Sue Hayman Explained

Honorific-Prefix:The Right Honourable
The Baroness Hayman of Ullock
Office:Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Term Start:9 July 2024
Primeminister:Keir Starmer
Predecessor:Office established
Title1:Shadow Spokesperson
Subterm1:2020–2024
Suboffice1:Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Subterm2:2021–2023
Suboffice2:Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
Title3:Shadow Secretary of State
Subterm3:2017–2019
Suboffice3:Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Title4:Shadow Minister
Subterm4:2016–2017
Suboffice4:Flooding and Coastal Communities
Office5:Member of the House of Lords
Status5:Lord Temporal
Term Label5:Life peerage
Term Start5:9 September 2020
Office6:Member of Parliament
for Workington
Term Start6:7 May 2015
Term End6:6 November 2019
Predecessor6:Tony Cunningham
Successor6:Mark Jenkinson
Birth Date:1962 7, df=y
Birth Place:Upper Bucklebury, Berkshire, England
Children:4
Party:Labour
Alma Mater:Anglia Ruskin University
Birth Name:Susan Mary Bentley
Residence:Ullock, Cumbria

Susan Mary Hayman, Baroness Hayman of Ullock (née Bentley; born 28 July 1962) is a British politician and life peer who has served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs since July 2024.[1] [2] A member of the Labour Party, she was Member of Parliament (MP) for Workington from 2015 to 2019. Hayman served as an Opposition Whip from 2015 to 2016 and Shadow Minister for Flooding and Coastal Communities from 2016 to 2017, then as Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from 2017 to 2019 and was appointed to the House of Lords in 2020.

She was a Shadow Spokesperson for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and an Opposition Whip from 2020, and a Shadow Spokesperson for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities from 2021.

Early life and career

Susan Mary Bentley was born on 28 July 1962 in Upper Bucklebury, Berkshire to John and Rita Bentley. She attended St Bartholomew's School in Newbury,[3] [4] and studied English literature at Anglia Ruskin University.[5]

Her first job was working in a bookshop. She has also worked in social services.[6] From 1997 to 2001, she worked as the office manager for MP Tess Kingham in Gloucester. She then worked as campaigns and communication manager for MP Mike Foster.[7] Hayman worked in public relations as a consultant for Copper Consultancy where she was account director before becoming their head of public affairs. She then became a self-employed consultant.

Political career

Hayman was third on Labour's party list for West Midlands in the 2004 European Parliament election but was not elected as an MEP.[8] She stood as a candidate in the 2005 general election for Preseli Pembrokeshire after the incumbent Labour MP, Jackie Lawrence, stood down.[7] Hayman lost to Conservative Stephen Crabb.[9] In the 2010 general election, she contested Halesowen and Rowley Regis. The constituency had been represented by Labour MP Sylvia Heal since 1997. Hayman lost the seat to Conservative James Morris.[10]

Hayman was elected to represent Howgate division on Cumbria County Council in 2013, on which she later became vice-chair of the Children's Scrutiny Committee.[11] She resigned her seat shortly after her election to Parliament in 2015.[12]

House of Commons

She was elected as MP for the all women shortlist seat of Workington in the 2015 general election, she became the first female MP to represent a constituency in Cumbria.[13] [14] From July to October 2015, she sat on the Justice Select Committee. Hayman was an opposition whip from September 2015 to October 2016. She campaigned against the closure of Workington's magistrates court. In February 2016, the Ministry of Justice announced that the court would not be closed.[15]

She supported Owen Smith in the failed attempt to replace Jeremy Corbyn in the 2016 Labour Party leadership election.[16] Following Corbyn's re-election as Labour leader, she was appointed to the new Shadow Minister for Flooding and Coastal Communities post in October 2016.[17] In February 2017, she was promoted to Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs after Rachael Maskell's resignation.[18]

Hayman retained her seat in the June 2017 general election with a majority of 3,925 (9.4%).[19] During the election, the Conservative Party candidate claimed Hayman had breached election rules over mail sent to constituents. However, a complaint sent to the Serjeant-at-Arms of the House of Commons was not investigated because the mailing, to flood victims, was unrelated to the election and Hayman had notified it to Parliament once the election was called.[20]

She was co-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Nuclear Energy,[21] and vice-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Rural Business.[22] Since 2017, she has written articles on the environment and animal welfare in the New Statesman.[23] [24]

Hayman supported the United Kingdom (UK) remaining within the European Union (EU) in the 2016 UK EU membership referendum. In the indicative votes on 27 March, she voted for a referendum on a Brexit withdrawal agreement, for the Norway-plus model and for a customs union with the EU.[25]

Hayman lost her seat at the 2019 general election to Mark Jenkinson of the Conservatives.[26] [27]

House of Lords

In July 2020, it was announced that Hayman received a nomination for a peerage.[28] She was created Baroness Hayman of Ullock, of Ullock in the County of Cumbria, on 9 September 2020.[29] Due to her view on animal welfare, she chose to wear fake fur robes to take her oath of allegiance.[30] She was appointed as a shadow DEFRA spokesperson and an opposition whip in October 2020, and a shadow DLUHC spokesperson in December 2021.

Personal life

She married Ross Hayman in 1997. They have two daughters and two sons. They live in the village of Ullock in Cumbria.[3] [31]

A keen chorister, Hayman sang in the Parliament Choir and was its chair.[32]

Hayman is Vice President of local charity Hospice at Home Cumbria.[33]

External links

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Notes and References

  1. Web site: Ministerial Appointments: July 2024 . 2024-07-17 . GOV.UK . en.
  2. Web site: Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Lords Minister) - GOV.UK . 2024-07-24 . www.gov.uk . en.
  3. Book: Hayman, Susan Mary . 2 November 2019 . A & C Black. 10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U284014 . 978-0-19-954088-4 .
  4. Web site: Garvey . John . 3 January 2016 . Local people honoured in Who's Who 2016 . 2 November 2019 . Newbury Today.
  5. Book: Carr, Tim . The Politicos Guide to the New House of Commons 2015: Profiles of the New MPs and Analysis of the 2015 General Election Results . 18 May 2015 . Biteback Publishing . 978-1-84954-924-0 . 266.
  6. Web site: 9 February 2015 . Workington Labour candidate announced . 3 November 2019 . ITV.
  7. Web site: 20 December 2004 . Labour chooses Preseli candidate . 3 November 2019 . BBC News.
  8. Web site: UK Women Candidates for the European Parliament June 2004 . 3 November 2019 . Queen's University Belfast.
  9. Web site: Preseli Pembrokeshire . 3 November 2019 . UK Polling Report.
  10. Web site: Halesowen & Rowley Regis . 3 November 2019 . BBC News.
  11. Web site: Howgate (Copeland) : seats won . 3 November 2019 . Cumbria County Council.
  12. Web site: Resources. Cumbria County Council. 28 July 2021. Councillor details - Susan Mary Hayman. 28 July 2021. councilportal.cumbria.gov.uk.
  13. News: 8 May 2015 . Election 2015: First female MP for Cumbria seat . BBC News .
  14. News: Workington Parliamentary constituency . 7 May 2015 . BBC News.
  15. Web site: Workington Magistrates Court saved . 14 June 2017 . Times and Star. 22 September 2016 .
  16. Web site: 21 July 2016 . Full list of MPs and MEPs backing challenger Owen Smith . 15 July 2019 . LabourList.
  17. Web site: Cumbrian MP named shadow minister by Jeremy Corbyn . 10 February 2017 . Times and Star. 13 October 2016 .
  18. News: Corbyn replaces Lewis in shadow cabinet reshuffle . BBC News . 9 February 2017 . 9 February 2017 .
  19. Web site: Workington . 3 November 2019 . Parliament of the United Kingdom.
  20. Web site: Row over mail sent out by Workington election candidate . 8 June 2017 . 26 March 2018.
  21. Web site: Commons . The Committee Office, House of . House of Commons – Register Of All-Party Parliamentary Groups as at 2 May 2017: Nuclear Energy . 14 June 2017 . Parliament of the United Kingdom.
  22. Web site: Commons . The Committee Office, House of . House of Commons – Register Of All-Party Parliamentary Groups as at 2 May 2017: Rural Business . 14 June 2017 . Parliament of the United Kingdom.
  23. News: 31 May 2017 . Fox hunting is deeply unpopular – so why does Theresa May care so much about bringing it back? . New Statesman . 2 November 2019.
  24. News: 9 July 2019 . Why is there a magic money tree for Johnson and Hunt, but not for the Environment Agency? . New Statesman . 2 November 2019.
  25. News: 29 March 2019 . How MPs voted on May's withdrawal deal defeat . Financial Times . https://web.archive.org/web/20190902092554/https://ig.ft.com/brexit-exit-deal-vote/ . 2 September 2019.
  26. News: Workington parliamentary constituency – Election 2019 . 13 December 2019.
  27. News: 13 December 2019 . Tories win Workington for first time in 40 years . 13 December 2019.
  28. News: 31 July 2020 . Former Workington MP Sue Hayman given peerage . ITV News . 1 August 2020.
  29. Web site: Baroness Hayman of Ullock . 9 September 2020 . UK Parliament.
  30. News: 29 September 2020 . New peer wears fake fur robes to take oath . en-GB . BBC News . 29 September 2020.
  31. Web site: Profile – Sue Hayman, Labour Party . 14 June 2017 . Times and Star. 10 April 2015 .
  32. Web site: Hayman . Sue . People . 29 November 2019 . Parliament Choir.
  33. Web site: Baroness appointed as vice president of Hospice at Home West Cumbria . Cumbria Crack . 9 November 2022.