Patrick McLoughlin

This article is about the British politician. For people with similar names, see Patrick McLaughlin (disambiguation).

The Right Honourable Patrick McLoughlin MP
Secretary of State for Transport
Incumbent
Assumed office 4 September 2012
Prime Minister	David Cameron
Preceded by	Justine Greening
Government Chief Whip of the House of Commons Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury
In office 12 May 2010 – 4 September 2012
Prime Minister	David Cameron
Preceded by	Nick Brown
Succeeded by	Andrew Mitchell
Opposition Chief Whip of the House of Commons
In office 7 December 2005 – 11 May 2010
Leader	David Cameron
Preceded by	David Maclean
Succeeded by	Nick Brown
Member of Parliament for Derbyshire Dales West Derbyshire (1986–2010)
Incumbent
Assumed office 8 May 1986
Preceded by	Matthew Parris
Majority	14, 044 (29.7%)
Personal details
Born	Patrick Allen McLoughlin (1957-11-30) 30 November 1957 Stafford, United Kingdom
Nationality	British
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Lynn Newman
Children	2
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Patrick Allen McLoughlin (born 30 November 1957) is a British Conservative Party politician. He first became a Member of Parliament (MP) at the 1986 by-election in West Derbyshire. The constituency became the Derbyshire Dales for the 2010 general election; McLoughlin has remained the seat's MP. On 4 September 2012, he was appointed Secretary of State for Transport. As a former miner, he is one of the few Conservative MPs to have been a manual worker before being elected to Parliament.

Background

McLoughlin was born in Stafford, the son and grandson of coal miners. He was educated at the Cardinal Griffin Roman Catholic School in Cannock, Staffordshire, and Staffordshire College of Agriculture at Rodbaston College. From 1974, he worked for five years as a farm worker and, after 1979, worked underground at the Littleton Colliery in Cannock. He was a member of the National Union of Mineworkers, and became an industrial representative for the National Coal Board's Western Area Marketing Department.

Although a member of the NUM, he broke ranks during the 1984 miners' strike and later came to national attention when he stood up at the 1984 Conservative Party Conference to announce that he was a working miner. He moved from underground belt attendant to Area Marketing representative in September 1985, five months after the end of the strike.

Political career

McLoughlin was elected as a councillor on the Cannock Chase District Council, serving for seven years from 1980, and was a councillor on Staffordshire County Council from 1981-87. In 1982, McLoughlin served as the Chairman of the National Young Conservatives.

McLoughlin unsuccessfully contested Wolverhampton South East at the 1983 General Election, losing to the sitting Labour MP Robert Edwards by 5,000 votes.

Matthew Parris, then Conservative MP for West Derbyshire, had resigned from the House of Commons to pursue a media career and McLoughlin was chosen to contest the 1986 by-election. He held the seat, albeit very narrowly, with a 100 majority.

In Parliament, McLoughlin served as the Parliamentary Private Secretary, initially to Angela Rumbold (Minister of State at the Department for Education and Science (1987–88)) and then to David Young, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1988–89). McLoughlin was made a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1989, and served in the Department for Transport until 1992, when he was moved by Prime Minister John Major to serve in the same position at the Department of Employment. A year later, McLoughlin was moved to the Department of Trade and Industry.

He joined the government as Assistant Whip in 1995, becoming a Lord Commissioner in 1996. After the Conservative Party's defeat at the 1997 general election, he remained in the whips' office in opposition, becoming the Deputy Chief Whip in 1998. He was then promoted to Chief Whip by David Cameron in 2005. McLoughlin has also served on many select committees. As Opposition Chief Whip, he was sworn of the Privy Council in June 2005.

Following boundary changes, the West Derbyshire constituency seat was abolished at the 2010 general election, and McLoughlin was elected to the successor seat of Derbyshire Dales, achieving exactly the same number of votes. Prime Minister David Cameron appointed McLoughlin as the government's Chief Whip and Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury in the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government. During his tenure as Chief Whip, he was reprimanded by the Speaker John Bercow for inappropriate behaviour within the House of Commons.

Transport secretary

In a government reshuffle in September 2012, McLoughlin was appointed Secretary of State for Transport. Soon after his appointment he had to cancel the award of the InterCity West Coast franchise due to major technical flaws in the bidding process.

Rail Passengers in Great Britain from 1829-2014, showing the early era of small railway companies, the amalgamation into the "Big Four", nationalisation and finally the current era of privatisation

As Transport Secretary, McLoughlin has overseen large-scale government investment in rail in the wake of increasing passenger numbers in the years following rail privatisation. From 2014-19, £38 billion of improvement works are planned, including Crossrail, the Thameslink Programme, electrification of the Great Western Main Line and the Northern Powerhouse scheme to boost transport links in the North of England.

In 2017, construction will also start on HS2, a high-speed link between major cities that will "triple the long-distance capacity to the North of England" as well as freeing up the West Coast Main Line for freight and commuter trains. McLoughlin said "So the argument has been won. HS2 will be built, the full ‘Y’ network, from London to Birmingham and Birmingham to Manchester and Leeds. HS2 will change the transport architecture of the north. But it will also change the economic architecture."

In November 2013, he made a speech praising the impact of the privatisation of British Rail, saying that "Privatisation sparked a railway renaissance. Since 1993, passenger journeys have doubled in the UK to a level not seen since the 1920s. On a network roughly the same size as 15 years ago, today our railway is running 4,000 more services a day. And rail freight has grown by 60%. Revenue is up more than £3 billion since privatisation, almost all of it due to higher passenger numbers rather than fare rises. Safety levels are at an all time high. Punctuality is at near record levels. And passenger satisfaction is up by 10% over the past decade."

In December 2015, he announced the winners of the Northern and TransPennine Express franchises which include new trains, services and free wifi, saying "Arriva Rail North and First TransPennine Express went far beyond our requirements with exciting, ambitious plans that will make a real difference to customers, and – coupled with our commitment to push ahead with electrifying the vital TransPennine route – will help the region realise its full economic potential, ensuring it has a modern 21st century transport system."

McLoughlin's efforts to meet and pacify Cumbrian residents of Pooley Bridge and Soulsby following the 2015 floods were ridiculed in The Independent when the ministerial party arrived on the wrong side of the collapsed bridge. The paper compared the event to a scene from the BBC comedy The Thick of it.

McLoughlin is overseeing a £15 billion road upgrade package to improve routes and add lanes.

Personal life

McLoughlin has been married to Lynn Newman since 1984. The couple have one son and one daughter. McLoughlin kept a low profile before becoming Transport Secretary and would rarely give interviews.

Styles

• Mr Patrick McLoughlin (1957–1986)
• Mr Patrick McLoughlin MP (1986–2005)
• The Rt Hon. Patrick McLoughlin MP (2005–)

External links

• Profile at the Conservative Party
• Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Contributions in Parliament at Hansard 1803–2005
• Current session contributions in Parliament at Hansard
• Voting record at Public Whip
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou
• Profile at Westminster Parliamentary Record
• Profile at BBC News Democracy Live

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Matthew Parris	Member of Parliament for West Derbyshire 1986–2010	Constituency abolished
New constituency	Member of Parliament for Derbyshire Dales 2010–present	Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by David Maclean	Opposition Chief Whip of the House of Commons 2005–2010	Succeeded by Nick Brown
Preceded by Nick Brown	Government Chief Whip of the House of Commons 2010–2012	Succeeded by Andrew Mitchell
	Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury 2010–2012
Preceded by Justine Greening	Secretary of State for Transport 2012–present	Incumbent
Party political offices
Preceded by David Maclean	Conservative Chief Whip of the House of Commons 2005–2012	Succeeded by Andrew Mitchell