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John Hayes (British politician)

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The Right Honourable
Sir John Hayes
CBE MP
Official portrait, 2017
Minister of State for Transport
In office
16 July 2016 – 9 January 2018
Prime MinisterTheresa May
Preceded byRobert Goodwill
Succeeded byJo Johnson
In office
15 July 2014 – 8 May 2015
Prime MinisterDavid Cameron
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byAndrew Jones
Minister of State for Security
In office
8 May 2015 – 15 July 2016
Prime MinisterDavid Cameron
Preceded byJames Brokenshire
Succeeded byBen Wallace
Minister without Portfolio
Senior Parliamentary Adviser to the Prime Minister
In office
28 March 2013 – 15 July 2014
Prime MinisterDavid Cameron
Preceded byThe Baroness Warsi
Succeeded byRobert Halfon
Minister of State for Energy
In office
4 September 2012 – 28 March 2013
Prime MinisterDavid Cameron
Preceded byCharles Hendry
Succeeded byMichael Fallon
Minister of State for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning
In office
13 May 2010 – 4 September 2012
Prime MinisterDavid Cameron
Preceded byKevin Brennan
Succeeded byMatt Hancock
Member of Parliament
for South Holland and the Deepings
Incumbent
Assumed office
1 May 1997
Preceded byConstituency created
Majority6,856 (14.9%)
Personal details
Born (1958-06-23) 23 June 1958 (age 66)[1]
Woolwich, London, England
Political partyConservative
Spouse
Susan Hopewell
​
(m. 1997)​
Children2
Alma materUniversity of Nottingham
Websitewww.johnhayes.uk Edit this at Wikidata

Sir John Henry Hayes CBE (born 23 June 1958) is a British Conservative Party politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for South Holland and The Deepings since 1997. He has held five ministerial positions and six shadow ministerial positions.[2] Hayes was appointed as a Privy Councillor in April 2013 and a Knight Bachelor in November 2018.[3]

Hayes is considered a social conservative,[4] economic protectionist,[5] communitarian[6] and Eurosceptic.[7] He strongly supported Britain's withdrawal from the EU and has spoken regularly about his belief in conservative ideas and philosophy.[8] Hayes is known for speaking passionately and theatrically in the House of Commons chamber[9] and has been described as a "colourful character" who is "popular and influential on the Tory right".[10][9]

Early life and career

[edit]

John Hayes was born on 23 June 1958 in Woolwich into a working-class family, where he grew up on a council estate.[11] He was educated at Colfe's Grammar School in Lewisham, before studying politics at the University of Nottingham, graduating with a BA and a PGCE in history and English. Hayes was involved in a campaign to create a pipe-smoking society affiliated to the Students' Union. He also chaired the University's Conservative Association from 1981 to 1982 while being President of one of the residential halls, Lincoln's Junior Common Room, and served as treasurer of the university's Students' Union from 1982 to 1983.

Hayes suffered a serious head injury in his early 20s, from which he has never fully recovered. He has focused much of his career on raising funds for research into acquired brain injury and support for those who suffer from it.[12][13]

After university, he was a sales director for The Data Base Ltd, an information technology company based in Nottingham.[14]

Political career

[edit]

Hayes was elected to Nottinghamshire County Council in 1985 where he was the Conservative Group Spokesman on Education and Chairman of its Campaigns Committee. He served on the council for 13 years.

At the 1987 general election, Hayes stood as the Conservative candidate in Derbyshire North East, coming second with 37.7% of the vote behind the Labour candidate Harry Barnes.[15] He again stood in Derbyshire North East at the 1992 general election, coming second with 38.2% of the vote behind Harry Barnes.[16][17]

Parliamentary career

[edit]

Hayes was elected to Parliament as MP for South Holland and The Deepings at the 1997 general election with 49.3% of the vote and a majority of 7,991.[18] He made his maiden speech on 2 July 1997. He was re-elected as MP for South Holland and the Deepings at the 2001 general election with an increased vote share of 55.4% and an increased majority of 11,099.[19] At the 2005 general election, Hayes was again re-elected with an increased vote share of 57.1% and an increased majority of 15,780.[20] He was again re-elected at the 2010 general election with an increased vote share of 59.1% and an increased majority of 21,880.[21][22]

In November 2012, during his time as Energy Minister, Hayes clashed with Liberal Democrat coalition partners when he said that there should be no further construction of onshore wind turbines, declaring "enough is enough".[23]

Following his appointment as Energy Minister in March 2013 Hayes vowed to put "coal back into the coalition".[24] During his tenure, subsidies for renewables were cut, planning rules for onshore wind were tightened, and a zero-carbon homes policy was scrapped.[25]

Hayes became Minister without Portfolio in the Cabinet Office. He was appointed to the Privy Council on 9 April 2013.[3]

He was appointed as Minister of State at the Department for Transport in the reshuffle on 15 July 2014[26] with responsibility for national roads, Highways Agency reform, the Infrastructure Bill, and maritime issues.

At the 2015 general election, Hayes was again re-elected, with an increased vote share of 59.6% and a decreased majority of 18,567.[27][28]

Following the general election, Hayes was moved to the Home Office, where he was appointed "Minister of State, Minister for Security", with responsibility for counter-terrorism, security, serious organised crime and cyber crime.[14]

In the government formed by Theresa May in July 2016, Hayes was reshuffled back to become a Minister at the Department for Transport.[29]

Hayes was re-elected at the snap 2017 general election, with an increased vote share of 69.9% and an increased majority of 24,897.[30]

He resigned from his post as Minister of State for Transport on 9 January 2018 during a cabinet reshuffle.[31]

Hayes, in October 2018, described Britain's withdrawal from the EU as something "I've believed in for my whole life".[32] He stated that voting Leave would provide an opportunity to "finally bring down the curtain on the Blair era".[33] Following the referendum, Hayes criticised the "stunned hysteria" of an "establishment elite" who had "never before failed to get their own way".[34]

Also in October 2018, Hayes, a protectionist, rejected "globalist free trade", stating his belief that government should "redistribute advantage". He supports tariffs designed to protect "British jobs and British workers". He criticised the "gig economy" and believes that only "meaningful careers that contribute to societal good" can restore economic opportunities within the local communities they exist to serve.[35]

Hayes has consistently voted against same-sex marriage and civil partnerships. In line with his socially conservative views, he asserts marriage to be solely the lifetime union of one man and one woman.[36]

In November 2018, Hayes is reported as having asked the UK Government to consider bringing back the death penalty: referencing Westminster Bridge attacker Khalid Masood, he said that: "If he had survived I think most of the British public would have been OK if he had received a fair trial and been put to death – most people would deem that appropriate". Additionally, Hayes states that, for murder, "I say capital punishment should be a sentence available to the courts but the death penalty should not be mandatory – that's always been my position".[37]

Also in November 2018, Hayes stated his support for constitutional monarchy, voicing his opinion that the monarchy must resist the "culture of celebrity".[38]

At the 2019 general election, he was again re-elected with an increased vote share of 75.9% and an increased majority of 30,838.[39]

Following an interim report on the connections between colonialism and properties now in the care of the National Trust, including links with historic slavery, Hayes was among the signatories of a letter to The Telegraph in November 2020 from the group. The letter accused the National Trust of being "coloured by cultural Marxist dogma, colloquially known as the 'woke agenda'".[40]

Hayes is the chair of the Common Sense Group, an informal group of conservative politicians and journalists who advocate for the future direction of the Conservative Party and the UK.[41][42]

In July 2022, he said of precautions for a predicted 40° heatwave: "This is not a brave new world but a cowardly new world where we live in a country where we are frightened of the heat. It is not surprising that in snowflake Britain, the snowflakes are melting".[43]

Hayes was again re-elected at the 2024 general election, with a decreased vote share of 38% and a decreased majority of 6,856.[44]

Personal life

[edit]

Hayes married Susan Hopewell in 1997; they have two sons.[45]

In addition to his seat in Parliament, Hayes holds three outside jobs, with one of them being a strategic adviser to BB Energy, a Dubai-based headquartered energy trading group.[46] Since 2018 Hayes has received payments of £50,000 per year working for a Lebanese-based oil company BB Energy as a strategic adviser which has drawn criticism from Transparency International UK.[47]

Honours

[edit]

Hayes was sworn as a member of the Privy Council on 15 May 2013 at Buckingham Palace.[48]

He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2016 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours for political and public service.[49]

Hayes was appointed a Knight Bachelor in November 2018.[50] This was an honour that was widely reported as bringing the awards system into disrepute; the supposition being that he had been offered and accepted the award in return for support for (or lack of opposition to) the Prime Minister's Brexit Draft Withdrawal Agreement.[51][52][53] However, he subsequently announced his intention to vote against the proposed withdrawal agreement anyway.[54]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "John Hayes web archive back up". Archived from the original on 13 February 2009. Retrieved 6 May 2007.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) – 27 September 2012
  2. ^ "MP John Hayes talks about 20 years at Westminster and says Cameron could have stayed in office". Spalding Today. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Orders for 9 April 2013" (PDF). Privy Council Office.
  4. ^ "What is the Cornerstone group? Matthew Barrett profiles the socially conservative Tory backbench group | Conservative Home". Conservative Home. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  5. ^ "HAYES IN THE HOUSE: Conference city has its own inspiration". Spalding Today. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  6. ^ "John Hayes MP: To inspire we must be confident about our Conservatism | Conservative Home". Conservative Home. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  7. ^ "John Hayes: By voting Leave, we can finally bring down the curtain on the Blair Era". Conservative Home. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  8. ^ "John Hayes MP agrees with Sir Roger Scruton that beauty should be our principal pursuit | The Bow Group". www.bowgroup.org. Archived from the original on 13 October 2018. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  9. ^ a b "Tory Minister John Hayes Divides Opinion With His Incredible Speech On Transport Beauty". HuffPost UK. 2 November 2016. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  10. ^ "Brexit baubles: Theresa May issues knighthood and Privy Council appointments ahead of crucial vote". Sky News. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  11. ^ "John Hayes: "I am the personification of Blue Collar Conservatism" – Conservative Home". 11 January 2013.
  12. ^ "Acquired Brain Injury Debate takes place in Parliament". ukabif.org.uk. 20 June 2018. Archived from the original on 29 December 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  13. ^ "Headway Patron John Hayes MP wins Charity Champion Award". Cambridge Network. 17 December 2008. Archived from the original on 29 December 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  14. ^ a b "The Rt Hon John Hayes". Gov.uk. 11 May 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  15. ^ "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  16. ^ "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  17. ^ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
  18. ^ "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  19. ^ "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  20. ^ "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  21. ^ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  22. ^ "BBC News | Election 2010 | Constituency | South Holland & The Deepings". news.bbc.co.uk.
  23. ^ Hope, Christopher (13 November 2012). "'Job done' on wind farms, says John Hayes". Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
  24. ^ "Worst March snow for 30 years brings chaos". The Telegraph. 23 March 2013. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
  25. ^ "Why high UK energy bills were decades in the making". BBC News. 6 November 2022. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  26. ^ "At-a-glance: Reshuffle movers". BBC News. 15 July 2014.
  27. ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  28. ^ "South Holland & The Deepings". Election 2015. BBC. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  29. ^ "Minister of State for Transport". gov.uk. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  30. ^ "South Holland and the Deepings Election Result 2017". BBC News. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  31. ^ "John Hayes resigns from government". The Voice. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  32. ^ "MP John Hayes talks about 20 years at Westminster and says Cameron could have stayed in office". Spalding Today. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
  33. ^ "John Hayes: By voting Leave, we can finally bring down the curtain on the Blair Era". Conservative Home. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  34. ^ "HAYES IN THE HOUSE: Respect the view of the majority". Spalding Today. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  35. ^ "HAYES IN THE HOUSE: Conference city has its own inspiration". Spalding Today. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  36. ^ "Tory waverers press-ganged to back Cameron on gay marriage vote". The Independent. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  37. ^ Kentish, Benjamin (3 November 2018). "Tory MP asks government to consider bringing back death penalty". The Independent. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  38. ^ "HAYES IN THE HOUSE: We must protect the Queen and all she stands for". Spalding Today. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
  39. ^ "South Holland & The Deepings Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  40. ^ "Britain's heroes". Letter to the Daily Telegraph. 9 November 2020. Retrieved 30 January 2021.{{cite press release}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  41. ^ Somerville, Ewan (19 June 2021). "Charities should not use taxpayers' money to pursue 'doctrinal ends', say MPs". The Telegraph. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  42. ^ Bland, Archie; Elgot, Jessica (11 November 2020). "Dissatisfied Tory MPs flock to ERG-inspired pressure groups". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  43. ^ Stone, Jon (15 July 2022). "Tory MP says 'snowflakes' taking heatwave precautions are everything wrong with UK". The Independent. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  44. ^ "South Holland and the Deepings – General election results 2024". BBC News.
  45. ^ "Hayes, Rt Hon. John Henry". Hayes, Rt Hon. John Henry, (Born 23 June 1958), PC 2013; MP (C) South Holland and the Deepings, since 1997; Minister of State, Department for Transport, since 2016. Who's Who. 2007. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U19581.
  46. ^ "'It's a private matter' says MP on £118k second income". Spalding Today. 11 November 2021.
  47. ^ "Tory MP calling for delay to UK climate action has banked £150k from oil firm". Open Democracy. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  48. ^ Tilbrook, Richard (15 May 2013). "ORDERS APPROVED AND BUSINESS TRANSACTED AT THE PRIVY COUNCIL HELD BY THE QUEEN AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE ON 15TH MAY 2013" (PDF). The Privy Council Office. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  49. ^ "No. 61678". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 August 2016. p. RH3.
  50. ^ "Eurosceptic Tory MP John Hayes given knighthood". BBC News. 23 November 2018. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  51. ^ Rawlinson, Kevin (23 November 2018). "Theresa May accused of giving knighthood to buy MP's Brexit silence". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  52. ^ Hope, Christopher; Swinford, Steven (23 November 2018). "Theresa May accused of 'cronyism' after handing knighthood to Brexit-backing MP weeks before key vote". The Telegraph. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  53. ^ Mance, Henry; Parker, George (23 November 2018). "May hands knighthood to Eurosceptic Tory MP John Hayes". The Financial Times. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  54. ^ "Knighted Tory MP: I still won't back May's deal". Coffee House. 25 November 2018. Archived from the original on 3 January 2020. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
[edit]
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Parliament of the United Kingdom
New constituency Member of Parliament
for South Holland and The Deepings
1997–present 		Incumbent
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