Andrew MacKay

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The Right Honourable
Andrew MacKay
Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
In office
23 June 1997 – 14 September 2001
Leader William Hague
Preceded by Mo Mowlam
Succeeded by Quentin Davies
Treasurer of the Household
In office
23 July 1996 – 2 May 1997
Prime Minister John Major
Preceded by Greg Knight
Succeeded by George Mudie
Vice-Chamberlain of the Household
In office
18 October 1995 – 23 July 1996
Prime Minister John Major
Preceded by Timothy Kirkhope
Succeeded by Derek Conway
Member of Parliament
for Bracknell
East Berkshire (1983-1997)
In office
10 June 1983 – 12 April 2010
Preceded by new constituency.
Succeeded by Phillip Lee
Member of Parliament
for Birmingham Stechford
In office
1 April 1977 – 7 April 1979
Preceded by Roy Jenkins
Succeeded by Terry Davis
Personal details
Born (1949-08-27) 27 August 1949 (age 74)
Birmingham, Warwickshire, England
Nationality British
Political party Conservative
Spouse(s) Julie Kirkbride (1997–present); 1 child
Diana Joy Kinchin (1974–1996; divorced); 2 children

Andrew James MacKay (born 27 August 1949) is a British Conservative Party politician, and was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bracknell in Berkshire from 1997 to 2010.

Early life

MacKay attended Solihull School, an independent school in Solihull, West Midlands. After leaving school he chaired the Solihull Young Conservatives. He has worked as an estate agent and company director.[citation needed]

Parliamentary career

MacKay first entered parliament in 1977, after taking Birmingham Stechford from Labour at the Birmingham Stechford by-election. He lost the seat at the 1979 general election, but re-entered parliament in 1983 as MP for East Berkshire. He was deputy Chief Whip under John Major, and was Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 1997 to September 2001 during the leadership of William Hague. He was on the backbenches subsequently, but was appointed a Conservative Deputy Chairman in September 2004 with responsibility for candidates, and, after David Cameron's election in November 2005 as Leader of the Conservative Party, MacKay became a Senior Parliamentary/Political Adviser to the new Conservative leader.[citation needed]

Expenses claims

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A hastily called meeting had been arranged on 10 May 2009 with his constituents in Bracknell to explain the claims. The meeting was described as a disaster,[citation needed] and MacKay was shouted down and jeered at by members of the public. Members of MacKay's local association were also furious to discover he had never lived locally and yet he was claiming a second-home allowance on the London home he shared with his wife Julie Kirkbride,[1] then Conservative MP for the constituency of Bromsgrove,

MacKay and Kirkbride own two homes: one in her constituency; and a flat close to Parliament in Westminster. In a case of so-called "double-dipping," according to The Daily Telegraph, MacKay had used his Additional Costs Allowance to claim more than £1,000 a month in mortgage interest payments on their joint Westminster flat. His wife used her Additional Costs Allowance to claim over £900 a month on paying off the mortgage for their family home near her constituency. This means they effectively had no main home but two second homes – and were using public funds to pay for both of them. During 2008–9, MacKay claimed a total of £23,083 under Additional Costs Allowance, while Kirkbride claimed £22,575. They also claimed for each other's travel costs, with Kirkbride claiming £1,392 to meet spouse travel, while MacKay claimed £408.[2] On 14 May 2009, he resigned from his position as parliamentary aide to Cameron in the wake of the furore over Parliamentary expenses after what was described as an "unacceptable" expenses claim.[3]

At a public meeting in his constituency on 22 May he had been heckled, and called a "thieving toad" according to The Independent.[4]

In an interview with Matthew Amroliwala on BBC News the following morning, MacKay apologised for his error of judgement. In what he claimed was an agreed procedure with the Parliamentary Claims office, he had designated their Westminster home as his secondary home, while Kirkbride has designated the Bromsgrove house as her second home. MacKay announced that the procedure had been ongoing for eight or nine years, and that he would be repaying the monies after taking advice from the Conservatives scrutiny committee.[citation needed]

On 23 May 2009, after a telephone call from Cameron, it was announced that MacKay would stand down at the 2010 general election. It was later reported the same day that he would receive £105,000 as "a golden goodbye".[5][6]

Personal life

In 1974 MacKay married Diana Joy Kinchin; they had two children, but divorced in 1996. The following year, MacKay married Julie Kirkbride, a fellow Conservative MP; the couple have a son.[7]

References

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  5. Radio Five Live 23 May 2009 reporting Sunday Mirror 24 May 2009 story
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External links

Audio clips

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Birmingham Stechford
19771979
Succeeded by
Terry Davis
New constituency Member of Parliament for East Berkshire
19831997
Constituency abolished
Preceded by
New constituency
Member of Parliament for Bracknell
19972010
Succeeded by
Phillip Lee
Preceded by Baby of the House
1977–1979
Succeeded by
David Alton
Political offices
Preceded by Vice-Chamberlain of the Household
(Government whip)

1995-1996
Succeeded by
Derek Conway
Preceded by Treasurer of the Household
1996-1997
Succeeded by
George Mudie
Preceded by Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
1997–2001
Succeeded by
Quentin Davies