Patrick Allen McLoughlin, Baron McLoughlin, (born 30 November 1957) is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he first became the Member of Parliament (MP) for West Derbyshire following the 1986 by-election. The constituency became the

Derbyshire Dales Derbyshire Dales ( ) is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Derbyshire, England. The district was created in 1974 as West Derbyshire; the name was changed to Derbyshire Dales in 1987. The council is based in the town of Matl ...

for the 2010 general election; McLoughlin remained the seat's MP until 2019. As a former

miner A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face (mining), face; cutt ...

, he is one of the few Conservative parliamentarians to have been a manual worker before being elected to Parliament. On 4 September 2012, he was appointed

Secretary of State for Transport The secretary of state for transport, also referred to as the transport secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the policies of the Departm ...

. On 14 July 2016, he became

Chairman of the Conservative Party The chairman of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom is responsible for party administration and overseeing the Conservative Campaign Headquarters, formerly Conservative Central Office. When the Conservative Party (UK), Conservatives are ...

and

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is a ministerial office in the Government of the United Kingdom. Excluding the prime minister, the chancellor is the highest ranking minister in the Cabinet Office, immediately after the prime minister ...

, under the new administration of Conservative Prime Minister

Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Baroness May of Maidenhead (; ; born 1 October 1956), is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served as Home Secretar ...

. He resigned as chairman on 8 January 2018 and was succeeded by

Brandon Lewis Sir Brandon Kenneth Lewis (born 20 June 1971) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor from September to October 2022. He previously served as Chairman of the Conservative Party from 2018 to 201 ...

. In January 2022, he was announced as the new chair of

Transport for the North Transport for the North (TfN) is the first statutory sub-national transport body in the United Kingdom. It was formed in 2018 to make the case for strategic transport improvements across the North of England. Creating this body represented ...

Early life and career

McLoughlin was born in

Stafford Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, England. It is located about south of Stoke-on-Trent, north of Wolverhampton, and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 71,673 at the 2021–2022 United Kingd ...

on 30 November 1957, the son and grandson of

coal miners People have worked as coal miners for centuries, but they became increasingly important during the Industrial Revolution when coal was burnt on a large scale to fuel stationary and locomotive engines and heat buildings. Owing to coal's strategic ...

. He was educated at the Cardinal Griffin Roman Catholic School in

Cannock Cannock () is a town in the Cannock Chase district in the county of Staffordshire, England. It had a population of 29,018. Cannock is not far from the towns of Walsall, Burntwood, Stafford and Telford. The cities of Lichfield and Wolverhampton ...

, Staffordshire, and Staffordshire College of Agriculture at Rodbaston College. From 1974, he worked for five years as a farm worker and, after 1979, worked underground at the Littleton Colliery in Cannock. He was a member of the National Union of Mineworkers, and became an industrial representative for the

National Coal Board The National Coal Board (NCB) was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the United Kingdom's collieries on "ve ...

's Western Area Marketing Department. McLoughlin was elected as a councillor on

Cannock Chase District Council Cannock () is a town in the Cannock Chase district in the county of Staffordshire, England. It had a population of 29,018. Cannock is not far from the towns of Walsall, Burntwood, Stafford and Telford. The cities of Lichfield and Wolverhampton ...

, serving for seven years from 1980, and was a councillor on

Staffordshire County Council Staffordshire County Council is the upper-tier Local government in England, local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Staffordshire, England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county, which additionally includ ...

from 1981 to 1987. In 1982, McLoughlin served as the Chairman of the National Young Conservatives. Coal miners in Staffordshire were split in support of the NUM miners' strike of 1984–85. McLoughlin did not support the strike, and later came to national attention when he stood up at the 1984 Conservative Party Conference to announce that he was a working miner. He moved from underground belt attendant to Area Marketing representative in September 1985, five months after the end of the strike. McLoughlin unsuccessfully contested

Wolverhampton South East Wolverhampton South East is a constituency in West Midlands that was created in 1974. The seat has been represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom by Pat McFadden of the Labour Party since 2005. McFadden curre ...

at the

1983 general election The following elections occurred in the year 1983. Africa * 1983 Cameroonian parliamentary election * 1983 Equatorial Guinean legislative election * 1983 Kenyan general election * 1983 Malagasy parliamentary election * 1983 Malawian general elec ...

, losing to the sitting Labour MP Robert Edwards by 5,000 votes.

Parliamentary career

Matthew Parris Matthew Francis Parris (born 7 August 1949) is a British political writer, broadcaster, and former politician. He served as Member of Parliament for West Derbyshire from 1979 to 1986. Ideologically a liberal conservative, he is a member of t ...

, then Conservative MP for West Derbyshire, had resigned from 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 ...

to pursue a media career and McLoughlin was chosen to contest the 1986 by-election. He held the seat, albeit very narrowly, with a 100 majority. In Parliament, McLoughlin served as the parliamentary private secretary, initially to

Angela Rumbold Dame Angela Claire Rosemary Rumbold (née Jones; 11 August 1932 – 19 June 2010) was a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who served as the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament from a 1982 Mitcham ...

(

Minister of State Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...

at the

Department for Education and Science The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) was a United Kingdom government department between 2001 and 2007, responsible for the education system (including higher education and adult learning) as well as children's services in England. ...

(1987–88) and then to David Young,

Secretary of State for Trade and Industry The secretary of state for business and trade (business secretary), is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Department for Business and Trade. The incumb ...

(1988–89). McLoughlin was made a parliamentary under-secretary of state by Prime Minister

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...

in 1989, and served in the

Department for Transport The Department for Transport (DfT) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport ...

until 1992, when he was moved by Prime Minister

John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British retired politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997. Following his defeat to Ton ...

to serve in the same position at the

Department of Employment The secretary of state for employment was a position in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. In , it was merged with secretary of state for education to make the secretary of state for education and employment. In , the employment functions were h ...

. A year later, McLoughlin was moved to the

Department of Trade and Industry Department of Trade and Industry may refer to: Current * Department of Trade and Industry (Isle of Man) * Department of Trade and Industry (Philippines) * Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (South Africa) Former * Department of Trade ...

. He joined the government as

Assistant Whip The Chief Whip is a political leader whose task is to enforce the whipping system, which aims to ensure that legislators who are members of a political party attend and vote on legislation as the party leadership prescribes. United Kingdom I ...

in 1995, becoming a Lord Commissioner in 1996. Following the Conservative Party's defeat at the 1997 general election, he remained in the whips' office in opposition, becoming the Deputy Chief Whip in 1998. He was then promoted to Chief Whip by

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...

in 2005. McLoughlin has also served on many select committees. As Opposition Chief Whip, he was sworn of the Privy Council in June 2005. Following boundary changes, the West Derbyshire constituency was abolished at the 2010 general election, and McLoughlin was elected to the successor seat of

, achieving exactly the same number of votes. Prime Minister

appointed McLoughlin as the government's Chief Whip and

Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury The Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury is the official title of the most senior whip of the governing party in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Today, any official links between the Treasury and this office are nominal and the title ...

in the Conservative-

Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party, Democratic Liberal Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties have usually followed liberalism as ideology, although they can vary widely from very progr ...

coalition government A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...

. During his tenure as Chief Whip, he was reprimanded by the Speaker

John Bercow John Simon Bercow (; born 19 January 1963) is a British former politician who served as Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom), Speaker of the House of Commons from 2009 to 2019, and Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Pa ...

for shouting in the House of Commons.

Transport Secretary

In a government

reshuffle A cabinet reshuffle or shuffle occurs when a head of government rotates or changes the composition of ministers in their cabinet, or when the head of state changes the head of government and a number of ministers. They are more common in parliam ...

in September 2012, McLoughlin was appointed

. Soon after his appointment he had to cancel the award of the

InterCity West Coast InterCity West Coast (ICWC) was a 1997–2019 railway franchise in the United Kingdom for passenger trains on the West Coast Main Line (and branches thereof), between London Euston, the West Midlands, North Wales, Liverpool, Manchester, Car ...

franchise due to major technical flaws in the bidding process. As Transport Secretary, McLoughlin oversaw large-scale government investment in rail in the wake of increasing passenger numbers in the years following rail privatisation. From 2014 to 2019, £38 billion of improvement works were planned, including

Crossrail Crossrail is a completed railway project centred on London. It provides a high-frequency hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system, akin to the Réseau Express Régional, RER in Paris and the S-Bahn systems of German-speaking countries, kn ...

, the

Thameslink Programme The Thameslink Programme, originally Thameslink 2000, was a £6billion project in south-east England to upgrade and expand the Thameslink rail network to provide new and longer trains between a wider range of stations to the north and to the so ...

, electrification of the Great Western Main Line and the

Northern Powerhouse The Northern Powerhouse was a proposal to boost economic growth in the North of England by the 2010–2015 coalition government and 2015–2016 Conservative government in the United Kingdom, particularly in the " Core Cities" of Hull, Manches ...

scheme to boost transport links in the North of England. In 2017, construction began on

HS2 High Speed 2 (HS2) is a high-speed railway which has been under construction in England since 2019. The line's planned route is between Handsacre – in southern Staffordshire – and London, with a branch to Birmingham. HS2 is to be Britain ...

, a high-speed link between major cities that will "triple the long-distance capacity to the North of England" as well as freeing up the West Coast Main Line for freight and commuter trains. In 2015, McLoughlin said "So the argument has been won. HS2 will be built, the full ‘Y’ network, from London to Birmingham and Birmingham to Manchester and Leeds. HS2 will change the transport architecture of the north. But it will also change the economic architecture." In November 2013, he made a speech praising the

impact of the privatisation of British Rail The impact of the privatisation of British Rail has been the subject of much debate, with the stated benefits including improved customer service, and more investment; and stated drawbacks including higher fares, lower punctuality and increased ...

, saying that "Privatisation sparked a railway renaissance. Since 1993, passenger journeys have doubled in the UK to a level not seen since the 1920s. On a network roughly the same size as 15 years ago, today our railway is running 4,000 more services a day. And rail freight has grown by 60%. Revenue is up more than £3 billion since privatisation, almost all of it due to higher passenger numbers rather than fare rises. Safety levels are at an all time high. Punctuality is at near record levels. And passenger satisfaction is up by 10% over the past decade." However, a number of academics and journalists disputed this and subsequently argued that the evidence suggested the privatisation had largely failed, creating new inefficiencies, failing to create genuine competition and seeing steep rises in costs to passengers. In December 2015, he announced the winners of the

Northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating ...

and

TransPennine Express TransPennine Trains Limited, trading as TransPennine Express (TPE), is a British train operating company that has operated passenger services in the TransPennine Express franchise area since May 2023. It runs regional and inter-city rail ser ...

franchises which include new trains, services and free wifi, saying "Arriva Rail North and First TransPennine Express went far beyond our requirements with exciting, ambitious plans that will make a real difference to customers, and – coupled with our commitment to push ahead with electrifying the vital TransPennine route – will help the region realise its full economic potential, ensuring it has a modern 21st century transport system." McLoughlin's efforts to meet and pacify Cumbrian residents of

Pooley Bridge Pooley Bridge is a village in the Westmorland and Furness of the northwestern English county of Cumbria, within the traditional borders of Westmorland. The village takes its name from a bridge over the River Eamont at the northern end of Ul ...

and Soulsby following the

2015 floods Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number) *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak album), 2007 * ''15'' (Phatfish album), 2008 * ' ...

were ridiculed in ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' when the ministerial party arrived on the wrong side of the collapsed bridge. The paper compared the event to a scene from the BBC comedy ''

The Thick of It ''The Thick of It'' is a British comedy television series created, written and directed by Armando Iannucci that satirises the inner workings of British government. It was first broadcast for two short series on BBC Four in 2005, initially ...

''. McLoughlin oversaw the beginning of the £15 billion road upgrade package to improve routes and add lanes. Following the resignation of

as Prime Minister following the UK's vote to leave the European Union on 23 June 2016, McLoughlin was made Conservative Party chairman by new Prime Minister

on 14 July 2016. He was appointed

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

in the 2016 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours, by his colleague in the Conservative Party, for political and public service.

Chairman of the Conservative Party

In a 24 July 2016 interview on ''

The Andrew Marr Show ''The Andrew Marr Show'' is a Sunday morning talk show presented by Andrew Marr. It was broadcast on BBC One from 2005 to 2021. The programme replaced the long-running ''Breakfast with Frost'' as the network's flagship Sunday talk show when Dav ...

'', Patrick McLoughlin said " Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty will be triggered before the next general election. It's very clear that Brexit means Brexit. Brexit means that we're coming out of the European Union. We want to see our own borders under our own control." McLoughlin stepped down as

on 8 January 2018, saying that he had had "a very good run" and was replaced by

. He also resigned as

, with

David Lidington Sir David Roy Lidington (born 30 June 1956) is a former British politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Aylesbury from 1992 until 2019. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and ...

being his successor. Prior to his resignation, McLoughlin had come under increasing pressure to resign from colleagues in the Conservative Party over the disappointing performance of the party in the 2017 general election and various issues with the most recent party conference.

After the Commons

McLoughlin was appointed Chairman of Visit Britain. He served until 2023. In January 2022, McLoughlin was appointed as Chair of

. At the time of the appointment, he said: "I believe firmly in the potential of the North of England and know from my personal experience and professional career just how vital reliable, cost-effective and sustainable transport is to people and business."

Peerage

McLoughlin was nominated for a life peerage in the 2019 Dissolution Honours. He was created ''Baron McLoughlin, of Cannock Chase in the County of Staffordshire'' on 8 September 2020. Lord McLoughlin made his maiden speech on 11 November 2020, remembering his time as a whip, meeting Lord Cormack and being a member of the cabinet in the Cameron/Clegg Years. In 2025, he was appointed chair of the

Services Committee The Services Committee is a select committee of the House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets i ...

Personal life

He is married to Lynn McLoughlin, whom he employed as a Senior Parliamentary Assistant on a salary up to £40,000. His son James was also employed by the Conservative Party as a Special Advisor to the Prime Minister Theresa May.

Styles

* 1957–1986: Mr Patrick McLoughlin * 1986–2005: Mr Patrick McLoughlin * 2005–2016:

The Rt Hon ''The Right Honourable'' (abbreviation: The Rt Hon. or variations) is an honorific style traditionally applied to certain persons and collective bodies in the United Kingdom, the former British Empire, and the Commonwealth of Nations. The term is ...

Patrick McLoughlin * 2016–2019: The Rt Hon Sir Patrick McLoughlin * 2019–2019: The Rt Hon Sir Patrick McLoughlin * 2019–2020: The Rt Hon Sir Patrick McLoughlin * 2020–present: The Rt Hon The Lord McLoughlin

Honours

* He was sworn in as a member of

Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a privy council, formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are curre ...

in 2005. This gave him the honorific title "

The Right Honourable ''The Right Honourable'' (abbreviation: The Rt Hon. or variations) is an honorific Style (form of address), style traditionally applied to certain persons and collective bodies in the United Kingdom, the former British Empire, and the Commonwealt ...

" for life. * He was awarded Honorary Membership of the

Carlton Club The Carlton Club is a private members' club in the St James's area of London, England. It was the original home of the Conservative Party before the creation of Conservative Central Office. Membership of the club is by nomination and elect ...

in 2010 while he was government

Chief Whip The Chief Whip is a political leader whose task is to enforce the whipping system, which aims to ensure that legislators who are members of a political party attend and vote on legislation as the party leadership prescribes. United Kingdom I ...

. * He was appointed a

in the 2016 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours. This gave him the honorific title "

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as part ...

". * He was appointed as a member of the

Order of the Companions of Honour The Order of the Companions of Honour is an Order (distinction), order of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded on 4 June 1917 by King George V as a reward for outstanding achievements. It was founded on the same date as the Order of the Brit ...

in the

2019 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours The 2019 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours are honours awarded following the July 2019 resignation of the Prime Minister, Theresa May. The life peerages and other honours were issued as two separate lists by the Cabinet Office on 10 September ...

. This gave him the

post-nominal letters Post-nominal letters, also called post-nominal initials, post-nominal titles, designatory letters, or simply post-nominals, are letters placed after a person's name to indicate that the individual holds a position, an academic degree, accreditation ...

"CH" for life. *He was created a life peer in 2020.

References

External links

Profile
at the Conservative Party * , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:McLoughlin, Patrick 1957 births Chairmen of the Conservative Party (UK) Chancellors of the Duchy of Lancaster Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Conservative Party (UK) life peers Councillors in Staffordshire Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for constituencies in Derbyshire English miners Trade unionists from Derbyshire Living people Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People from Cannock Politicians from Stafford Secretaries of state for transport (UK) UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1992–1997 UK MPs 1997–2001 UK MPs 2001–2005 UK MPs 2005–2010 UK MPs 2010–2015 UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs 2017–2019 Knights Bachelor Life peers created by Elizabeth II