- Maria Miller
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Maria Miller MP Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Incumbent Assumed office
12 May 2010Prime Minister David Cameron Member of Parliament
for BasingstokeIncumbent Assumed office
5 May 2005Preceded by Andrew Hunter Majority 13,176 (26%) Personal details Born 26 March 1964
Wolverhampton, West Midlands, EnglandNationality British Political party Conservative Alma mater London School of Economics Profession Politician and Marketing consultant Website mariamiller.co.uk Maria Frances Lewis Miller (born 26 March 1964 in Wolverhampton) is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Basingstoke since the 2005 general election. Miller is currently Parliamentary-Under Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.
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Early life
Born in Wolverhampton but brought up in Bridgend, South Wales, and was educated at the Brynteg Comprehensive School in Bridgend before studying for a BSc in Economics at the London School of Economics, In 1985, she joined Greys Advertising Ltd as an advertising executive and in 1990 she left to become a marketing manager with Texaco. She rejoined Greys in 1994 and served for five years as a director. She became a director for the Rowland Group (became Publicis Consultants) for four years from 1999.
Parliamentary career
She joined the Conservative Party in 1983 and she contested Wolverhampton North East at the 2001 general election but was defeated by the sitting Labour MP Ken Purchase. She has served as the Patron of the Wolverhampton North East Conservative Association since 2001. She was chairman of the Wimbledon Conservative Association for a year from 2002.
She was first elected to the Commons at the 2005 general election following the retirement of the former Conservative MP, Andrew Hunter, who had defected to the Northern Ireland Democratic Unionist Party before he stepped down. In Parliament she served for a year from 2005 as a member of the Trade and Industry select committee. Later in 2005 David Cameron appointed her a spokesperson in the Shadow Education and Skills team. She was appointed Shadow Minister for the Family in 2007. Following the 2010 General Election she was appointed parliamentary Under-Secretary of State and Minister for Disabled People at the Department for Work and Pensions.
On 11 May 2011, thousands of severely-disabled people marched (or went in wheelchairs) to protest at Westminster against the deficit-reduction plans implemented by the coalition government of which Maria Miller is a member and Minister for the Disabled. She allegedly refused to meet with the protesters.[citation needed]
Personal life
Maria Miller has been married to Iain Miller since 1985 and they have two sons and a daughter.
External links
Categories:- Conservative Party (UK) MPs
- People from Wolverhampton
- Alumni of the London School of Economics
- Members of the United Kingdom Parliament for English constituencies
- UK MPs 2005–2010
- British female MPs
- 1964 births
- Living people
- UK MPs 2010–
- People educated at Brynteg Comprehensive School
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