1. Craig Whittaker was born on 30 August 1962 and is a British Conservative Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament for Calder Valley from 2010 to 2024.
27 Facts About Craig Whittaker
1. 2.
Craig Whittaker served as Government Deputy Chief Whip and Treasurer of the Household from September to October 2022.
3.
Craig Whittaker previously served as a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury from January 2018 to April 2019 and again from July to September 2022.
4.
Craig Whittaker was appointed in the reshuffle of January 2018 as HM Lord Commissioner of the Treasury in the Government Whips Office, serving until April 2019 when he was appointed Vice-Chamberlain of the Household.
5.
Craig Whittaker was appointed to that role in June 2017 following the snap general election.
6.
Craig Whittaker was born on 30 August 1962 in Radcliffe, Greater Manchester.
7.
Craig Whittaker emigrated to Australia at the age of five with his parents.
8.
Craig Whittaker's father was a boiler maker and his mother a seamstress.
9.
Craig Whittaker was a Retail General Manager for a high street retailer and was involved in Retail Management from leaving high school in Australia, after completing his Higher School Certificate.
10.
Craig Whittaker was the Branch Manager at Wilkinson for six years and then became the Retail General Manager for PC World for an eleven-year period until 2009.
11.
In 2003, Craig Whittaker was elected for the Conservative Party to Calderdale Council for the Brighouse Ward, gaining the seat from the Labour Party.
12.
Craig Whittaker stood down from the Council at the 2004 local elections.
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Craig Whittaker is a former Chair of the Calder Valley Conservatives and a former Conservative Party agent who managed the unsuccessful 2005 general election campaign of Liz Truss, then the Conservative parliamentary candidate for Calder Valley.
14.
Craig Whittaker was selected to be the Conservative Party's candidate for Calder Valley in March 2007.
15.
Craig Whittaker set up a charity, Together for Lookeing after Children, to support the life chances of children in care in Calderdale, which he discussed in his maiden speech in Parliament in 2010.
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Craig Whittaker served as chair for the Parliamentary group for children in care.
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Craig Whittaker was one of 79 Conservative MPs who supported a 2011 rebel motion calling for a referendum on the EU.
18.
Craig Whittaker joined a 2013 rebel amendment expressing regret at not including the referendum in the government's plans.
19.
Craig Whittaker was appointed as PPS to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Karen Bradley.
20.
In October 2019, Craig Whittaker was among 11 West Yorkshire MPs to urge the government go ahead with the Leeds branch of the HS2 railway.
21.
Craig Whittaker pointed to Muslim, immigrant and Asian communities particularly in West Yorkshire.
22.
In March 2022, Craig Whittaker argued against reform of the gambling industry during a Westminster Hall debate.
23.
Craig Whittaker was appointed as deputy chief whip, serving under chief whip Wendy Morton, on 7 September 2022, after Liz Truss became prime minister.
24.
In November 2023, Craig Whittaker criticized the Gambling Commission in an article published by ConservativeHome, arguing that "all too often [the Commission] takes a heavy-handed approach to their work".
25.
Craig Whittaker is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and lives with his wife, businesswoman Elaine Wilkinson, in Rastrick.
26.
Craig Whittaker's daughter Sophie is a Conservative councillor for Rastrick ward on Calderdale council.
27.
Craig Whittaker then promoted Sophie to a full-time position as Executive Office Manager, reporting this in July 2019.