Stephen Hammond

For the 19th-century New York politician, see Stephen H. Hammond.
Stephen Hammond
MP
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
for Transport
In office
4 September 2012 – 15 July 2014
Prime Minister David Cameron
Preceded by Mike Penning
Succeeded by Claire Perry
Member of Parliament
for Wimbledon
Assumed office
5 May 2005
Preceded by Roger Casale
Majority 11,408 (24.1%)
Personal details
Born (1962-02-04) 4 February 1962
Southampton, Hampshire, England
Nationality British
Political party Conservative
Spouse(s) Sally (née Sarah Williams)[1]
Residence London
Alma mater Queen Mary, University of London
Occupation Politician
Religion Anglican
Website www.stephenhammondmp.com

Stephen William Hammond (born 4 February 1962) is a British Conservative Party politician and former UK Government Minister.

Hammond was first elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wimbledon at the 2005 general election. On 4 September 2012, was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport, with responsibility for buses, rail and shipping.[2] He lost his ministerial post in the reshuffle on 15 July 2014 and was succeeeded by Claire Perry.[3]

Early life and business career

Hammond was born at Southampton, and educated at the city's King Edward VI School before reading Economics at Queen Mary, University of London. After graduating with a BSc degree, he began a career in finance at a leading fund management house and subsequently worked for major investment banks. Hammond was appointed a Director of the Equities division of Dresdner Kleinwort Benson in 1994 and four years later joined Commerzbank Securities. In 2000 he was promoted to Director, Pan European Research, with responsibility for seventy professionals based in London and across Europe.

Political career

He first stood for Parliament for North Warwickshire at the 1997 general election, being comfortably defeated by Labour's Mike O'Brien. Contesting Wimbledon in 2001 general election, he failed to regain what had been a safe seat for the Conservatives before Labour's 1997 landslide, and was defeated by the Labour incumbent, Roger Casale. He was elected a Councillor for the Ward of Village, Wimbledon in the London Borough of Merton election in 2002 and subsequently became Deputy Leader of the Conservative Group on Merton Council.

Hammond was the successful parliamentary candidate for Wimbledon at the 2005 general election, gaining a 7.2% swing to the Conservatives. He was soon promoted to the Opposition front bench: in December 2005, the new Conservative leader David Cameron appointed him as Shadow Minister for Transport.

On 6 May 2010, Hammond was returned to Parliament as MP for Wimbledon. With 23,257 votes, he won 49% of all votes cast and increased his majority to 11,408, returning the seat to safe status for his party. Turnout in Wimbledon was 73%, up from 68% in 2005.[4] Following that election, Hammond became PPS to Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. On 4 September 2012, he was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport.[5] He was dropped from that post when David Cameron reshuffled the Cabinet in July 2014.[6]

Tax avoidance allegations

Hammond was the subject of a Parliamentary investigation after it was revealed that he had failed to disclose investments in Harwood Film partnership – a legal investment scheme which permitted the deferral of tax payments – in the Register of Members Interests.[7][8] He subsequently apologised for the "oversight" in not registering the financial interest but was cleared of any wrongdoing.[9]

Hammond had previously attacked Ken Livingstone in the House of Commons for setting up companies to reduce his tax bill, asking "Can you say whether you would tailor [a proposed 'tycoon tax'] to include individuals who claim they want to raise tax on the rich and yet set up companies so they only pay 20%, such as Ken Livingstone?"[8] The Daily Telegraph subsequently alleged that Hammond had sought to avoid tax by registering the ownership his Portuguese villa through an offshore-registered company, which his lawyers described as a "normal" arrangement that "did not result in tax benefits for him or his wife".[10]

Personal life

Hammond has been married to Sally since 1991; she has, for many years, worked as a secretary to Members of Parliament based at the House of Commons. The couple live at Wimbledon Park, with their daughter.

Hammond, a keen sportsman, used to play hockey for a National League team and for his county. He now plays veterans hockey for Wimbledon. In January 2014, The Guardian reported that, according to official documents, he was one of the most frequent users of the chauffeur-driven cars which carry ministers or their red boxes across the country.[11]

Editing Wikipedia

The article about Hammond on Wikipedia was one of a number edited in May 2015 by computers owned by Parliament in what The Daily Telegraph described as "a deliberate attempt to hide embarrassing information from the electorate." At this time, the deleted information concerned his frequent use of chauffeur-driven cars while in government.[12]

References

  1. ↑ "House of Commons – The Register of Members' Financial Interests – Part 2: Part 2". Publications.parliament.uk. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  2. ↑ "Stephen Hammond – GOV.UK". Dft.gov.uk. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  3. ↑ Middleton, Natalie (15 July 2014). "Stephen Hammond to be replaced as transport minister". Fleetworld.co.uk. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  4. ↑ "Election 2010 | Constituency | Wimbledon". BBC News. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  5. ↑ "Stephen Hammond – GOV.UK". Dft.gov.uk. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  6. ↑ Phipps, Claire. "Reshuffle at a glance: who's in and who's out". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  7. ↑ Syal, Rajeev (6 December 2012). "Transport minister Stephen Hammond faces inquiry over directorship". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  8. 1 2 Syal, Rajeev (29 October 2012). "Transport minister Stephen Hammond faces inquiry over directorship". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  9. ↑ Rahman, Khaleda (9 May 2013). "Wimbledon MP, Stephen Hammond, apologises for failing to register financial interest". ThisisLocalLondon. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  10. ↑ "Stephen Hammond: Conservative minister's offshore deal cuts tax bill". Daily Telegraph. 1 November 2013. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  11. ↑ Syal, Rajeev. "Transport minister one of coalition's leading users of chauffeur-driven cars | UK news". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  12. ↑ Riley-Smith, Ben (26 May 2015). "Expenses and sex scandal deleted from MPs’ Wikipedia pages by computers inside Parliament". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 30 May 2015.

External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Roger Casale		 Member of Parliament for Wimbledon
2005–present 		Incumbent
Preceded by
Mike Penning		 Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport
2012–2014 		Succeeded by
Claire Perry
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