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Stephen Greenhalgh, Baron Greenhalgh

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The Right Honourable
The Lord Greenhalgh
Greenhalgh in 2012
Minister of State for Building Safety and Fire[1]
In office
18 March 2020 – 8 July 2022
Prime MinisterBoris Johnson
Preceded byThe Viscount Younger of Leckie (Faith and Communities)
Succeeded bySarah Dines
Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime
In office
6 June 2012 – 9 May 2016
MayorBoris Johnson
Preceded byKit Malthouse
Succeeded bySophie Linden
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
Incumbent
Assumed office
21 April 2020
Life Peerage
Hammersmith and Fulham London Borough Councillor
for Town Ward
In office
25 January 1996 – 22 May 2014
Preceded byAntony C. Glover
Succeeded byAndrew Brown
Personal details
Born (1967-09-04) 4 September 1967 (age 57)
Watford, Hertfordshire, England
Political partyConservative
Children3
Residence(s)Fulham, London (private)
Alma materSt Paul's School
Trinity College, Cambridge (MA)
ProfessionBusinessman
politician

Stephen John Greenhalgh, Baron Greenhalgh (born 4 September 1967) is a British businessman and politician, and was the second Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime in London. He is a member of the Conservative Party. In April 2020 he was created Baron Greenhalgh of Fulham.[2]

Early life and education

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Greenhalgh was born in Watford, spending most of his childhood in London.[3] His mother was expelled from Czechoslovakia,[4] and his father, Roger Greenhalgh, was a surgeon.[5] He attended St Paul's School, where he was a Senior Foundation Scholar. In 1985, he went up to read History and Law at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was a Perry Exhibitioner. There he took part in rowing and rugby, and in 1988 he was President of the Cambridge Union Society.

He graduated in 1989 and worked as a brand manager for Procter & Gamble until 1994. That year, he became a management consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers. In 1999, with no medical training he became the Managing Director of BIBA Medical, a business he started with help from his father, Professor Roger Greenhalgh, who at the time was Dean of Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School.[6]

Political career

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Greenhalgh began his political career in the local politics of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, first standing for election in 1994 in Sands End, a relatively poor ward within Fulham. He was unsuccessful.[7] In a by-election in 1996, he was elected to the Hammersmith and Fulham London Borough Council in the Town ward,[8] at a time when the Conservatives were in opposition on the Council. Two years later, he became the Conservative spokesman on social services. Then, in 1999, he became the deputy leader of the Conservative group, and in 2003 the group leader, and in 2006 the Council leader.[6] At the next elections in 2010, the Conservatives under Greenhalgh lost two Council seats but still retained a large majority.[9] During his time on the Council, Greenhalgh became famous for being a cost-cutter, for which he has received both praise and criticism.[3][4]

In 2008, Greenhalgh was appointed by Eric Pickles, the then Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, to head the new Conservative Councils Innovation Unit to formulate new local-government policy, and he was also appointed by the new Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, to oversee a financial audit of the Greater London Authority.[6]

In 2012, pursuant to section 3 of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 ('the act'), the Metropolitan Police Authority was abolished and replaced with the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime. On 6 June 2012,[10] Greenhalgh was appointed, by Boris Johnson, to head the MOPAC, as the second Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime. To take up this position, Greenhalgh resigned from his roles as Council leader and Councillor[11] and was succeeded as leader by Nick Botterill.[12] Although Greenhalgh was no longer an elected official, the Mayor was permitted to appoint him by sections 19 and 20 of the act.[10]

In February 2014, Greenhalgh publicly endorsed Johnson's proposal to equip the police with water cannon to be used in the event of a serious outbreak of public disorder.[13]

However, the water cannon bought by Boris Johnson for £322k were sold for scrap for just £11k having never been used after the Conservative Home Secretary, Theresa May, banned the police from using them.[14]

In December 2014, Greenhalgh became the third declared candidate for the Conservative Party nomination in the 2016 London mayoral election.[15]

On 18 March 2020 Boris Johnson appointed him as an unpaid joint Minister of State at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Home Office.[16]

House of Lords

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On 16 April 2020 he was created Baron Greenhalgh of Fulham in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham.[2]

In July 2022, he resigned as a minister during the government crisis.[17]

Controversy

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Greenhalgh caused controversy when police were handed a dossier arguing that between late 2010 and the summer of 2012 officers of the council he headed had promised an "early movers list" or "VIP list" of residents preferential treatment in the allocation of replacement homes if they gave their backing to the estates' being knocked down. The dossier argued that offering such inducements would amount to the offence of misconduct in public office.[18] Greenhalgh was also the subject of controversy in the first months of his appointment as the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime. He apologised after a colleague stated that he had patted her on the bottom, although she apparently did not make an official complaint, and although he said he had no recollection of the alleged incident.[19] Greenhalgh sacked both the Chief Executive and Deputy Chief Executive of MOPAC, with both of them being subject to non-disclosure agreements. He also had difficult relations with members of the London Assembly.[20][21]

However, Greenhalgh has also been the subject of praise. The Daily Telegraph has often named him among the "Top 100 most influential Right-wingers". He ranked 88 in 2009,[22] 71 in 2010[23] and 84 in 2011.[24] ConservativeHome named him the "Local Hero of the Year" for 2007/2008, after having received 8000 votes for him from the website's readers.[25]

Personal life

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Greenhalgh is married with three children and lives in Fulham, west London.[4] His interests include motoring and tennis. He speaks French, German, and Italian. Since 2006, he has been a Trustee of the Camelia Botnar Arterial Research Foundation and since 2012 a governor of Hurlingham & Chelsea School.[6]

References

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  1. ^ Jointly with Home Office
  2. ^ a b "No. 62980". The London Gazette. 22 April 2020. p. 7850.
  3. ^ a b Crerar, Pippa. "Axeman? I prefer to use a scalpel, says policing boss with Met budget in his sights". London Evening Standard. 17 September 2012. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  4. ^ a b c Salman, Saba. "Stephen Greenhalgh: localism hero or demolition man?" The Guardian. 7 February 2012. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  5. ^ Hill, Dave. "Earls Court: the Met, the ESB and the Stephen Greenhalgh-Capco interaction". The Guardian. 4 December 2013. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  6. ^ a b c d underwoodchris1. "Greenhalgh CV". Scribd. 1 June 2012. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  7. ^ Russell, Sarah-Jayne. "The Lifelines Interview: Stephen Greenhalgh". Chartered Quality Institute. 29 September 2010. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  8. ^ Minors, Michael; Grenham, Dennis. "London Borough Council Elections 7 May 1998". London Research Centre. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  9. ^ "Hammersmith & Fulham". BBC News. 10 May 2010. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  10. ^ a b "Stephen Greenhalgh: Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime" Archived 9 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine. London.gov.uk. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  11. ^ "Tories hold Town ward seat with Fulham by-election victory". GetWestLondon. 13 July 2012. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  12. ^ Adam Courtney, Biography: Hammersmith and Fulham Council leader-in-waiting Nick Botterill, mylondon.news, 15 May 2012, accessed 26 April 2021
  13. ^ Greenhalgh, Stephen. "Why I support giving water cannon to London's police". The Guardian. 26 February 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  14. ^ "Water cannon bought by Boris Johnson for £322k sold for just £11k after police banned from using them". www.telegraph.co.uk.
  15. ^ Watts, Joseph (18 December 2014). "Stephen Greenhalgh announces bid to become London Mayor". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  16. ^ "Stephen Greenhalgh". GOV.UK.
  17. ^ Haynes, Luke (11 July 2022). "Building safety minister adds to flurry of resignations". Construction News. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  18. ^ Hill, Dave (14 January 2013). "Earls Court project: complaint against Boris Johnson policing deputy referred to IPCC". The Guardian – via www.theguardian.com.
  19. ^ Gardham, Duncan. "Boris Johnson deputy in bottom pinching apology". The Telegraph. 13 December 2012. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  20. ^ "'Cocky' deputy mayor criticised at first police meeting". BBC News. 4 July 2012. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  21. ^ Hill, Dave. "Does Boris Johnson's policing deputy have what it takes?". The Guardian. 6 July 2012. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  22. ^ Dale, Iain; Brivati, Brian (4 October 2009). "Top 100 most influential Right-wingers: 100-51". The Telegraph. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  23. ^ Dale, Iain; Brivati, Brian. "Top 100 most influential Right-wingers: 75-51". The Telegraph. 4 October 2010. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  24. ^ Dale, Iain; Brivati, Brian. "The Top 100 most influential people on the Right 2011, 100–76". The Telegraph. 2 October 2011. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  25. ^ "Local Hero of the Year: Stephen Greenhalgh". ConservativeHome. 12 March 2008. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
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Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom
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