Nickie_Aiken

Nickie Aiken

Nickie Aiken

British Conservative politician

Nicola Jane Aiken (née Durbin; born 4 February 1969)[1][2][3] is a British Conservative Party politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Cities of London and Westminster since 2019. She was the leader of Westminster City Council from 2017 to 2020.[4]

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In February 2024, Aiken announced that she would not seek re-election at the next general election.[5]

Early life

Born in Cardiff, Wales, Aiken is the daughter of John and Pamela Durbin.[2][6] Aiken was educated at Radyr Comprehensive School, and the University of Exeter, from where she graduated with a BA in Sociology in 1991.[2]

Career

Aiken first moved to London in 1997,[7] and from 2001 to 2009 was head of public relations at Bradford & Bingley plc.[2]

In 2006, she was elected as a Conservative councillor for Westminster City Council, representing Warwick ward, a safe seat covering an area in Pimlico.[8] She remained a councillor until she stood down at the 2022 election.[9][10][11] Aiken held various positions on the Council, including being the Cabinet Member for Children's Services and Public Protection & Licensing, as well as being the leader of the Council from January 2017 to January 2020.[12][13]

From 2015 to 2018, Aiken was a board member of the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service. She was also a trustee of the board of The Royal Parks (2017–20).[2]

Aiken voted to remain in the European Union in the 2016 referendum.[14] She later supported Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Brexit withdrawal deal in Parliament,[15] and voted in favour of the Internal Market Bill in 2020.[16]

Member of Parliament

She was selected as the Conservative Party's candidate for the Central London seat of Cities of London and Westminster to fight the 2019 general election. In early December 2019, Aiken left Twitter, calling it "toxic".[17] She has since returned to Twitter.[18]

Aiken was elected at that election with 39.9% of the vote and a majority of 3,953.[19]

In Parliament, she was a member of the Women and Equalities Committee until September 2020. She was appointed vice chairman of the Conservative Party in October 2020, with responsibility for women. Aiken also sits on the UK Delegation for the Council of Europe and is a Member of the House of Commons Commission.

Aiken has pushed for legislation on child safety.[20] She has urged the Tories to increase assistance for private renters.[21] In June 2021, she joined the Monken Hadley Common Bill Unopposed Bill Committee.[22]

Outside of politics, Aiken is a company director at Sprucespace Property Management. She has worked for the Public Relations and Communications Association in media relations and crisis communications.[23][24]

Personal life

Aiken has lived in Pimlico for over twenty years, and prior to that, lived in the Barbican.[7][14] She lists her recreations as "walking".[2]

She married Alexander Stuart Aiken in 2000. Since 2013, he has been executive director of government communications at the Cabinet Office for the UK Government. He resigned from the role of a Government Communicator in February 2024 to work as a communications adviser for the UАЕ.[25] From 2000 to 2012, he was director of communications and strategy for Westminster City Council, whilst his wife was a councillor there. Before that, he worked for the Conservative Party as head of its campaigns unit and its press office.[26] The couple have a son and daughter.[2]

References

  1. [1]
    "No. 62862". The London Gazette. 20 December 2019. p. 23182.
  2. [2]
    Who's Who (2021). Aiken, Nicola Jane. Oxford. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U293065. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. [3]
    "Aiken, Alexander Stuart, (born 22 Sept. 1966), Executive Director, Government Communications, Cabinet Office, since 2013". WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. 2016. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u286348. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  4. [4]
    "Nickie Aiken". City of Westminster. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  5. [5]
    Cecil, Nicholas (7 February 2024). "Top Tory Nickie Aiken to quit her London seat at general election as MPs exodus grows". Evening Standard. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  6. [6]
    "DODS People". DODS. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  7. [7]
    "Nickie Aiken MP – The Kerslake Commission". Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  8. [8]
    "Local Election Results 2006 - Westminster". Local Elections Archive Project. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  9. [9]
    Teale, Andrew. "Warwick Ward". Local Elections Archive Project. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  10. [10]
    "Councillor details - Councillor Nickie Aiken". Westminster City Council. 12 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  11. [11]
    Phillips, Jacob (7 April 2022). "Every candidate standing in Westminster at the 2022 local council elections". MyLondon. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  12. [12]
    "About Nickie Aiken". Nickie Aiken. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  13. [13]
    Gregory, Julia (5 December 2019). "Westminster's Nickie Aiken boxes in her spare time and she's pulling no punches in her election bid". MyLondon. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  14. [14]
    "Nickie Aiken: Change is coming to the Two Cities". CityAM. 27 November 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  15. [15]
    Neilan, Catherine (14 January 2020). "Nickie Aiken: The country must move forward as one". CityAM. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  16. [16]
    Clarke, Seán (5 September 2020). "Ministers want powers to break international law: how did your MP vote?". The Guardian.
  17. [17]
    "'Appalled' Conservative General Election candidate ditches 'toxic' Twitter". swlondoner.co.uk. 8 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  18. [18]
    "Nickie Aiken MP #TwoCities". Twitter. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  19. [19]
    "Cities of London & Westminster parliamentary constituency - Election 2019 - BBC News". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
  20. [20]
    Bagot, Martin (8 June 2021). "NHS may do new test on every baby after 'world's most expensive' drug approved". mirror. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
  21. [21]
    Aiken, Nickie (10 May 2021). "Time for Tories to protect private renters". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
  22. [22]
    "Parliamentary career for Nickie Aiken - MPs and Lords - UK Parliament". members.parliament.uk. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
  23. [23]
    "Register of interests for Councillor Nickie Aiken". Westminster City Council. 28 November 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  24. [24]
    "Register of Interests for Nickie Aiken - MPs and Lords". UK Parliament.
  25. [25]
    Johnston, John; Casalicchio, Emilio (7 February 2024). "UK government comms chief quits to spin for Gulf petrostate". Politico. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  26. [26]
    "Executive Director, Government Communications Alex Aiken". Gov.uk. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
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