and HS2 | |
| In office 27 October 2022 – 5 July 2024 | |
| Prime Minister | Rishi Sunak |
| Preceded by | Kevin Foster |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill |
| Chair of theTransport Select Committee | |
| In office 29 January 2020 – 27 October 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Lilian Greenwood |
| Succeeded by | Iain Stewart |
| Member of Parliament forBexhill and Battle | |
| In office 7 May 2015 – 30 May 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Greg Barker |
| Succeeded by | Kieran Mullan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Huw William Merriman 13 July 1973 Brackley,Northamptonshire, England |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse |
Victoria Powdrill
(m.2001;sep.2019) |
| Children | 4[1] |
| Alma mater | University College, University of Durham City Law School |
| Website | Official website |
Huw William Merriman(born 13 July 1973) is a British politician who served as theMember of Parliament(MP) forBexhill and BattleinEast Sussexfrom2015to2024.A member of theConservative Party,he served asMinister of State for Rail and HS2from October 2022 until July 2024. He previously chaired theTransport Select Committeebetween January 2020 and October 2022. Prior to his parliamentary career, Merriman was a barrister and a local councillor.
Early life and career
[edit]Merriman was born on 13 July 1973 inBrackley,Northamptonshire,to Richard and Ann Merriman.[2]His father was a local council worker and his mother was a teacher. He grew up inBuckinghamand attendedBuckingham County Secondary Modern SchoolandAylesbury College.Merriman studied law atDurham University,where he was president of theYoung Conservativesbranchin 1994.[3]
After graduating, he qualified as abarristerat theCity Law School.He initially worked in criminal law before working in financial law for 17 years.[4]His last role was as managing director of a team of lawyers tasked with unwinding theLehman Brothers' European estate following the financial services firm's collapse in 2008.[5]
Political career
[edit]He moved to East Sussex in 2006 and was elected toWealden District Councilfor theRotherfieldward in 2007 and was re-elected in 2011.[6]Merriman stood as a Conservative candidate forNorth East Derbyshirein the2010 general election.He came second to the incumbent Labour MPNatascha Engel.[7]
Merriman was selected as theprospective parliamentary candidate(PPC) forBexhill and Battlein November 2014. Other contenders for the seat included future MPsSuella Fernandes(now Braverman) andJames Cleverly.[8]He won the seat in the2015 general electionwith 30,245 votes and a majority of 20,075 (36.4%).[9]During the 2015–2017 parliament, he sat on theProcedure Committee.From July 2017 to August 2018, he was aparliamentary private secretary(PPS) in theDepartment for Work and Pensions.[10][11]Merriman was appointed as PPS to thenChancellor of the ExchequerPhilip Hammond.[12]
He supported the UK remaining within theEuropean Union(EU) in the2016 UK EU membership referendum.Merriman voted for then Prime MinisterTheresa May'sBrexitwithdrawal agreement in early 2019. In the indicative votes held on 27 March, he voted for areferendum on the Brexit withdrawal agreement.[13][14]
Merriman supportedJeremy Huntin the2019 Conservative Party leadership election.[15][16]He voted for Prime MinisterBoris Johnson's Brexit withdrawal agreement in October 2019.[17]
Merriman was the chair of theTransport Select Committeebetween January 2020 and October 2022. He had previously been a member of the committee since September 2017 and was also a member of theLiaison Committeebetween May 2020 and October 2022.[18]Merriman was appointed asMinister of State for Rail and HS2in October 2022.[19][20]
He did not stand for re-election at the2024 United Kingdom general election.[21]
Personal life
[edit]Merriman married Victoria Powdrill in 2001 and they have three daughters.[2]In 2016 Merriman had an affair with a political aide which led to the birth of a child. He is not on the birth certificate.[22]He and his wife formally separated in 2019.[1]
References
[edit]- ^abWhitworth, Damian (13 April 2019)."Diet of Brexit left me half the MP I was, says Huw Merriman".The Times.Archivedfrom the original on 30 October 2019.Retrieved30 October2019.(subscription required)
- ^abMerriman, Huw William.A & C Black.doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U283912.ISBN978-0-19-954088-4.Archivedfrom the original on 30 October 2019.Retrieved30 October2019.
- ^"DUCA – Durham University Conservative Association".DUCA.Archivedfrom the original on 9 January 2019.Retrieved6 May2018.
- ^Carr, Tim (18 May 2015).The Politicos Guide to the New House of Commons 2015: Profiles of the New MPs and Analysis of the 2015 General Election Results.Biteback Publishing. p. 333.ISBN978-1-84954-924-0.
- ^Karim, Fariha (5 February 2016)."Lawyer sues married Tory 'who bullied her over affair'".The Times.Archivedfrom the original on 30 October 2019.Retrieved30 October2019.(subscription required)
- ^"Election Results".Wealden District Council.Archivedfrom the original on 3 February 2019.Retrieved30 October2019.
- ^"Derbyshire North East".BBC News.Archivedfrom the original on 6 September 2017.Retrieved30 October2019.
- ^Goodman, Paul (29 November 2014)."Cllr Huw Merriman is selected for Bexhill and Battle".Conservative Home.Archivedfrom the original on 30 October 2019.Retrieved30 October2019.
- ^Cooke, Laura (8 May 2015)."Huw keeps Bexhill and Battle blue".Rye and Battle Observer.Archivedfrom the original on 30 October 2019.Retrieved30 October2019.
- ^"Parliamentary Private Secretaries – July 2017"(PDF).gov.uk.Archived(PDF)from the original on 25 July 2019.Retrieved30 October2019.
- ^"Parliament Private Secretaries – September 2018"(PDF).gov.uk.Archived(PDF)from the original on 30 March 2019.Retrieved30 October2019.
- ^Hardman, Isabel (22 July 2019)."Alan Duncan's resignation just adds to the chaos in the Foreign Office".The Spectator.Archivedfrom the original on 13 October 2019.Retrieved30 October2019.
- ^"How MPs voted on May's withdrawal deal defeat".Financial Times.29 March 2019. Archived fromthe originalon 2 September 2019.
- ^Maidment, Jack (9 April 2019)."Tory MP dares Theresa May to sack him from Government role over support for second Brexit referendum".The Telegraph.(subscription required)
- ^Goodman, Paul (20 June 2019)."Which MP is backing which candidate. Our named estimates. Johnson 131, Hunt 48, Gove 36, Javid 22".Conservative Home.Archivedfrom the original on 8 October 2019.Retrieved30 October2019.
- ^"Enterprise, diplomacy and resolve: why Jeremy Hunt can lead our United Kingdom".Huw Merriman. 3 June 2019.Archivedfrom the original on 30 October 2019.Retrieved30 October2019.
- ^Buchan, Lizzy (22 October 2019)."How your MP voted for Boris Johnson's Brexit deal".The Independent.Archivedfrom the original on 23 October 2019.Retrieved30 October2019.
- ^"Parliamentary career for Huw Merriman".parliament.uk.Retrieved3 March2020.
- ^"Ministerial Appointments commencing: 25 October 2022".gov.uk.Retrieved28 October2022.
- ^"Minister of State (Rail and HS2)".gov.uk.Retrieved3 November2020.
- ^"Second minister of day announces exit from Parliament adding to Tory headache to fill '150 empty candidate spots'".LBC.Retrieved23 May2024.
- ^Reynolds, Mark (27 June 2018)."MP mocked for 'having lovechild with former aide'".Daily Express.Retrieved25 February2024.
External links
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