Defeated Oxford MP given peerage and ministerial post
- Published
Nicola Blackwood lost her Oxfordshire seat in the 2017 general election
Defeated Tory MP Nicola Blackwood has been given a peerage and a ministerial role, Downing Street has confirmed.
Ms Blackwood became the MP for Oxford West and Abingdon in 2010, but lost her seat in the 2017 general election to the Liberal Democrats' Layla Moran.
She will rejoin the Department for Health and Social Care, where she was a minister before losing her seat.
But Labour shadow cabinet member Jon Trickett said Ms Blackwood had been "rejected by voters".
Health Secretary Matt Hancock wrote on twitter the former minister was "a fantastic champion of health innovation, bringing a wealth [of] experience to the post".
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Ms Blackwood lost her seat in the 2017 general election by 816 votes to Liberal Democrat Layla Moran, which represented an almost 15% swing away from the Conservative Party.
She is now set to become Minister for Innovation, having previously served as chair of the Science and Technology Select Committee and a junior health minister.
After the election Ms Blackwood took several part-time and advisory positions at health technology companies, as well as Lord Mandelson's lobbying company Global Counsel.
Mr Trickett said her appointment was "yet another shocking example of the revolving door between highly paid advisory roles and lobbying and the government".
- Published9 June 2017
- Published15 June 2015
