North West Durham CLP

Working together with Pat Glass MP

Baroness Hilary Armstrong of Hill Top

Baroness Hilary Armstrong of Hill Top, Crook in the County of Durham was Labour Member of Parliament for North West Durham between 1987 and 2010.

Born in Sunderland on the 30th November 1945, Hilary Jane Armstrong is the daughter of the late Ernest Armstrong MP, former Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons and a government whip in Harold Wilson’s government. Ernie was also her predecessor as MP for North West Durham.

Hilary lives in Crook, County Durham and is married to Professor Paul Corrigan.

Educated at Monkwearmouth Comprehensive School in Sunderland, she went onto study at West Ham College of Technology and the University of Birmingham.

Before entering parliament Hilary spent time overseas as a VSO volunteer, teaching at a Girls School in Kenya. Returning to Britain, Hilary turned to Social and Community work in Southwick, Sunderland and in the West End of Newcastle upon Tyne. Building on these experiences she became a lecturer in Youth and Community Work at Sunderland Polytechnic. (Now Sunderland University)

It was this background that led Hilary into politics. An active campaigner in the North East of England, Hilary was elected on to the Regional Boards of the Labour Party and her union MSF (Amicus). In 1985, she was elected as a Councillor for Crook North Division on Durham County Council and became Parliamentary Researcher for her father Ernest Armstrong MP.

1n 1985, Hilary was selected by the local Labour Party in North West Durham to be their parliamentary candidate and she was first elected to parliament in General Election of 1987.

Hilary made her maiden speech to the House of Commons on 29 June 1987 speaking out youth unemployment, poverty and the affect of the Poll Tax on her constituency.

"Durham, North-West and its people have laid the foundations for Britain's economic prosperity. Folk in Durham, North-West dug the coal and produced the steel and they are not looking for handouts. We want the opportunity to demonstrate our loyalty and to use and develop our skills by being at the centre of industrial regeneration. Only when areas such as Durham, North-West can once again feel that they are part of building a prosperous economy can we begin to talk about the United Kingdom."

As a Member of Parliament Hilary served as an opposition frontbench spokesperson on Education (1988–1992).

In 1992 she was made Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the opposition leader, the late John Smith MP. During her time as PPS to John Smith, Hilary played a crucial vote in securing reform within the Labour Party, helping broker a deal which saw the introduction of "One Member One Vote" (OMOV) in Labour Party elections.

Following the death of John Smith MP and election of Tony Blair as Labour Leader, she was appointed the Treasury Affairs Team in 1994. In 1995 she was made Opposition spokesperson on the Environment and London, with responsibility for Local Government.

After Labour's 1997 general election victory, Prime Minister Tony Blair appointed her as Minister of State at the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions with responsibility for Local Government and Housing.

In this role Hilary was at the forefront of the government's drive to modernise Local Government and promote equality by starting the move to remove Section 28 from the statute books. As Minister for Regions she advanced the government's regional policy helping areas such as the North East of England. She also had special responsibility for Social Exclusion and oversaw the creation of the government’s Social Exclusion Unit.

In 1999 Hilary was made a member of the Privy Council.

Following the 2001 General Election Hilary was promoted to the Cabinet and given the cabinet position of Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury and Government Chief Whip. Only the second woman to hold the position. She was re–appointed as Government Chief Whip following the 2005 General Election. By the time she left the post she had become one of the longest serving Labour Chief Whips.

In May 2006, the then Prime Minister Tony Blair, appointed Hilary to the post of Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Minister for the Cabinet Office and Social Exclusion. In the Prime Minister’s appointment letter she was asked to co-ordinate a new cross-government effort to breakdown the barriers for those excluded from society and to expand the ways in which government works with the voluntary sector.

Hilary Armstrong published "Reaching Out - an Action Plan to combat Social Exclusion" in September 2006.

In June 2007, Hilary announced her decision to step down from the Government and return to the backbenches after 18 years as a Party spokesperson and Government Minister.

Hilary Armstrong retired from Parliament at the General Election in May 2010 after 22 years as Member of Parliament for North West Durham. She is currently Chair of the Tony Blair Sports Foundation - a North East based charity promoting grassroots sport and the training of qualified coaches. She is also on the board of homeless charities; Tyneside Cyrenians and Emmaus, VSO and the County Durham and Darlington Foundation NHS Trust. She is a Deputy Lord Lieutenant of County Durham.

 Outside politics, Hilary enjoys reading, the theatre and supporting Sunderland AFC.

 You can contact Baroness Armstrong by writing to Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top, House of Lords, SW1A 0PW