Karen Bradley

The Right Honourable
Karen Bradley
MP
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Assumed office
14 July 2016
Prime Minister Theresa May
Preceded by John Whittingdale
Minister for Preventing Abuse, Exploitation and Crime
In office
8 February 2014 – 14 July 2016
Prime Minister David Cameron
Preceded by Position established
Succeeded by Sarah Newton
Lord Commissioner of the Treasury
In office
7 October 2013 – 8 February 2014
Prime Minister David Cameron
Preceded by Robert Goodwill
Succeeded by John Penrose
Member of Parliament
for Staffordshire Moorlands
Assumed office
6 May 2010
Preceded by Charlotte Atkins
Majority 10,174 (23.9%)
Personal details
Born Karen Anne Howarth
(1970-03-12) 12 March 1970
Newcastle-under-Lyme, England, UK
Political party Conservative
Spouse(s) Neil Bradley
Children 2 sons
Alma mater Imperial College London
Religion Christianity
Website Official website

Karen Anne Bradley[1] PC MP (born 12 March 1970)[2] is a British Conservative Party politician and the Member of Parliament (MP) for Staffordshire Moorlands, elected at the 2010 general election.[3][4] In Theresa May's first cabinet reshuffle in July 2016, Bradley became Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. Previously, since February 2014, she had served as a junior Home Office minister.[5] Prior to that, she had served in the Government Whips' Office since September 2012, initially as an Assistant Government Whip and, after a subsequent promotion in 2013, as a Government Whip (Junior Lord of the Treasury).[6]

Early life

Born Karen Anne Howarth in Newcastle-under-Lyme,[7] her family moved to Buxton and she was educated at the local comprehensive, Buxton Girls' School and Imperial College London, where she graduated with a BSc in Mathematics.[8]

Early career

In 1991 she joined Deloitte & Touche as a tax manager, and after seven years she became a senior tax manager with KPMG. In 2004 she set up business as a fiscal and economic consultant before rejoining KPMG in 2007, where she remained until her election to the House of Commons.[6]

Political career

She contested Manchester Withington at the 2005 general election, coming third. She was a member of the Conservative Party's A-List and was selected for Staffordshire Moorlands in July 2006.[9]

After her election to Parliament in 2010, Karen Bradley was a member of the Work and Pensions Select Committee from 2010, and in May 2012 was elected co-secretary of the backbench 1922 Committee.[10] She relinquished these positions on her appointment to the Government Whips' Office in September 2012. In February 2014, she was promoted to the Home Office as a junior minister. In July 2016 she was appointed as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport in Theresa May's first cabinet.

In late November 2016 she was severely criticised for vetoing a highly qualified minority ethnic female candidate from becoming a non-executive director on the all-white board of the state-owned broadcaster, Channel 4, while confirming the appointment of the other four candidates, all white men; this led to a letter of complaint being sent to her by a cross-party group of MPs.[11]

Personal life

She is married to Neil Austin Bradley and the couple have two sons.[8] She is a fan of Manchester City football club.[12]

References

  1. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 59418. p. 8745. 13 May 2010.
  2. ↑ "Karen Bradley MP". BBC Democracy Live. BBC. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
  3. ↑ Staffordshire Moorlands District Council election results
  4. ↑ Elections 2010: Karen Bradley takes Staffordshire Moorlands with 6,700 majority on ThisIsStaffordshire.co.uk
  5. ↑ "Immigration minister resigns for employing illegal immigrant", Guardian, 8 February 2014
  6. 1 2 "Karen Bradley MP". GOV.UK. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
  7. ↑ "Who's Who". ukwhoswho.com. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  8. 1 2 "Karen Bradley". conservatives.com. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  9. ↑ "Where are the original A-Listers now? The 18 who have been selected for Conservative seats". Conservative Home. 21 April 2009. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  10. ↑ "New faces elected on to influential Conservative 1922 committee". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
  11. ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/nov/29/bme-woman-blocked-from-channel-4-board-as-four-white-men-join
  12. ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2016/jul/14/is-there-more-to-karen-bradley-than-a-love-of-fiction-culture-minister
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Charlotte Atkins		 Member of Parliament
for Staffordshire Moorlands
2010–present 		Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by
John Whittingdale		 Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
2016–present 		Incumbent
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