Parliamentary Secretary, Treasury and Chief Whip

Hilary Armstrong

Hilary Armstrong was born in 1945 and educated at Monkwearmouth Comprehensive School, Sunderland, West Ham College of Technology, and the University of Birmingham.

Her father, the late Ernest Armstrong, was also a Member of Parliament and was Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons.

A former county councillor (Durham County Council - 1985 to 1988), Ms Armstrong previously lectured Community and Youth Work at Sunderland Polytechnic and was a community worker at Southwick Neighbourhood Action Project in Sunderland.

She has been a Member of Parliament for Durham North West since June 1987 and was appointed to the Privy Council in 1999.
Ms Armstrong was appointed Opposition Spokesperson on the environment and London in 1995, with a responsibility for local government. Before that, she was a front-bench spokesperson on education between 1988 and 1992, and on Treasury affairs between 1994 and 1995. She was Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition, the late John Smith, from 1992 to 1994.

Hilary Armstrong MP was Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, with responsibilities for Local Government and Regions. She was made Parliamentary Secretary, Treasury and Chief Whip in June 2001.