Esther Mcvey: Who is MP who has been appointed as Cabinet Minister for 'common sense'? Twitter and husband details

MP Esther McVey has been appointed as Minister without Portfolio in the Cabinet Office as part of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's cabinet reshuffle.

The reshuffle started on Monday (November 13), following Sunak's sacking of former Home Secretary, Suella Braverman. As part of the reshuffle, former Prime Minister David Cameron has also returned to frontline politics as the new Foreign Secretary. McVey’s frontbench comeback is seen as a gesture to MPs on the Right of the party, after Braverman's sacking. 

McVey, a former work and pensions secretary, was appointed Sunak's new cabinet a minister without portfolio, but according to a post on the official X page of the Conservatives she will "stand up for working people". This has led to people giving her the unofficial title of 'Minister for Common Sense'.

But, just who is McVey? What are her political credentials and what is her family life away from work? Below is what you need to know, and for all the latest information on the cabinet reshuffle keep an eye on our politics live blog during the day.

Who is Esther McVey?

Esther McVey is an MP, businesswoman, broadcaster, and charity founder. The 56-year-old was was first elected as the Member of Parliament for Tatton, Cheshire, in 2017.  Sher was raised in foster care in Liverpool for the first two years of her life and was then raised by her biological family.

After growing up in Liverpool, she moved to the UK's capital city to train as a lawyer at Queen Mary University of London before studying for an MA in radio journalism at City, University of London as a producer and broadcaster for the BBC. After leaving the BBC, she worked as a broadcaster and a journalist, presenting and producing programmes such as ITV's breakfast show GMTV, a legal series for Channel 4, a BBC consumer show and a BBC science show.

In 2000, she established her own business setting up office space for new start-up companies as well as establishing the biggest business women’s network in the north west. She then returned to Liverpool John Moore’s university in 2008 to do an MSc in corporate governance. McVey also regularly writes columns for the Daily Express.

She is the founder of the charity ‘If Chloe Can’ which 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 on London’s West End as well as theatre's around the country. McVey is also a founder member of Blue Collar Conservatism and regularly campaigns on issues relating to careers, youth unemployment, apprenticeships, investment and business growth across the country.

What political roles has Esther McVey held in the past?

In 2010, McVey 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. She was then the Minister of State at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government from 24 July 2019 to 13 February 2020. She was also previously Secretary of State for Work and Pensions from January to November 2018.

In addition, she was Treasurer of HM Household (Deputy Chief Whip) from November 2017 to January 2018, and Minister of State for Employment from 2013 to 2015. She was elected Conservative MP for Tatton in June 2017 and was also a Conservative MP for Wirral West from 2010 to 2015. 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 new 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 was a backbench MP until her appointment to Sunak's new cabinet on November 13.

Who is Esther McVey's husband?

In May 2019, the BBC's Politics Live programme reported that McVey was engaged to her Conservative colleague Philip Davies, after it had first emerged that they were in a relationship the year prior. The couple had previously lived together when Mcvey was in London.

On September 19 2020, McVey married Davies in a private ceremony at Westminster, in Parliament's historic St Mary Undercroft chapel, during Covid 19 restrictions. Mcvey and her husband, who is an MP for Shipley in West Yorkshire, have co-presented a weekly political programme on GB News since 2021.

How can I follow Esther McVey on social media?

McVey is very active on her social media profiles, including Twitter and Instagram. Her Instagram account is @EstherMcVey and has more than 13,000 followers. Her X account, which was Twitter, is @EstherMcVey1 and has more than 85,000 followers. At the time of writing, on the morning of Tuesday November 14, McMcVey has not yet commented on her appointment to the cabinet publicly.