Esther McVey is a businesswoman, broadcaster, was was first elected as the Member of Parliament for Tatton in 2017.
Originally from Liverpool, Esther trained as a lawyer before working as a producer and broadcaster for the BBC, after which she established her own business and was nominated for Woman of the Year both in Cheshire and Merseyside.
In 2010 she became the first and only Conservative MP on Merseyside since 1997, and from 2012 to 2015 she joined the Government, becoming Minister for Employment and was made a Privy Counsellor. In 2017 she was elected as the MP for Tatton, before being promoted to the Deputy Chief whip role in October that year. In January 2018 she became the Secretary of State for the Department for Work and Pensions before resigning in November 2018 when she was unable to support the draft Withdrawal Agreement of the UK from the European Union.
Following the election of Boris Johnson as the Leader of the Conservative Party, in July 2019 Esther rejoined the Government as the Minister of Housing within the Ministry of Housing, Local Government and Communities. She left that role in February 2020 and rejoined the Cabinet in November 2023 as Minister without Portfolio in the Cabinet Office. Following the General election in 2024, along new constituency boundaries, Esther was re-elected at the Member of Parliament.
A champion of social mobility, through her charity, ‘If Chloe Can’ Esther provides career support, inspiration and ambition for school pupils. She has written several careers books for girls and boys which have been turned into plays by the National Youth Theatre and have been performed around the country as well as in London’s West End.
Esther is a founder member of Blue Collar Conservatism and regularly campaigns on issues, both locally and nationally.