Patrick McLoughlin

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Patrick McLoughlin

Patrick McLoughlin is the Conservative Party chairman and chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, having been appointed on 14 July 2016 by new Prime Minister Theresa May. [1]

He was the UK transport secretary from September 2012 until July 2016. [2] He has been the Conservative Party MP for Derbyshire Dales since 2010. [3]

In the 2015 general election, McLoughlin retained his seat with a majority of 14,044. He will also remain in the Cabinet as transport secretary. [4]

Background

Prior to becoming an MP, McLoughlin sat on Staffordshire County Council from 1981 to 1987 and Cannock Chase District Council between 1980 and 1987.

He has held various positions in government, including parliamentary under-secretary of state at the Department of Trade and Industry and government whip. In opposition, he served as chief whip from 2005 to 2010. He was Governments chief whip in the House of Commons in the coalition cabinet appointed in 2010.

McLoughlin was appointed to the Privy Council in 2005. [3] [5]

Dinner with lobbyists

Details of the attendees and seating plans of the Conservative's 2013 summer ball, an event where tickets cost up to £12,000 each and allows attendees to sit at the table with ministers, were leaked by the Guardian. It revealed McLoughlin sat with 'shipping to aviation magnante' Constantine Logothetis and Laurent Cadji, owner of Union Maritime.[6]

Failure to declare family links to lobbying

Under new rules brought in in 2015, MPs must disclose all family members engaged in lobbying the public sector, however McLoughlin failed to mention his James McLoughlin is the deputy head of policy at the Institute of Directors and a former associate partner at Bell Pottinger.

'A source close to the transport secretary said he had been advised by parliamentary authorities that he did not need to declare the link because it was only necessary to list family members engaged in consultancy lobbying'.[7]

Stance on fracking

His constituency includes one oil and gas licence block, awarded to INEOS by the Oil and Gas Authority under its 14th licensing round in 2015. There are currently no plans or applications to drill for shale underway. [8] In August 2015, INEOS said they could start test-drilling by the end of 2016 or early 2017, with the 'early stages of producing commercial gas by the end of the decade'. [9]

Voting record

McLoughlin has voted a mixture of for and against greater regulation on fracking. [10]

  • 26 January 2015: voted against making fracking companies apply for an environmental permit before conducting exploratory drilling. He also voted against an amendment to the Infrastructure Bill to include an 18 month moratorium on fracking.
  • 11 February 2015: voted in favour of requiring more pre-conditions for where fracking can take place.
  • 16 December 2015: voted in favour of loosening regulations on fracking in protected areas and national parks.

Donations

In September 2011, McLoughlin received £2,000.00 from Australian businessman Sir Michael Hintze.[11]

Education

McLoughlin studied at Staffordshire College of Agriculture.

Family

Special Advisers

Former

Notes

  1. 'Whos in and whos out? May's new cabinet' 14 July 2016, BBC News, accessed 15 July 2016
  2. Juliette Jowit, Shiv Malik and Haroon Siddique, Cabinet reshuffle: who has moved so far?, guardian.co.uk, 4 September 2012.
  3. 3.0 3.1 The Rt Hon Patrick McLoughlin MP GOV.UK, accessed 1 October 2014
  4. General Election: Tory Patrick McLoughlin defends Derbyshire Dales seat Derby Telegraph, 8 May 2015, accessed 18 May 2015
  5. Her Majesty’s Government, Number10.gov.uk, accessed 12 May 2010.
  6. Robert Booth, Nick Mathiason, Luke Harding and Melanie Newman Tory summer party drew super-rich supporters with total wealth of £11bn The Guardian, 3 July 2014, accessed 14 October 2014
  7. David Singleton MPs' family lobbying links revealed... but Amber Rudd fails to come clean Total Politics, 22 July 2015, accessed 23 July 2015.
  8. Oil and gas: licensing rounds, GOV.uk, accessed 14 November 2016.
  9. Chris Mallet, Fracking tests could happen in Derbyshire in 2016, Derby Telegraph, August 19 2015, accessed 17 November 2016.
  10. TheyWorkForYou | Patrick McLoughlin, TheyWorkForYou, accessed 17 November 2016.
  11. Electoral Commission, Donation search, accessed 2 March 2015