Dame Margaret Olivia Hillier (born 14 February 1969), known as Meg Hillier, is a British

Labour and Co-operative Labour and Co-operative Party (often abbreviated to Labour Co-op; ) is a description used by candidates in United Kingdom elections who stand on behalf of both the Labour Party and the Co-operative Party. Candidates contest elections under an e ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hackney South and Shoreditch since

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

. Hillier was a junior government minister from 2007 until 2010 and was succeeded by Caroline Flint as

Shadow A shadow is a dark area on a surface where light from a light source is blocked by an object. In contrast, shade occupies the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross-section of a shadow is a two-dimensio ...

Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change in the Labour Party October 2011 reshuffle. She has been the chair of the Treasury Select Committee since 2024, having previously chaired the Public Accounts Committee from 2015 to 2024.

Early life and career

Margaret Hillier was born on 14 February 1969 in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

, and educated at Portsmouth High School, a private school for girls in

Southsea Southsea is a seaside resort and a geographic area of Portsmouth, Portsea Island in the ceremonial county of Hampshire, England. Southsea is located 1.8 miles (2.8 km) to the south of Portsmouth's inner city-centre. Southsea began as a f ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

. She then went to St Hilda's College at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, where she read

Philosophy, Politics and Economics Philosophy, politics and economics, or politics, philosophy and economics (PPE), is an interdisciplinary undergraduate or postgraduate academic degree, degree which combines study from three disciplines. The first institution to offer degrees in P ...

. During her time there she was elected Librarian of the Oxford Union Society. Hillier worked as a journalist in regional press and social housing media and was elected as a

Councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

in the

London Borough of Islington The London Borough of Islington ( ) is a London borough, borough in North London, England. Forming part of Inner London, Islington has an estimated population of 215,667. It was formed in 1965, under the London Government Act 1963, by the amalg ...

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

, representing the Sussex ward and serving as

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, before standing down from the Council in 2002. She was elected as a founding Member of the

London Assembly The London Assembly is a 25-member elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds supermajority, to amend the Mayor's annual budget and to reject t ...

for North East London at the first London Assembly election of 2000, serving on the Assembly until 2004, and was a board member of

Transport for London Transport for London (TfL) is a local government body responsible for most of the transport network in London, United Kingdom. TfL is the successor organization of the London Passenger Transport Board, which was established in 1933, and His ...

until her election to

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

. Hillier served as

Trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, refers to anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the ...

of the War Memorials Trust from November 2001 until 2016.

Parliamentary career

In 2004, Hillier was selected as the Labour prospective parliamentary candidate to contest Hackney South and Shoreditch through an all-women shortlist. At the 2005 general election, she was elected to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

as MP for Hackney South and Shoreditch, winning with 52.9% of the vote and a majority of 10,204. Hillier made her maiden speech on 24 May 2005, noting there were more men in the House of Commons that day than there had ever been women MPs. Hillier served as member of the Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee for a year until she was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government

Ruth Kelly Ruth Maria Kelly (born 9 May 1968) is the chair of Water UK, the trade association representing all of the water and wastewater companies of the United Kingdom. She was previously a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who serve ...

in 2006. In June 2007, she was appointed a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the

Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...

. During maternity leave beginning in March 2009, her ministerial role was taken over by Shahid Malik. In March 2008, Hillier voted with the Government in favour of nationwide Post Office closures, including seven in Hackney, of which her constituency forms a part. In December 2009, while promoting the National Identity Card scheme as Identity Minister in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, she admitted she had forgotten her own ID card, attributing the error to the demands of looking after her baby. At the 2010 general election, Hillier was re-elected as MP for Hackney South and Shoreditch with an increased vote share of 55.7% and an increased majority of 14,288. She was again re-elected at the 2015 general election with an increased vote share of 64.4% and an increased majority of 24,213. In June 2015, Hillier was elected Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in succession to Margaret Hodge. She was, as a result, among the 100 most influential people in the

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

according to the '' Health Service Journal'' in 2016. As chair, she has been critical of the Troubled Families programme, saying that the PAC's conclusions on the programme were "far more serious" than "a slap on the wrist" for ministers. An ardent supporter of the Remain campaign during the 2016 EU referendum, Hillier announced that she was "devastated" that the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

voted to leave the European Union and that the decision was fuelled by "

xenophobic Xenophobia (from (), 'strange, foreign, or alien', and (), 'fear') is the fear or dislike of anything that is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression that is based on the perception that a conflict exists between an in-gr ...

undertones". She supported

Owen Smith Owen Smith (born 2 May 1970) is a British lobbyist and former Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician. Smith was Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Pontypridd (UK Parliament constituency), Pontypridd from 2 ...

in the failed attempt to replace

Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North (UK Parliament constituency), Islington North since 1983. Now an Independent ...

in the 2016 Labour Party leadership election. Hillier was again re-elected at the snap 2017 general election with an increased vote share of 79.4% and an increased majority of 37,931. She stood for election as Speaker of the House of Commons during the 2019 Speaker election. However, she was unsuccessful, securing 10 votes (or 1.8%) in the first round, and coming in 7th out of seven candidates. At the 2019 general election, Hillier was again re-elected, with a decreased vote share of 73.3% and a decreased majority of 33,985. Hillier was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2021 Birthday Honours for political and parliamentary service. At the 2024 general election, Hillier was again re-elected, again with a decreased vote share of 59.3 and a decreased majority of 14,737. She was elected unopposed as chair of the Treasury Select Committee on 9 September 2024.

Personal life

Hillier married Joe Simpson in 1997; the couple have three children. She is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

.Teahan, Madeline (27 March 2013)
Signatory to letter to Pope Francis to allow ordination of married men to the Catholic priesthood
, catholicherald.co.uk; accessed 12 May 2015.

References

External links

Meg Hillier MP official website

Debrett's People of Today
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hillier, Meg 1969 births Living people 21st-century British women politicians 21st-century English politicians 21st-century English women Alumni of St Hilda's College, Oxford English Roman Catholics Councillors in the London Borough of Islington Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Hackney Members of Parliament Labour Co-operative MPs for English constituencies Labour Members of the London Assembly Labour Co-operative Members of the London Assembly People educated at Portsmouth High School (Southsea) People from Hampstead UK MPs 2005–2010 UK MPs 2010–2015 UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs 2017–2019 UK MPs 2019–2024 UK MPs 2024–present Women councillors in England One Nation Labour London AMs 2000–2004