Bill Esterson | |
---|---|
Shadow Minister for Roads | |
Assumed office 5 September 2023 | |
Leader | Keir Starmer |
Preceded by | Gill Furniss |
Shadow Minister for Business and Industry | |
In office 4 December 2021 – 5 September 2023 | |
Leader | Keir Starmer |
Preceded by | Office established |
Succeeded by | Office abolished |
Shadow Minister for International Trade | |
In office 18 October 2016 – 4 December 2021 | |
Leader |
Jeremy Corbyn Keir Starmer |
Preceded by | Office established |
Succeeded by | Nia Griffith |
Shadow Minister for Small Business | |
In office 18 September 2015 – 9 April 2020 | |
Leader | Jeremy Corbyn |
Preceded by | Toby Perkins |
Succeeded by | Lucy Powell |
Member of Parliament for Sefton Central | |
Assumed office 6 May 2010 | |
Preceded by | Constituency Created |
Majority | 15,122 (29.7%) |
Member of Medway Council for River | |
In office 1 May 2003 – 3 July 2010 [1] | |
Member of Medway Council for Town | |
In office 1 April 1998 – 1 May 2003 | |
Member of Rochester-upon-Medway City Council for St Margaret’s and Borstal | |
In office 4 May 1995 – 31 March 1998 | |
Personal details | |
Born | William Roffen Esterson 27 October 1966 Kent, England |
Political party | Labour |
Alma mater | University of Leeds |
Website | Official website |
William Roffen Esterson [2] (born 27 October 1966) [3] is a British Labour Party politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Sefton Central since 2010. He has been Shadow Minister for Roads since 2023. [4] He was Shadow Minister for Small Business from 2015 to 2020.
Esterson attended Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School in Rochester, Kent. [5] He holds a joint degree in Mathematics and Philosophy from the University of Leeds. After graduation, Esterson trained with an accountancy firm and subsequently became director of a training consultancy. [6]
Prior to his election as an MP, Esterson was a councillor for River Ward in Medway. [7] When Medway Council was created in 1997, Esterson was elected to represent Town Ward. He represented Town Ward until 2003, when boundary changes were implemented. He was a councillor for St Margaret's and Borstal ward on Rochester-upon-Medway City Council which was dissolved to form Medway Council. [8] During his time as a councillor, Esterson served on the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Education; Community and Local Government; and Treasury Select Committees. [9]
At the 2010 general election, Esterson stood for election in the newly created constituency of Sefton Central as the Labour Party candidate. He was elected with 41.9% of the vote, receiving a majority of 3,862. [10]
Esterson contributed to the Hillsborough debate in the House of Commons on 17 October 2011 by reading directly the words of a bereaved father. In September 2011 he contributed to the book What next for Labour? Ideas for a new generation. His chapter was entitled A Campaigning Party. [11]
In January 2015, Esterson proposed a bill which would introduce compulsory labelling of alcoholic drinks warning about potential dangers from drinking during pregnancy. [12] At the 2015 general election, Esterson was re-elected as the MP for Sefton Central with an increased majority of 11,846 and an increased vote share of 53.8%. [13] He was made Shadow Minister for Small Business following Jeremy Corbyn's election as Leader of the Labour Party in September 2015. [14] However, he supported Owen Smith in the failed attempt to replace Corbyn in the 2016 leadership election. [15] In October 2016, he was made Shadow Minister for International Trade. [9]
At the snap 2017 general election, Esterson was again re-elected as the MP for Sefton Central, again with an increased majority of 15,618 and an increased vote share of 63.0%. [16]
At the 2019 general election, Esterson was again re-elected as the MP for Sefton Central, this time with a decreased majority of 15,122, and a decreased vote share of 57.5%. [17]
Esterson endorsed Keir Starmer in the 2020 Labour Party leadership election. [18] After Starmer's victory in the contest, Esterson was sacked as Shadow Small Business Minister, but reappointed as Shadow International Trade Minister. [9] He became Shadow Minister for Business and Industry as part of Starmer's shadow cabinet reshuffle. [19] In the 2023 British shadow cabinet reshuffle, he became Shadow Minister for Roads. [4]
Esterson is married with two children. [6]