Member of Parliament
Helen Whately
Conservative MP for Faversham and Mid Kent
Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
At a glanceHelen Whately is a Conservative MP for Faversham and Mid Kent, and has represented the seat for 11 years, 2 months. They currently serve as Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. They have cast 401 votes in Commons divisions (70% attendance), tabled 537 written questions and registered 8 financial interests.
Attendance is votes cast as a share of the 575 Commons divisions since the 2024 election; Helen Whately did not vote in 174. A rebellion is a vote against the way most of their own party voted; free votes, where no party line applies, are left out.
Party-loyalty figures are our own analysis of the official voting records (recorded votes only; they do not describe the formal whip). How we work this out.
Biography
She currently undertakes the role of Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.
Current roles
- Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Opposition post · Department for Work and Pensions since 5 Nov 2024
- Faversham and Mid Kent Representation · Elected 1 time since 4 Jul 2024
- Conservative Party since 7 May 2015
Voting record
Voting alignment
Votes most like
-
Edward Argar
Conservative
100.0% · 384 of 384 shared votes
-
Alberto Costa
Conservative
100.0% · 328 of 328 shared votes
-
David Simmonds
Conservative
100.0% · 319 of 319 shared votes
-
Sir James Cleverly
Conservative
100.0% · 319 of 319 shared votes
-
Katie Lam
Conservative
100.0% · 318 of 318 shared votes
Votes least like
-
Michael Payne
Labour
0.6% · 2 of 319 shared votes
-
Kerry McCarthy
Labour
0.8% · 3 of 358 shared votes
-
Sarah Edwards
Labour
0.8% · 2 of 260 shared votes
-
Fabian Hamilton
Labour
0.9% · 2 of 214 shared votes
-
Bambos Charalambous
Labour
1.0% · 3 of 303 shared votes
Alignment figures are our own analysis of the official voting records (recorded votes only; they do not describe the formal whip). How we work this out.
Register of financial interests
From the official Register; shown as registered.
Donations and other support (including loans) for activities as an MP7
- Benjamin Tansey - £3,000.00 (registered 30 Jun 2026)
- Lord Michael Farmer - £5,000.00 (registered 25 Mar 2026)
- Richard Oldfield - £7,500.00 (registered 25 Mar 2026)
- Edward Sells - £10,000.00 (registered 24 Feb 2026)
- Edward Garton Woods - £5,000.00 (registered 21 Jan 2026)
- Lord (Stanley) Fink - £5,000.00 (registered 14 Jan 2026)
- Richard Oldfield - £7,500.00 (registered 5 Jan 2026)
Miscellaneous1
- My husband, Marcus Whately, is Chief Executive of GrowUp Farms, a salad producer. (registered 17 Sep 2024)
Written questions
Pathways to Work
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Answer of 23 April 2025 to Question 47466 on Pathways to Work: Impact Assessments, what the most recent equivalent disaggregation is by health category; what definitions are used i
Awaiting an answer from the Department for Work and Pensions.
Carer's Allowance: Personal Independence Payment
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants receiving the higher Daily Living rate of Personal Independence Payment are in receipt of Carers Allowance.
Awaiting an answer from the Department for Work and Pensions.
Unemployment
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the National Insurance rate, Minimum Wage and Employment Rights Act on the unemployment rate.
Awaiting an answer from the Department for Work and Pensions.
Unemployment: Artificial Intelligence
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to train job coaches to support workers at risk of losing their jobs from Artificial Intelligence.
Awaiting an answer from the Department for Work and Pensions.
Social Security Benefits: Artificial Intelligence
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many departmental staff are part of teams considering the impact of Artificial Intelligence on the social security and welfare system.
Awaiting an answer from the Department for Work and Pensions.
Universal Credit
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households in receipt of Universal Credit have a total gross household income, including earnings and other income, within each of the following bands: (a) £0–£20,000; (b) £20,001–£40,000; (c)
Answer · 17 Jul 2026
We do not routinely produce information on the distribution of households in receipt of Universal Credit by gross household income. However, the relevant data is publicly available in the Households Below Average Income datasets on DWP Stat-Xplore, https:...
Department for Work and Pensions: Written Questions
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he plans to respond to Question 125451 from the hon. Member for Faversham and Mid Kent.
Answer · 5 Jun 2026
As required by the House for any questions that government departments were unable to answer before prorogation, PQ UIN 125451 was given a prorogation answer on 29th April 2026. In this new session, Hon. Members may re-table any question from the previous...
Department for Work and Pensions: Written Questions
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he plans to answer Question 123305 from the hon. Member for Faversham and Mid Kent.
Answer · 29 Apr 2026
It has not proved possible to respond to the Rt. hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Speeches in the chamber
8 Jul 2026 European Entry and Exit System
Every holiday period, Kent and my constituency of Faversham and Mid Kent is brought to a standstill, and that has become much worse with the introduction of the EU entry-exit system, despite the fact that our ports and Eurotunnel have inve…
30 Jun 2026 Nationally Significant Energy Infrastructure Projects
On the point about considering the community benefit, what counts as a community is really important. In some circumstances—this has come up in my local area—a large geographical area is considered as a community, even though the number of…
30 Jun 2026 Nationally Significant Energy Infrastructure Projects
I congratulate the hon. Lady on securing the debate. She is making an important point about the fact that we need not just the minimum but the maximum. We need really strong commitments. The Cleve Hill solar development in the village of G…
29 Jun 2026 Topical Questions
I heard no commitment from the Secretary of State that the benefits bill was going to come down any time soon. Labour can change its leader, but it is still the same old welfare party. The right hon. Member for Makerfield (Andy Burnham)…
29 Jun 2026 Topical Questions
I associate myself and those on the Opposition Benches with the Secretary of State’s comments about the outgoing permanent secretary of the Department for Work and Pensions. I am sorry that this may be my last exchange with the Secretary o…
29 Jun 2026 Benefit Cap
Some 100,000 households get over £50,000 in benefits, and 16,000 households get over £60,000 in benefits. That gives them the same income as the top 10% of earners in this country. British people are sick and tired of footing the bill for …
29 Jun 2026 Benefit Cap
Well, there we heard it a moment ago: a Labour Back Bencher calling for yet more money to be spent on benefits. What we should be doing is talking about all the households who are avoiding the cap, when 100,000 households get over—
10 Jun 2026 Local Government Reform
My hon. Friend is making a really important point about local identity and about how important it is that Ministers listen. We have a Minister here today listening. I want to talk about the local government reorganisation in Kent, an area …
3 Jun 2026 South East Water: Disruption of Supply
We have had a few days of hot weather, and yet again we have had water outages in my constituency and across Kent, on top of what we saw earlier this year and last year. Residents, businesses and livestock owners are frustrated, but they a…
2 Jun 2026 Milburn Review: Interim Report
I am grateful to you, Mr Speaker, for granting the urgent question. It is a shame that the Minister had to be dragged here. Last week, the Secretary of State was only too eager to talk about this report on the telly. Where is he today? Why…
2 Jun 2026 Milburn Review: Interim Report
(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to make a statement on the publication of the Milburn report on young people and work.
14 May 2026 Getting Britain Working Again
Oh dear; what a shame. There were no ideas for savings there at all. If the hon. Gentleman thinks that will get him a job under the next Labour leader, I am afraid that he will have to keep trying. Labour claims to be the party of worki…
14 May 2026 Getting Britain Working Again
The hon. Gentleman wants me to give way. Does he have a welfare savings plan? If so, let us hear it.
14 May 2026 Getting Britain Working Again
I hate to tell the hon. Gentleman, but Labour is in charge now. It has had nearly two years and nothing is changing. You do not have to take my word for it, Madam Deputy Speaker; here are the numbers. Over 8 million people are claiming …
14 May 2026 Getting Britain Working Again
I respect the Secretary of State. He has talked at some length about what is wrong with the welfare system, but the fact is that there is no welfare Bill in the King’s Speech. I reckon he is stuck between a rock and a hard place: he knows …
28 Apr 2026 Pension Schemes Bill
Let me begin by welcoming the Minister back to his place—we missed him last night, and it is good to see him back in the Chamber. Throughout our many debates, we have broadly agreed on the policy intent behind most of the Bill, but as I…
27 Apr 2026 Pension Schemes Bill
The hon. Gentleman is quoting selectively from a letter that I have written to the industry. We had this exact debate with the Pensions Minister last week. There is an acknowledged and debated collective action problem; on that, there is a…
27 Apr 2026 Pension Schemes Bill
First, may I thank the hon. Gentleman for opening this evening’s debate, and for setting out the latest Government amendments, in place of the Pensions Minister? These ping-pong sessions with the hon. Member for Swansea West (Torsten Bell)…
27 Apr 2026 Topical Questions
Let us put some facts on the table, because it is time for the Government to confront the hard choices. We are spending less than 2.5% of GDP on defence, but 5.3% of GDP on welfare. Six million people of working age are living on benefits.…
27 Apr 2026 Topical Questions
Mr Speaker, “We cannot defend Britain with an ever-expanding welfare budget”. That is the view of the author of the Government’s strategic defence review, the Labour peer, former Labour Defence Secretary and former Secretary-General …
Source: contributions on parliament.uk.
Full parliamentary career
Government posts
- Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care) · Department of Health and Social Care 26 Oct 2022 – 5 Jul 2024
- Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury) · HM Treasury 16 Sep 2021 – 7 Jul 2022
- Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care) · Department of Health and Social Care 13 Feb 2020 – 16 Sep 2021
- Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport) · Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport 10 Sep 2019 – 13 Feb 2020
Opposition posts
- Shadow Secretary of State for Transport · Department for Transport 8 Jul 2024 – 5 Nov 2024
Other posts
- Deputy Chair, Conservative Party 17 Apr 2019 – 10 Sep 2019
- Vice-Chair, Conservative Party 27 Jul 2018 – 17 Apr 2019
Committee memberships
- Health and Social Care Committee 25 Oct 2022 – 8 Nov 2022
- Public Accounts Committee 30 Nov 2021 – 17 Oct 2022
- Finance (No.2) Bill 8 Dec 2021 – 11 Jan 2022
- Draft Domestic Abuse Bill (Joint Committee) 27 Feb 2019 – 6 Nov 2019
- Health and Social Care Committee 8 Jul 2015 – 3 May 2017
Previous seats
- Faversham and Mid Kent · Elected 3 times 7 May 2015 – 30 May 2024
Elections contested
- Kingston and Surbiton 6 May 2010
Expenses
Contact & offices
020 7219 6472
Parliamentary office
House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about Helen Whately, answered from official Parliament data.
Who is Helen Whately?
Helen Whately is a Member of Parliament representing Faversham and Mid Kent in the House of Commons. See Helen Whately's official Parliament profile.
Which party does Helen Whately represent?
Helen Whately sits as Conservative. See Helen Whately's official Parliament profile.
Which constituency does Helen Whately represent?
Helen Whately is the Member of Parliament for Faversham and Mid Kent. See Helen Whately's official Parliament profile.
How long has Helen Whately been an MP?
Helen Whately has served in the House of Commons for 11 years, 2 months. See Helen Whately's official Parliament profile.
What registered interests are listed for Helen Whately?
Helen Whately has 8 entries in the Register of Members' Financial Interests. See Helen Whately's official Parliament profile.
Source: this MP's official Parliament profile. Last updated 26 Jul 2026.