STAFFORDSHIRE Moorlands MP Karen Bradley has been promoted to the post of Minister for Serious and Organised Crime by Prime Minister David Cameron.
She will now become a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Home Office. This is a real honour and great news for the area.
Mrs Bradley said she was very surprised when she received the call from the Prime Minister while in Biddulph on Saturday.
“I am honoured to have been asked by the Prime Minister to serve as a Minister in the Home Office. I am looking forward to helping the Home Secretary continue the excellent work this Government is doing to reduce immigration, strengthen national security, deliver effective and efficient policing for all of us and tackle other vital issues like modern slavery.
“The last year and a half as Minister in the Government Whips’ Office has been a wonderfully rewarding experience and I will miss that very much. But the most rewarding aspect of my life since I was elected in 2010 has been representing the people of Staffordshire Moorlands and I look forward to helping improve life for everyone in the Moorlands through my work at the Home Office.”
She said: "My role covers a number of areas, but most easily summarised as Minister for Serious and Organised Crime.
"Within that I will be focusing on Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking to start with.
"The other part of my brief is also important which is ensuring that the UK secures the op-outs it needs from EU rules on justice and home affairs.
"So, I will be fighting to make sure that we make our own rules on our own security.
"I was in Biddulph on Saturday lunchtime, having visited Leek Fire Station and Leek Library and the Biddulph library in the morning. As I was on the way back from shopping I received a call from the Prime Minister.
"It can be officially said that I was asked to take on this new role while sitting in the car on Tunstall Road in Biddulph. I had no idea in advance but was honoured to accept the job.
"I was incredibly surprised and humbled by the news. The only job in politics I have ever looked for is to be the MP for Staffordshire Moorlands, but I am pleased to serve the public in my new role at the Home Office as well as continuing to be a constituency MP."
For the last 18 months Mrs Bradley was Lord Commissioner of Her Majesty's Treasury as a Senior Government Whip.
She added: "Backbenchers can of course do a great job at representing their constituents, but there are also advantages to being a minister in the Government such as having direct access to cabinet ministers. Because I know how important immigration and UK sovereignty are to so many people in my constituency I am pleased that my new role gives me the opportunity to make a real difference in those areas and will benefit the people of Staffordshire Moorlands."
Karen will now expected to represent the Home Secretary at sub-cabinet committee meetings and other cabinet level meetings if necessary.