As of mid-2022, Penny Mordaunt is still not married. [1] From 2010 until 2015, she served as an Acting Sub-Lieutenant, at shore establishment HMSKing Alfred on Whale Island, Portsmouth. She studied philosophy at the university and served as president of the Reading University Students Union. In order to support her time at university Mordaunt worked in a Johnson & Johnson factory, and became a magician's assistant to Will Ayling, a past president of the Portsmouth and District Magic Circle and of the British Ring of the International Brotherhood of Magicians. She put herself forward in the Conservative leadership race in 2022, but lost out first to Liz Truss then Rishi Sunak. The married Penny Mordaunt has one child. About. She now owns four, residing with her in her home in Portsmouth, on the south coast of England. They divorced in 2000. The Tory leadership hopeful met her former husband, Paul Murray, while they were mature students at Reading University. And amongst the well-known candidate - Rishi Sunak - is the 'dark horse' of the leadership race: MP for Portsmouth North, Penny Mordaunt. Before her UK political career, she spent a time working for Diabetes UK, Kensington and Chelsea Council and the Freight Transport Association. . Penny does not have children but is a fan of cats and breeds Burmese kitties at her home. Penny Mordaunt is a British politician who has been serving as Minister of State for Trade Policy since 2021. This isn't the first time Mordaunt's name has hit the headlines. She was heavily discussed in 2019 after being made the first female defence secretary before Johnson fired her just three months after he became PM. Penny Mordaunt was married to her partner, Paul Murray, in 1999. Penny Mordaunt said it was "shocking" that the force had. On March 4, 1973, Penelope Mary Mordaunt, also known as Penny Mordaunt, was born in Torquay, Devon. In 1999, she got married to Paul Murray. [102], In 2022, George Freeman MP incorrectly claimed that Mordaunt had fought in the navy, with a navy source responding by saying that Mordaunt is not currently "a trained or paid reservist, she's never qualified or commissioned. Following her comments, she was accused by Labour MP Kate Hoey of trivialising parliament. Ms Mordaunt is not believed to be married now. Performance & security by Cloudflare. Later, they got divorced in the year 2000. Penny has a twin brother called James; they were born in Devon and are now 44. She has attributed her interest in politics to her experiences working in hospitals and orphanages of Romania in her gap year, whilst that country was in the aftermath of the 1989 revolution. Penny Mordaunt is currently the only female MP who is a Royal Naval Reservist. Penny Mordaunt is a British Politician. She said the experience was "life changing". [72], On 20 July, Mordaunt was eliminated from the fifth round of the leadership competition after failing to secure sufficient support from Conservative MPs. Mordaunt served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Decentralisation from 2014 to 2015, prior to being appointed Minister of State for the Armed Forces in 2015, the first woman to hold the post. The director of the Global Britain Programme at the Henry Jackson Society, said: "These new ships will help project Britain's image around the world". Penny married Paul on July 31, 1999, when they were both aged 26. Although some criticized the media appearance, questioning whether her focus should instead have been on her constituency work, Mordaunt stated that the response was overwhelmingly positive and defended her appearance, stating that she was donating all of her 10,000 appearance fee plus any additional sponsorship to charity; 7,000 towards the renovation of her local lido and the rest to four armed services charities. Mordaunt is of Irish ancestry, being a descendant of Denis and Mary Mordaunt, who was born in County Wexford, then in the Kingdom of Ireland during the late 18th century, based on a genealogy website about her clan, maintained by her uncle, Henry Mordaunt. Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, she is a member of the British Astronomical Association and as of 2013 was chair of the Wymering Manor Trust. [13][14][15] Having attended both a Christian Brothers school in Dublin and Mungret College in County Limerick, Ned served with the South Irish Horse in the British Army during the final stages of the First World War in 1918; he returned to Ireland in 1919, where he later joined the 'Anti-Treaty' Irish Republican Army (IRA) during the Irish Civil War. Penny Mordaunt met Paul Murray while studying at Reading University. They married in 1999 and separated in 2000 some personal issues. Lyon, who was also involved in politics, was elected as a member of Portsmouth City Council in 2015. However, Mordaunt is a Royal Naval Reservist, serving as an acting Sub-Lieutenant, at HMS King Alfred on Whale Island. ", "Conservative MP Penny Mordaunt criticised for smutty Commons speech delivered 'for a dare', "Tory MP Penny Mordaunt said 'c**k' several times in Parliament speech as part of Navy dare", "Brandon Lewis promoted to housing and planning minister in reshuffle", "Firefighters in England announce new industrial action", "Penny Mordaunt first female Armed Forces Minister", "Penny Mordaunt 'failed to protect Iraq veterans from witch-hunts', "Penny Mordaunt replaces Priti Patel in cabinet reshuffle", "Penny Mordaunt adds women and equalities to ministerial role", "Has Penny Mordaunt got away with the worst Mumsnet performance ever? [86] Given this is a provision of the Treaty on European Union, Mordaunt was accused of 'lying' over the matter. In the 2021 cabinet reshuffle, she was appointed Minister of State for Trade Policy. she is a relative of Philip Snowden, the first Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer. She has British citizenship and is of British-white ancestry. [65], In 2018, Mordaunt, the then women and equalities minister, told MPs that "trans men are men, trans women are women" at the launch of a consultation on reforming the Gender Recognition Act. She put herself forward in the Conservative leadership race in 2022, but lost out first to Liz Truss then Rishi Sunak. [39], Mordaunt was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Decentralisation at the Department for Communities and Local Government by Prime Minister David Cameron in the 2014 cabinet reshuffle. Penny and Paul met in the year they got married, which is 1999. [46] In July 2018 she became the first minister to use sign language in the House of Commons, to applause from all sides. One friend of the MP told the Mail that speaking of the marriage was "off-limits". VAT no 918 5617 01, H Bauer Publishing are authorised and regulated for credit broking by the FCA (Ref No. Before Ian, Penny was married to Paul Murray who she met while reading philosophy at the University of Reading as a mature student in 1990. And I am legally a woman. DON'T MISS:Where does Liz Truss live now? It was absolutely wrong, and seen as a very underhand tactic to whip up fear among potential Leave voters. What is Rainer Schaller's net worth and who is his wife? Saturday, 4th March 2023See today's front and back pages, download the newspaper, order back issues and use the historic Daily Express newspaper archive. 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[19], Mordaunt has attributed her interest in politics to her experiences whilst working in hospitals and orphanages of Romania while that country was in the aftermath of the 1989 revolution. More info. 679215 Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF. Furthermore, Penny's ethnicity is White, and her nationality is British, as she was born and raised in Torquay. According to sources, she supposedly had a brief liaison with classical singer Ian Lyon before calling it quits. After her election, she was a member of the Public Bill Committee for the Defence Reform Act 2014. When Penny and Paul Murray were students at Reading University in 1999, they married. [55] She was made Minister of State for Trade Policy in the 2021 cabinet reshuffle. [52][53], In a cabinet reshuffle in February 2020, Mordaunt re-entered the Government, joining the Cabinet Office as Paymaster General in succession to Oliver Dowden. Following her comments, she was accused by Labour MP Kate Hoey of trivializing parliament. In 1999, they were married, but the marriage ended the next year. Penny married Paul on July 31, 1999, when they were both aged 26. Having served as the MP for Portsmouth North since 2010, and as part of Theresa Mays Cabinet between 2017-2019, the Devonshire-born politician has fulfilled several positions throughout her career. Ms Mordaunt was previously married to Paul Murray, who she met while they were mature students at Reading University. Everything you need to know. Mordaunt read philosophy at the University of Reading, graduating in 1995 with upper second class honours. Mordaunt is a Royal Navy Reservist and was fined for a misdemeanour at the end of course mess dinner in 2014 this was her punishment. [4][27][28], In November 2003, Mordaunt was selected as Conservative candidate to contest Portsmouth North in the 2005 general election. After graduating with a 2:1 in philosophy in 1995, Ms Mordaunt married Mr Murray on July 31, 1999 - both aged 26. On their marriage certificate, pictured in the Daily Mail in 2014, he is listed as an assistant hall manager, while her occupation is press officer. More: she has voted against integration, against the right to remain for EU nationals already living in the UK, against raising welfare benefits to align with rising prices, for so-called bedroom tax, against higher benefits for those unable to work due to illness or disability, and against using public money to create guaranteed jobs for young people who have spent a long time unemployed. [34], In 2014, Mordaunt proposed the loyal address in reply to the Queen's speech from the throne. What we know about PM hopefuls home, Where does Sajid Javid live now? In 2014, Mordaunt appeared on the reality television program Splash! In March 2019, Mordaunt was criticized in a newspaper article by anti-trans campaigner Maya Forstater who claimed she had not answered her satisfaction questions on sex and gender during a Mumsnet webchat held on International Womens Day. On climate change, she has generally voted against measures to prevent it, gave her support to sell off Englands state-owned forests and for culling badgers, for a high-speed rail infrastructure and to increase the price of rail travel more speedily. Penny Mordaunt was born on 4 March 1973. The following year her father was diagnosed with cancer, from which he recovered. One friend of the MP told the Mail that speaking of the marriage was "off-limits". She also said that Oxfam did "absolutely the wrong thing" by not reporting the detail of the allegations to the Government. She graduated from the University of Reading. [54] She was the UK alternate co-chair of the EU Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee. Shes been banging the naval drum for days and enough is enough. She appeared on the Tom Daley-fronted reality TV diving . She got married to Paul Murray, she met him at the University of Reading. She is also a former Governor at the World Bank. She fulfilled her end of the bet and subsequently won a Spectator Speech of the Year award for it. Paul is the son of retired Lieut Col Leonard Murray. Penny later dated Ian Lyon, a classical singer, after meeting in 2009. Penny Mordaunt supported the leave, or Brexit, option in the EU membership referendum.