Heidi Allen

Heidi Allen
MP
Member of Parliament
for South Cambridgeshire
Assumed office
7 May 2015
Preceded by Andrew Lansley
Majority 20,594 (33.5%)
Personal details
Born (1975-01-18) 18 January 1975
Notton, England
Political party Conservative
Spouse(s) Phill Allen
Residence Steeple Morden, Cambridgeshire
Alma mater University College London
Website Official website

Heidi Allen (born 18 January 1975) is a British Conservative Party politician.

Allen was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for South Cambridgeshire at the 2015 general election. She succeeded Andrew Lansley, the former Conservative Government Minister who had held the seat since its creation in 1997, following his retirement from the House of Commons in 2015.[1]

Early life and education

Allen was born in Notton, a small rural village in West Yorkshire and attained a degree in Astrophysics from University College London (BSc).

Career

Allen worked in various corporate positions, including ExxonMobil and the Royal Mail.[2] In 2008 she joined the family classic-motorcycle paints business, RS Bike Paint Ltd, established by her parents in 1978[3] and now run by her husband Phil Allen. Heidi helped it develop from its original UK-based customer base into an export-driven company.[4]

Political career

Allen claims she was inspired to get involved in politics after watching the scenes of the Tottenham riots, and first became a councillor in St Albans.

In 2014, Allen came a close second in the controversial open primary for the South East Cambridgeshire parliamentary constituency[5] before, in October, being selected as Prospective Parliamentary Candidate (PPC), for South Cambridgeshire.[6] The seat was already held by the Conservative Andrew Lansley, then a Cabinet Minister, who had decided to stand down at the next general election.[7] She won the seat in the 2015 general election, increasing the Conservative majority and taking 51.1% of the votes cast. The nearest candidate was Labour who took 17.6% of the vote.[1]

In July 2015, she was elected a Member of the Work and Pensions Select Committee.[8] Allen made her maiden speech before the House of Commons on 20 October 2015, when she detailed criticism of proposed cuts to tax credits, saying, 'because today I can sit on my hands no longer'. She wanted to criticise the proposed tax credit cuts. She wanted to intervene before it was 'too late' to stop the changes to tax credits, even though she didn't want to support the motion tabled by Labour because she disagreed with the party's overall stance,[9][10][11] whilst also not being in favour of the Government's motion over tax credit cuts.[12] Isabel Hardman of The Spectator described her speech as "truly brave" and "well argued".[13] Despite her speech she voted in favour of tax credit cuts, in line with the Conservative whip.[14][15]

Allen was opposed to Brexit prior to the 2016 referendum.[16]

References

  1. 1 2 "Election 2015 – Cambridgeshire South". BBC. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  2. ↑ "Heidi Allen – Member of Parliament for South Cambridgeshire". Retrieved 22 September 2015.
  3. ↑ www.rsbikepaint.com
  4. ↑ www.heidisouthcambs.co.uk
  5. ↑ Chris Game (11 February 2014). "The Conservatives' disastrous primary election in South East Cambridgeshire should not deter other local parties from using primaries".
  6. ↑ Goodman, Paul (11 October 2014). "Heidi Allen wins South Cambridgeshire selection". Conservative Home.
  7. ↑ Wallace, Mark (7 January 2014). "Alleged vote counting error throws South East Cambridgeshire Open Primary result into doubt". Conservative Home.
  8. ↑ "Work and Pensions Committee – membership". UK Parliament. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
  9. ↑ "MPs debate tax credits: 20 October 2015". UK Parliament.
  10. ↑ "Government narrowly win vote for tax credit cuts". ITV News.
  11. ↑ "MP Heidi Allen warns tax credit cuts 'betray' Tory values". BBC News. 20 October 2015. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  12. ↑ "Tory MP speaks passionately against tax credits cuts. Before voting for them. Again.". Political Scrapbook. 21 October 2015. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  13. ↑ Isabel Hardman (21 October 2015). "Tory MP Heidi Allen's devastating attack on tax credit cuts". The Spectator. Archived from the original on 21 October 2015. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  14. ↑ "Heidi Allen voted for the tax credit cuts after all after accusing George Osborne of betrayal". Metro. 23 October 2015.
  15. ↑ "Heidi Allen – Spending on Welfare Benefits". They Work For You.
  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.

External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Andrew Lansley		 Member of Parliament
for South Cambridgeshire
2015–present 		Incumbent
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