Therese Coffey is a British politician who is now the Secretary of
State for Work and Pensions. A member of the Conservative Party, she has served
in the Parliament for Suffolk Coastal since 2010.

Liz Truss is anticipated to give Therese Coffey a significant role
in her Cabinet when she takes over as Prime Minister on September, 6.  It
is rumoured that she might become the next Health Secretary, succeeding Steve
Barclay. 

Coffey is a fervent admirer of Truss, and the incumbent Prime
Minister might want to strengthen their allyship. Under Boris Johnson, she has
frequently appeared on the media circuit to defend the Government’s welfare and
universal credit programmes, often attracting criticism for her conservative
views.

Who is Therese Coffey?

Coffey was born in Lancashire on November 18, 1971, to a Catholic
family.  She pursued her education at Catholic St Edward’s College in
Liverpool before going on to Oxford to study Chemistry, where she received her
PhD in 1998.

Coffey is single and lives with her sister Clare, who works in
her parliamentary office as a secretary since 2015. 

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Therese Coffey’s
political career

Coffey has risen through the ranks of the government under David
Cameron, Theresa May, and Boris Johnson, but she is about to receive her
biggest promotion yet when Truss takes over.

Prior to entering politics, she worked for the confectionary giant
Mars in a variety of financial roles. She ran as a Conservative candidate in
Wrexham in 2005, placing third, before making many unsuccessful efforts to
enter the European Parliament.

In 2010, she was elected to the ultra-safe Tory seat of Suffolk
Coastal, becoming the constituency’s first female MP. 

During the 2016 referendum, she, like Truss, campaigned for
Britain to remain in the EU, stating at the time, “I’ve lost count of the
number of times I’ve been called a traitor during the campaign. I’ve
been a Tory for many years and I’ve become used to this but it has been more
noticeable as passions run high.”

She was promoted to Minister of State when Boris Johnson took
office in 2019. Despite party disputes over Brexit, she was moved to Cabinet in
September 2019 as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, a position she
holds to date.