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Karen Bradley

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The Right Honourable
Dame Karen Bradley
DBE
Official portrait, 2017
Chair of theHouse of Commons Procedure Committee
Assumed office
29 January 2020
Preceded byCharles Walker
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
In office
8 January 2018 – 24 July 2019
Prime MinisterTheresa May
Preceded byJames Brokenshire
Succeeded byJulian Smith
Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport[a]
In office
14 July 2016 – 8 January 2018
Prime MinisterTheresa May
Preceded byJohn Whittingdale
Succeeded byMatt Hancock
Junior ministerial offices
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Preventing Abuse, Exploitation and Crime
In office
8 February 2014 – 14 July 2016
Prime MinisterDavid Cameron
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded bySarah Newton
Lord Commissioner of the Treasury
In office
7 October 2013 – 8 February 2014
Prime MinisterDavid Cameron
Preceded byRobert Goodwill
Succeeded byJohn Penrose
Member of Parliament
forStaffordshire Moorlands
Assumed office
6 May 2010
Preceded byCharlotte Atkins
Majority1,175 (2.8%)
Personal details
Born
Karen Anne Howarth

(1970-03-12)12 March 1970(age 54)[1]
Newcastle-under-Lyme,England
Political partyConservative
SpouseNeil Bradley
Children2
Alma materImperial College London
WebsiteOfficial website

Dame Karen Anne Bradley[2]DBE(néeHowarth;born 12 March 1970) is a BritishConservative Partypolitician who served asSecretary of State for Northern Irelandfrom 2018 to 2019. She has been theMember of Parliament(MP) forStaffordshire Moorlandssince2010.[3][4]

Bradley was appointed to theCameron–Clegg coalitionin 2014 asMinister of State for the Home Department.During the formation of theMay governmentin July 2016, she was appointed to theCabinetasSecretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport,where she remained until being appointedNorthern Ireland Secretaryin January 2018, serving until her dismissal in 2019.[5]

Early life and career[edit]

Karen Howarth was born on 12 March 1970 inNewcastle-under-Lyme.[6]Her family moved toBuxtoninDerbyshire,where she was educated at the local comprehensive, before studying atImperial College London,graduating with a BSc in mathematics.[7]

In 1991, Bradley joinedDeloitte & Toucheand became a tax manager, and after seven years she became a senior tax manager withKPMG.In 2004 she set up business as a fiscal and economic consultant before rejoining KPMG in 2007, where she remained until her election to theHouse of Commons.[8]

Parliamentary career[edit]

At the2005 general election,Bradley stood as theConservativecandidate inManchester Withington,coming third with 10.5% of the vote behind theLiberal DemocratcandidateJohn Leechand theLabourcandidateKeith Bradley.[9][10][11]

Bradley was a member of the Conservative Party'sA-Listand was selected as theprospective parliamentary candidateforStaffordshire Moorlandsin July 2006.[12]She was elected to Parliament at the2010 general electionas MP for Staffordshire Moorlands with 45.2% of the vote and a majority of 6,689.[13][14]

Bradley welcomesthe DukeandDuchess of Sussexas they embark on their first visit toNorthern Irelandas a couple

Following her election to Parliament in 2010, Bradley was a member of theWork and Pensions Select Committeebetween July 2010 and October 2012, theProcedure Committeebetween October 2011 and November 2012, and in May 2012 was elected co-secretary of the backbench1922 Committee.[15][16]

In September 2012, Bradley was appointed as a junior Government whip. In December 2012, Bradley joined theAdministration Committee,of which she was a member until March 2014. In February 2014, Bradley joined theHome Officeas the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Preventing Abuse, Exploitation and Crime.

At the2015 general election,Bradley was re-elected as MP for Staffordshire Moorlands with an increased vote share of 51.1% and an increased majority of 10,174.[17]

In July 2016, Bradley was appointed to the position ofSecretary of State for Culture, Media and Sportby Prime MinisterTheresa May.In late November 2016, she denied the appointment ofAlthea Efunshile,a former deputy chief ofArts Council England,as a non-executive director on the board of the state-owned broadcaster,Channel 4.She was criticised because Efunshile was a black female candidate while the other four candidates were all white men and were either appointed or re-appointed. This action led to a letter of complaint being sent to her by a cross-party group of MPs.[18][19]On 12 December 2017, the government announced the appointment which her successor ratified.[20]

Bradley was again re-elected at the snap2017 general electionwith an increased vote share of 58.1% and an increased majority of 10,830.[21]

Karen Bradley attended National Police Memorial Day with then Home SecretarySajid Javid(right).

In January 2018, Bradley was appointedSecretary of State for Northern Irelandafter the resignation ofJames Brokenshiredue to ill health. In July 2018, she came under criticism in the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee for failing to take action on British government discrimination against former soldiers and police.Andrew Murrisonchallenged her on her account of what she had done, and she said she would write to him.Sylvia Hermoncommented: "I wait and wait for letters."[22]

In a September 2018 interview forHousemagazine,a weekly publication for the Houses of Parliament, Bradley admitted she had not understood Northern Irish politics before being appointed Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, saying: "I didn't understand things like when elections are fought, for example, in Northern Ireland – people who are nationalists don't vote for unionist parties and vice versa," she said.[23]

In March 2019, Bradley defended killings by security forces duringthe Troublesin theNorthern Ireland,stating that "The fewer than 10% [of killings] that were at the hands of the military and police were not crimes, they were people acting under orders and fulfilling their duties in a dignified and appropriate way.". This comment was criticised by numerous political parties in Northern Ireland, and some made calls for her to resign.[24][25][26]A "clarification" on her remarks was issued by Bradley later that day in the House of Commons, and the following day she issued an apology.[27]The families of those who died onBloody Sundayin January 1972 claimed that Bradley was attempting to interfere in the British government's decision on whether or not to prosecute the soldiers involved in the incident.[28]

Bradley was dismissed as Northern Ireland Secretary by Prime MinisterBoris Johnsonupon his appointment in July 2019.

At the2019 general election,Bradley was again re-elected with an increased vote share of 64.5% and an increased majority of 16,428.[29][30]

At the2024 United Kingdom general election,Bradley was re-elected on a much reduced majority.[31]

Personal life[edit]

Bradley is married to Neil Bradley. They have two sons.[7]She is a fan ofManchester City Football Club.[32]

She was appointed aDame Commander of the Order of the British Empire(DBE) in the2023 Political Honoursfor public and political service.[33]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^Culture, Media and Sport (2016–2017)

References[edit]

  1. ^"Karen Bradley MP".BBC Democracy Live.BBC. Archived fromthe originalon 5 March 2016.Retrieved25 July2010.
  2. ^"No. 59418".The London Gazette.13 May 2010. p. 8745.
  3. ^"Staffordshire Moorlands District Council election results".Archived fromthe originalon 13 June 2011.
  4. ^Elections 2010: Karen Bradley takes Staffordshire Moorlands with 6,700 majorityArchived10 May 2010 at theWayback Machineon ThisIsStaffordshire.co.uk
  5. ^"Karen Bradley sacked as Secretary of State for NI".BBC News.24 July 2019.Retrieved3 December2023.
  6. ^"Who's Who".ukwhoswho.Archivedfrom the original on 6 July 2008.Retrieved20 July2016.
  7. ^ab"Karen Bradley".conservatives.Archived fromthe originalon 6 August 2016.Retrieved20 July2016.
  8. ^"Karen Bradley MP".GOV.UK.Archivedfrom the original on 6 September 2015.Retrieved13 September2015.
  9. ^"BBC NEWS – Election 2005 – Results – Manchester Withington".news.bbc.co.uk.
  10. ^"Election Data 2005".Electoral Calculus.Archived fromthe originalon 15 October 2011.Retrieved18 October2015.
  11. ^"Parliamentary Election Results 2005".manchester.gov.uk.Manchester City Council. Archived fromthe originalon 11 May 2010.
  12. ^"Where are the original A-Listers now? The 18 who have been selected for Conservative seats".Conservative Home.21 April 2009. Archived fromthe originalon 28 October 2014.Retrieved20 July2016.
  13. ^"Election Data 2010".Electoral Calculus.Archived fromthe originalon 26 July 2013.Retrieved17 October2015.
  14. ^"BBC News | Election 2010 | Constituency | Staffordshire Moorlands".news.bbc.co.uk.
  15. ^"New faces elected on to influential Conservative 1922 committee".BBC News.Archivedfrom the original on 17 May 2012.Retrieved12 July2012.
  16. ^"Parliamentary career for Karen Bradley - MPs and Lords - UK Parliament".members.parliament.uk.Retrieved12 September2020.
  17. ^"Election Data 2015".Electoral Calculus.Archived fromthe originalon 17 October 2015.Retrieved17 October2015.
  18. ^Sweney, Mark (29 November 2016)."BME woman blocked from Channel 4 board as four white men join".The Guardian.Archivedfrom the original on 30 November 2016.
  19. ^Sweney, Mark (5 December 2016)."Black woman vetoed for Channel 4 job was Arts Council England deputy chief".The Guardian.Archivedfrom the original on 6 December 2016.
  20. ^Sweney, Mark (12 December 2017)."Althea Efunshile joins Channel 4 board after government U-turn".The Guardian.Archivedfrom the original on 12 December 2017.
  21. ^"General election - 8th June 2017".Staffordshire Moorlands District Council.Retrieved1 June2024.
  22. ^"Army and police veterans 'discriminated against' in border force recruitment".ITV News.4 July 2018.
  23. ^"Karen Bradley:" I'm not here for the headlines. I'm here to get the best thing for the country "".PoliticsHome.6 September 2018.
  24. ^McConnell, Daniel (6 March 2019)."Karen Bradley faces resignation calls following controversial Troubles comment".Irish Examiner.Retrieved6 March2019.
  25. ^"Obeying Orders".broadsheet.ie.6 March 2019.Retrieved6 March2019.
  26. ^"Karen Bradley faces calls to resign over Troubles comments".BBC News.6 March 2019.Retrieved6 March2019.
  27. ^"Breaking – Karen Bradley 'profoundly sorry' over killings comments".RTÉ. 7 March 2019.Retrieved7 March2019.
  28. ^O'Carroll, Lisa; Bowcott, Owen; Walker, Peter (7 March 2019)."Karen Bradley facing continued resignation calls despite apology".The Guardian– via theguardian.
  29. ^"Staffordshire Moorlands (Constituency) 2019 results - General election results - UK Parliament".electionresults.parliament.uk.Retrieved12 September2020.
  30. ^"Staffordshire Moorlands parliamentary constituency - Election 2019".Retrieved15 December2019.
  31. ^"Staffordshire Moorlands - General election results 2024".BBC News.Retrieved17 July2024.
  32. ^"Is there more to Karen Bradley than a love of crime fiction?".The Guardian.Guardian News and Media. 14 July 2016.Archivedfrom the original on 11 November 2016 – via WebArchive.
  33. ^"Political Honours conferred: December 2023".Gov.uk.29 December 2023.Retrieved2 January2024.

External links[edit]

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Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament
forStaffordshire Moorlands
2010–present 		Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
2016–2018 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
2018–2019 		Succeeded by
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