Simon William "Bill" English (born 30 December 1961) is the Prime Minister of New Zealand and leader of the National Party, having taken office on 12 December 2016. He was previously Deputy Prime Minister from 2008 to 2016.
A farmer and public servant before entering politics, English was elected to parliament in 1990 as the National Party's candidate in theWallace electorate. He was elevated tocabinet in 1996 and in 1999 was madeMinister of Finance, although he served for less than a year due to his party's loss at the1999 general election. In October 2001, English replaced Jenny Shipley as the leader of the National Party (and consequently asleader of the opposition). The party lost the2002 general election, and in October 2003 he was replaced as leader by Don Brash. In November 2006, after Don Brash's resignation, English became deputy leader under John Key.
After National's victory at the 2008 general election, English became Deputy Prime Minister and was also made Minister for Finance for a second time. He became a list-only MP after retiring as an electorate MP at the 2014 general election. In December 2016, John Key announced his intention to resign as prime minister. He endorsed English as his replacement, and English won the resulting leadership election unopposed.
Early life[edit]
English is the second-youngest of 12 children of Mervyn and Norah English. His parents owned Rosedale, a mixed sheep and cropping farm in Dipton, a small town in the Southlandregion.[1][2] English was born in the nearby town of Lumsden.[3] He attended St Thomas's School in Winton, then boarded at St. Patrick's College in Upper Hutt, where he became head boy. He played in the first XV of the school'srugby team. English went on to study commerce at the University of Otago, where he was a resident at Selwyn College, and then completed an honours degree in English literature at Victoria University of Wellington. [4]
After finishing his studies, English returned to Dipton and farmed for a few years.[4] From 1987 to 1989, he worked in Wellington as a policy analyst for the New Zealand Treasury, at a time when the free market policies favoured by Labour's finance minister Roger Douglas (known collectively as "Rogernomics") were being implemented.[5]
Early political career[edit]
English joined the National Party in 1980, while at Victoria University. He served for a period as chairman of the Southland branch of the Young Nationals, and became a member of the Wallace electorate committee. After moving to Wellington, he served for periods on the Island Bay and Miramar electorate committees, respectively.[6] At the 1990 general election, English stood as the National candidate in Wallace, replacing the retiringDerek Angus, and was elected with a large majority. He and three other newly elected National MPs (Tony Ryall, Nick Smith, andRoger Sowry) were soon identified as rising stars in New Zealand politics, and at various points were dubbed the "brat pack", the "gang of four", and the "young Turks". In his first term in parliament, English chaired a select committee into social services. He was made aparliamentary under-secretary in 1993, serving under the Minister of Health.[4][7]
First period in cabinet (1996–1999)[edit]
In early 1996, English was elevated to cabinet by Prime Minister Jim Bolger, becoming the Minister for Crown Health Enterprises and Associate Minister of Education (to Wyatt Creech). He was 34 at the time, becoming the cabinet's youngest member.[8] After the 1996 general election, the National Party was forced into a coalition with New Zealand First in order to retain government. In the resulting cabinet reshuffle, English emerged as Minister of Health. However, as a condition of the coalition agreement, NZ First's Neil Kirton (a first-term MP) was made Associate Minister of Health, effectively becoming English's deputy. This arrangement was described in the press as a "shotgun marriage", and there were frequent differences of opinion between the two ministers.[9][10] After their relationship became unworkable, Kirton was sacked from the ministry in August 1997, with the agreement of NZ First leader Winston Peters.[11]
As Minister of Health, English was responsible for continuing the reforms to the public health system that National had begun after the 1990 general election. The reforms were unpopular, and health was perceived as one of the government's weaknesses, with the health portfolio consequently being viewed as a challenge.[12] English believed that the unpopularity of the reforms was in part due to a failure in messaging, and encouraged his National colleagues to avoid bureaucratic and money-focused language (such as references to "balance sheets" and "user charges") and instead talk about the improvements to services the government's reforms would bring.[13] He also rejected the idea that public hospitals could be run as commercial enterprises, a view which some of his colleagues had previously promoted.[14]
By early 1997, as dissatisfaction with Bolger's leadership began to grow, English was being touted as a potential successor, along with Jenny Shipley and Doug Graham. His age (35) was viewed as the main impediment to a successful leadership run.[15] National's leadership troubles were resolved in December 1997, when Bolger resigned and Shipley was elected to the leadership unopposed. English had been a supporter of Bolger as leader, but Shipley reappointed him Minister of Health in her new cabinet.[12] He was promoted to Minister of Finance in a reshuffle in January 1999, a position which was at the time subordinate to the Treasurer, Bill Birch. After a few months, the pair switched positions as part of Birch's transition to retirement, with English assuming the senior portfolio. In early interviews, he emphasised his wish to be seen as a pragmatist rather than an ideologue, and said that the initiatives of some of his predecessors (Roger Douglas's "Rogernomics" and Ruth Richardson's "Ruthanasia") had focused on "fruitless, theoretical debates" when "people just want to see problems solved".[5][16]
Opposition (1999–2008)[edit]
Leader of the Opposition[edit]
After the National Party lost the 1999 election to Helen Clark's Labour Party, English remained as National's spokesperson for financial matters. In October 2001, dissatisfaction with party leader Jenny Shipley had failed to abate, and English secured the backing of a majority of National Party MPs. English replaced Shipley as head of the National Party and thus as Leader of the Opposition.[citation needed]
However, English failed to improve the party's performance. In the 2002 elections, National suffered its worst electoral defeat ever, gaining barely more than twenty percent of the vote. Both party insiders and the general public were split as to how much to blame English for this loss, but most of the party believed that English would be able to rebuild National's support.[citation needed]
By late 2003, however, National's performance in opinion polls remained poor. The party had briefly increased its popularity in the year following the election, but by October its support had fallen to levels only slightly better than what it achieved in the last ballot. English also appeared in a boxing match for a charity against entertainer Ted Clarke. This "stunt" did not boost his polling or that of the National party either, with suggestions that it devalued his image as a serious politician. Don Brash, former governor of the Reserve Bank and a relative newcomer to politics, began to build up support to replace English. On 28 October, Brash gained sufficient backing in Caucus to replace English as leader.[17]
Shadow minister and deputy leader[edit]
On 2 November 2003, when Brash announced changes in responsibilities for certain MPs, English became National's spokesman for education, ranked at fifth place in the party's parliamentary hierarchy. He remained in parliament after the 2005 election. In his new shadow education portfolio, English performed strongly, and remained a party favourite despite his election defeat as leader in 2002, as indicated by his subsequent appointment as Deputy Leader of the Opposition and spokesman for Finance and Revenue.[citation needed]
After the resignation of Don Brash, English aspired to Deputy Leader Gerry Brownlee's deputy leadership. On 26 November 2006 Brownlee announced that he was stepping aside and English was predicted to take over the deputy leadership and also the finance portfolio. This was confirmed the next day following a caucus meeting.[18]
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance (2008–2016)[edit]
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At the 2008 election, English continued to hold his seat, winning by a margin of about 15,500 votes.[19] He becameDeputy Prime Minister of New Zealand and Minister of Finance[20] in the Fifth National Government, being sworn into office on 19 November 2008. He was also madeMinister of Infrastructure, an entirely new position,[20]although he held that title for only a single term of parliament.[21] English announced in November 2013 that he would retire as an electorate MP at the 2014 general election, and contested the election as a party-list candidate only.[22][23]
The pairing of Key as leader of the National Party and English as his deputy has been compared to that of Bob Hawke and Paul Keating (in Australia) and Tony Blair and Gordon Brown (in the UK).[24]
Prime Minister (2016–present)[edit]
On 5 December 2016, John Key announced he would resign on 12 December, and endorsed English as his successor in the resulting leadership election.[25] English announced that he would be in the running on 6 December 2016.[26][27] Following the dropout of both Judith Collins and Jonathan Coleman from the leadership election, he was sworn in as the 39th Prime Minister of New Zealand on 12 December 2016.[28]
Controversies[edit]
Leaked tapes[edit]
Two tapes were covertly made of conversations with English at the National Party conference in August 2008, and subsequently leaked by Kees Keizer[29] to the media. The first indicated that English would like to eventually sell Kiwibank. The second, released to the media on 4 November 2008, just before the New Zealand election, gave English's views on Barack Obama. He is heard on the tape saying: "I'm a bit worried about this whole Obama and Europe thing, just because there's a limited effectiveness in being moralistic about international relations and Europe has turned out to be particularly ineffective even in its own backyard." "And the US can argue over-do it (sic) and Bush should have put a different window dressing – there still needs someone willing to pull the trigger."[30]
Living allowances[edit]
In 2009, the media, including TVNZ and TV3 revealed that English was receiving about NZ$900 a week as part of a living allowance for ministers, to live in his own NZ$1.2 million Wellington home. At the time, English also received $276,200 in his annual salary as Deputy Prime Minister.[31][32] It was also revealed other ministers with homes in the capital city were also claiming accommodation allowances.[33] On Monday 3 August 2009, Prime Minister John Key announced a review of the housing allowances claimed by cabinet ministers.[34] The Prime Minister also stated that English was only claiming what he was entitled to under current ministerial housing allowances.
English subsequently announced he would pay back $12,000 and only claim about $24,000 a year in living allowances.[35] The Auditor-General's office said in September 2009 that they were making "preliminary enquiries" into parliamentary housing expenses in response to a letter of complaint from Progressive party leader Jim Anderton.[36] Two days later English announced that he would no longer take up any housing allowance and had paid back all the allowance he had received since the November 2008 election.[37]
Political views[edit]
English has been described as having socially conservative views. He is opposed toabortion,[38] although as Health Minister in 1997 he said that he believed the debate over the legality of abortion in New Zealand was settled, and government should instead concentrate on providing "services that are more effective in reducing the numbers of abortion".[39] English has also stated his opposition to voluntary euthanasia and physician assisted suicide,[40][41] civil unions,[42] and the decriminalisation of prostitution.[43]
In 2004, English voted against a bill to establish civil unions.[44] In 2005, he voted for theMarriage (Gender Clarification) Amendment Bill 2005, which would have amended the Marriage Act to define marriage as only between a man and a woman.[45] English voted against the Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Bill, a bill allowing same-sex couples to marry in New Zealand.[46] However, in December 2016 he said "I'd probably vote differently now on the gay marriage issue, I don't think that gay marriage is a threat to anyone else's marriage".[47]
In 2009, English voted against the Misuse of Drugs (Medicinal Cannabis) Amendment Bill, a bill aimed at amending the Misuse of Drugs Act so that cannabis could be used for medical purposes.[48]
Personal life[edit]
English met his future wife, Mary Scanlon, at university. She was studying medicine at the time, and became a general practitioner. Both her parents were immigrants, her father being Samoan and her mother Italian, born on the island of Stromboli. The couple have six children together.[49]
English is an active Roman Catholic, but has stated that he considers his religious beliefs personal and thus separate from politics.[50][51]
In June 2002, English took part in TV3's Fight For Life, a celebrity boxing fundraiser, but lost to entertainer Ted Clarke. He was raising money for the Yellow Ribbon anti-youth-suicide campaign, influenced by the death of a teenage nephew in 1997.[52]
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