Eleanor Laing

Eleanor Fulton Laing, Baroness Laing of Elderslie,DBE,PC(néePritchard; born 1 February 1958),is a BritishConservative Partypolitician who served asMember of Parliament(MP) forEpping Forestfrom 1997 to 2024. She served in theshadow cabinetsofMichael HowardandDavid Cameron. From 2013 to 2024, Laing was aDeputy Speaker of the House of Commonsand was the first femaleChairman of Ways and Meansfrom 2020 to 2024. She had one of the longest tenures in the speaker's chair. She became a member of theHouse of Lordsin 2024.
Laing stood down from the House of Commons at the2024 general electionand was appointed to theHouse of Lords. Having served as an MP for 27 years, she is one of the longest-serving female MPs in British history.
Eleanor Pritchard was born on 1 February 1958 inPaisley, Renfrewshire, and raised in the nearby village ofElderslie, where her father was a councillor. She was privately educated atSt Columba's School, anindependent school. Laing graduated fromEdinburgh Universitywith Master of Arts andBachelor of Lawsdegrees.She was the first female President of theEdinburgh University Students' Association. She worked as asolicitorinEdinburghand theCity of London.
At the1987 general election, Laing stood as theConservativecandidate inPaisley North, coming second with 15.8% of the vote behind theLabourincumbentAllen Adams.
In 1995, she sought selection forSouthend West, but was narrowly defeated in the selection process byDavid Amess, the sitting MP forBasildon.
At the1997 general election, Laing was elected to Parliament as MP forEpping Forestwith 45.5% of the vote and a majority of 5,252.
Following the election, she was selected for theEducation Select Committee, chaired by Labour'sMargaret Hodge. Once in Parliament, Laing signed up to theEuroscepticwing of the party, first supportingMichael HowardthenWilliam Haguefor the Conservative leadership.
Laing sponsored the motion for lowering the homosexual age ofconsentto 16 in June 1998, saying in Parliament that: "Nothing that is being proposed tonight is in any way encouraging physical sexual activity among young people before they are sufficiently mature. It is nonsense to say that there cannot be equality between 16-year-old boys and 16-year-old girls. Young people need protection, but young people are not protected by being made into criminals". Labour MPs paid tribute for Laing for speaking against the majority view of the then Parliamentary Conservative Party, of whom 110 of their 165 MPs voted against the measure.
She has been an opponent ofdevolution, and criticised theBlair governmenton many of the details of the transfer of power. In December 2000, she was appointed as opposition Scottish spokeswoman.
At the2001 general election, Laing was re-elected as MP forEpping Forestwith an increased vote share of 49.1% and an increased majority of 8,426.
Laing voted against the repeal ofSection 28in 2003.
Laing first entered theshadow cabinetin 2004 asShadow Minister for Women and Equalitiesunder the leadership ofMichael Howard, after previously serving asShadow Minister of Childrenfrom June to November 2003.Whilst continuing in this role, Laing becameShadow Secretary of State for Scotland, serving briefly from May 2005, shortly after the2005 general election, to December 2005 whenDavid Cameroncame to power asLeader of the Opposition.
Laing was again re-elected at the2005 general electionwith an increased vote share of 53% and an increased majority of 14,358.
Laing continued as Shadow Women and Equalities Minister until a July 2007 reshuffle, when she becameShadow Minister for Justice, a role she remained in until the2010 general election.
At the2010 general election, Laing was again re-elected, with an increased vote share of 54% and an increased majority of 15,131.After the election, and the formation of theCameron–Clegg coalition, Laing did not receive a government post, thus returning to the backbenches.
In 2012, Laing voted against thethird readingof the proposedHouse of Lords Reform Bill 2012,and opposed areferendum on Scottish independence. She also spoke in favour of areferendum on the United Kingdom's membership of the European Union, and paid tribute toMargaret Thatcherand her legacy during a Commons session dedicated to tributes to the late former Prime Minister, which took place shortly afterher death.
Laing criticised the manner in which theMarriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013was introduced by arguing "social change should come about by evolution, not bydiktatfrom the top of government" and subsequently abstained from voting on it.
In May 2013, the First DeputyChairman of Ways and Means,Nigel Evans, was arrested on suspicion of rape and sexual assault. He was acquitted of those charges, but resigned from his position in the Chair on 10 September 2013. On 16 October, Laing was elected to succeed Evans as the First Deputy Chair, the holder of which post is one of the Deputy Speakers of the House.
At the2015 general election, Laing was again re-elected with an increased vote share of 54.8% and an increased majority of 17,978.
In January 2016, Laing criticisedTulip Siddiq, who was seven months pregnant at the time, for breaking the customs of the House by leaving a debate shortly after speaking. Siddiq had already been in the debate for two hours and left at 14:30 to eat. According to witnesses, Laing told Siddiq not to use her pregnancy as an excuse for her behaviour.
Laing voted leave in the2016 Brexit referendum.
At the snap2017 general election, Laing was again re-elected with an increased vote share of 62% and an increased majority of 18,243.Laing was again re-elected at the2019 general electionwith an increased vote share of 64.4% and an increased majority of 22,173,an election which she described as "very nasty".
Laing stood in the2019 Speaker election, to replaceJohn Bercow, campaigning on restoring trust to theHouse of Commons.Laing was critical of Bercow, and called hisimpartialityinto question,pledging to do things differently and bring kindness to the Speaker's chair.Laing lost toLindsay Hoyle, but declared her intention to stand to replace him asDeputy Speaker of the House of Commons.She was elected by her fellow MPs, and became the first woman to be theChairman of Ways and Means.
Laing took a leave of absence from December 2022 after undergoing surgery, and returned to the chair during the week of 6 March 2023.Her leave of absence was extended to 31 March 2024, but Laing has continued in her duties in the Chair.Roger Galeserved as deputy speaker while she was absent.
In June 2023, former prime ministerBoris Johnsoncalled forBernard Jenkinto resign from his participation in theCommons Select Committee of Privileges, the Select Committee which investigated whether Johnson had misled parliament, when it was reported by theGuido Fawkeswebsite that Jenkin had attended an event on 8 December 2020 in parliament. This was a "drinks party" held by Laing in her office, while such events were banned under the current guidelines.In November 2023, the police investigation into the "drinks party" attended by Laing was closed, with the "threshold for fines not being met".
Since November 2023, she has been under investigation by theParliamentary Commissioner for Standards,Daniel Greenberg, for "actions causing significant damage to the reputation of the House as a whole, or of its Members generally".
In May 2024, she announced she would stand down at the2024 general election.
After standing down as an MP, Laing was nominated for alife peeragein the2024 Dissolution Honours.She was createdBaroness Laing of Elderslie, of Epping Forest in the County of Essex, on 22 August 2024.
After details of MPs' expense claims were released by the press in 2009 it was shown that Laing had avoided paying £180,000capital gains taxon the sale of herWestminsterflat by declaring it as her primaryresidence. This was due to its having a higher value than her constituency home, making it her primary residence under capital gains tax rules. However she had registered the flat as her second home with the Parliamentary Fees Office, and by doing so had claimed through her Additional Costs Allowance some of the interest due on her mortgage. Laing's constituency isEpping Forest, which neighbours London and less than an hour's journey bytube. When questioned, she said that prior to the sale of the flat she had sought the advice of her solicitor.Laing was cleared by the Legg Inquiry; nonetheless, she voluntarily repaid £25,000 as a "moral gesture".As a result of the issue over her expenses, an unsuccessful attempt was made to deselect her by her constituency party, led by the Leader ofEpping Forest DistrictCouncil.
Laing is divorced with one son, born in 2001.
Laing is a supporter ofRangers F.C., and is a vice-chairman of the Westminster Parliamentary Rangers Supporters' Club.
She was made a Dame Commander of theOrder of the British Empirein the2018 Queen's Birthday HonoursList.