Editing David Willetts

{{Short description|British politician}}
{{For|the West End actor|Dave Willetts}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix    = [[The Right Honourable]]
| name                = The Lord Willetts
| honorific-suffix    = {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|PC|FRS|HonFRSC|HonFREng|FAcSS}}
| image               = Official portrait of Lord Willetts crop 2.jpg
| caption             = Official portrait, 2020
| office              = [[Minister of State for Universities and Science]]
| primeminister       = [[David Cameron]]
| term_start          = 11 May 2010
| term_end            = 14 July 2014
| predecessor         = [[David Lammy]]
| successor           = [[Greg Clark]]
| office1             = [[Paymaster General]]
| leader1             = [[John Major]]
| term_start1         = 20 July 1996
| term_end1           = 21 November 1996
| predecessor1        = [[David Heathcoat-Amory]]
| successor1          = [[Michael Bates, Baron Bates|Michael Bates]]
| office2             = [[Lord Commissioner of the Treasury]]
| primeminister2      = [[John Major]]
| term_start2         = 6 July 1995
| term_end2           = 28 November 1995
| predecessor2        = [[Andrew Mitchell]]
| successor2          = [[Liam Fox]]
{{Collapsed infobox section begin|[[Shadow Cabinet of David Cameron|Shadow Cabinet positions]]}}
| office3             = [[Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills|Shadow Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills]]
| leader3             = [[David Cameron]]
| term_start3         = 2 July 2007
| term_end3           = 19 January 2009
| predecessor3        = ''Position established''
| successor3          = [[Kenneth Clarke]] {{small|[[Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills|(Business, Innovation and Skills)]]}}
| office4             = [[Shadow Secretary of State for Education and Skills]]
| leader4             = [[David Cameron]]
| term_start4         = 8 December 2005
| term_end4           = 2 July 2007
| predecessor4        = [[David Cameron]]
| successor4          = [[Michael Gove]] {{small|(Children, Schools and Families)}}
| office5             = [[Shadow Secretary of State for Trade and Industry]]
| leader5             = [[Michael Howard]]
| term_start5         = 6 May 2005
| term_end5           = 8 December 2005
| predecessor5        = {{plainlist|
*[[James Arbuthnot]] {{small|(Trade)}}
*[[Stephen O'Brien]] {{small|(Industry)}}}}
| successor5          = [[Alan Duncan]]
| office6             = [[Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions]]<br>{{small|Social Security (1999–2001)}}
| leader6             = {{plainlist|
*[[William Hague]]
*[[Iain Duncan Smith]]
*[[Michael Howard]]}}
| term_start6         = 15 June 1999
| term_end6           = 6 May 2005
| predecessor6        = [[Iain Duncan Smith]]
| successor6          = [[Malcolm Rifkind]]
| office7             = [[Shadow Secretary of State for Education|Shadow Secretary of State for Education and Employment]]
| leader7             = [[William Hague]]
| term_start7         = 1 June 1998
| term_end7           = 15 June 1999
| predecessor7        = [[Stephen Dorrell]]
| successor7          = [[Theresa May]]
{{Collapsed infobox section end}}
|office10         = [[Member of the House of Lords]]<br />[[Lord Temporal]]
|term_start10       = 16 October 2015<br />[[Life Peerage]]
|term_end10       = 
| office11            = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]]<br>for [[Havant (UK Parliament constituency)|Havant]]
| term_start11        = 9 April 1992
| term_end11          = 30 March 2015
| predecessor11       = [[Ian Lloyd (politician)|Ian Lloyd]]
| successor11         = [[Alan Mak (politician)|Alan Mak]]
| birth_name          = David Linsay Willetts
| birth_date          = {{birth date and age|1956|3|9|df=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Birmingham]], [[England]], UK
| death_date          = 
| death_place         = 
| party               = [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]]
| spouse              = Sarah Butterfield
| education           = [[King Edward's School, Birmingham]]
| alma_mater          = [[University of Oxford]] (BA)<!--Christ Church does NOT award degrees-->
| website             = {{URL|https://www.davidwilletts.co.uk/}}
}}
'''David Linsay Willetts, Baron Willetts''', {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|PC|FRS|HonFRSC|HonFREng|FAcSS}} (born 9 March 1956) is a British politician and [[life peer]]. From 1992 to 2015, he was the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|Member of Parliament]] representing the constituency of [[Havant (constituency)|Havant]] in [[Hampshire]]. He served as [[Department for Business, Innovation and Skills|Minister of State for Universities and Science]] from 2010 until July 2014 and became a member of the [[House of Lords]] in 2015. He was appointed chair of the UK Space Agency's board in April 2022.<ref name="GOV.UK 2022">{{cite web | title=Lord David Willetts appointed as Chair of UK Space Agency Board | website=GOV.UK | date=26 April 2022 | url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/lord-david-willetts-appointed-as-chair-of-uk-space-agency-board | access-date=10 July 2022}}</ref> He is president of the [[Resolution Foundation]].

Born in Birmingham, Willetts studied [[philosophy, politics and economics]] at [[Christ Church, Oxford]]. After working for [[Nigel Lawson]] as a private researcher, Willetts moved to Margaret Thatcher's Policy Unit. At age 31, Willetts became head of the [[Centre for Policy Studies]], before entering the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] for [[Havant (UK Parliament constituency)|Havant]] at the [[1992 United Kingdom general election|1992 general election]]. He was quickly appointed to a number of positions before being appointed [[Paymaster General]] in 1996. During this period, Willetts gained the nickname "Two Brains". However, he was later forced to resign later that year after it was found that he had "dissembled" in his evidence to the [[Standards and Privileges Committee]] over whether pressure was put onto an earlier investigation into Conservative MP [[Neil Hamilton (politician)|Neil Hamilton]].

Willetts returned to the Conservative frontbench after the party's defeat in the [[1997 United Kingdom general election|1997 general election]], serving as [[Shadow Secretary of State for Education|Shadow Education Secretary]] before becoming [[Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions|Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary]]. Following the [[2005 United Kingdom general election|2005 election]], he served as [[Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade|Shadow Secretary of State for Trade and Industry]], and then backed [[David Davis (British politician)|David Davis]] in the [[2005 Conservative Party leadership election|2005 Conservative leadership election]]. Despite this, he was appointed [[Shadow Secretary of State for Education|Shadow Secretary of State for Education and Skills]] in [[Shadow Cabinet of David Cameron|David Cameron's shadow cabinet]], later becoming Shadow Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills. 

Following the [[2010 United Kingdom general election|2010 general election]], Prime Minister [[David Cameron]] appointed Willetts as the [[Minister of State for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education|Minister of State for Universities and Science]], where he pushed forwards with the policy of increasing the cap on [[tuition fees]] in England and Wales and sold student loans to [[Erudio Student Loans]], removing £160m from the public debt. Willetts stepped down at the [[2015 United Kingdom general election|2015 general election]], and was made a life peer in the [[2015 Dissolution Honours]].

Willetts has pioneered the idea of "civic conservatism", the concept of focusing on the institutions between state and individuals as a policy concern rather than thinking only of individuals and the state. Civic conservativism's focus on a softer social agenda has led journalist [[Fraser Nelson]] to call Willetts " The real father of Cameronism"

==Education==
[[File:Rt Hon David Willetts MP.jpg|thumb|right]]
Willetts was educated at [[King Edward's School, Birmingham]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Rt Hon David Willetts MP (1974) |url=http://www.trust.kes.org.uk/willetts.html |work=The King Edward's School Birmingham Trust website |access-date=17 August 2017}}</ref> He then studied [[philosophy, politics and economics]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/8057871/Grants-loans-and-tuition-fees-a-timeline-of-how-university-funding-has-evolved.html |title=Grants, loans and tuition fees: a timeline of how university funding has evolved |author=Heidi Blake |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|location=London |date=10 November 2010 |access-date=17 August 2017}}</ref> at [[Christ Church, Oxford]], where he graduated with a first-class degree.

==Policy researcher==
Having served as [[Nigel Lawson]]'s private researcher,<ref>{{cite news|last1=Aitkenhead|first1=Decca|title=David Willetts: 'Many more will go to university than in my generation – we must not reverse that'|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2011/nov/20/david-willetts-university-student-loans-debt|access-date=9 March 2016|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=20 November 2011}}</ref> Willetts took charge of the [[HM Treasury|Treasury]] [[monetary policy]] division at 26 before moving over to [[Margaret Thatcher]]'s [[Number 10 Policy Unit|Policy Unit]] at 28. He subsequently took over the [[Centre for Policy Studies]], aged 31.<ref>{{cite news |author=Alice Thomson |date=13 March 2004 |title=Willetts takes 'two pensions' Blair to task |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1456725/Willetts-takes-two-pensions-Blair-to-task.html |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|location=London |access-date=5 June 2011}}</ref>

[[Paul Foot (journalist)|Paul Foot]] wrote in ''[[Private Eye]]'' that in a 1993 document called ''The Opportunities for Private Funding in the NHS'', published by the [[Social Market Foundation]] and financed by private healthcare company [[BUPA]], Willetts provided the "intellectual thrust" for [[Private finance initiative#National Health Service (NHS)|private finance initiatives (PFIs) in the National Health Service]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Foot|first1=Paul|author-link1=Paul Foot (journalist)|title=P. F. Eye: An idiot's guide to the Private Finance Initiative|url=http://drphilhammond.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/PFI-Report-Private-Eye-2004.pdf|access-date=9 March 2016|work=[[Private Eye]]|issue=1102|date=19 March 2004|page=1|archive-date=22 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150922224750/http://drphilhammond.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/PFI-Report-Private-Eye-2004.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==First period in government==
[[File:David Willetts Constituency Offices - geograph.org.uk - 635891.jpg|thumb|right|Willetts' constituency office]]
Aged 36, Willetts entered [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|Parliament]] in 1992 as the [[Havant (UK Parliament constituency)|MP for Havant]]. He quickly established himself in Parliament, becoming a [[Whip (politics)|Whip]], a [[Cabinet Office]] Minister, and then [[Paymaster General]] in his first term (when that role was split between the [[Cabinet Office]] and [[HM Treasury]] as a policy co-ordination role). During this period Willetts gained "Two Brains" as a nickname, a [[monicker]] reportedly coined by ''[[The Guardian]]'s'' former political editor [[Michael White (journalist)|Michael White]].<ref name="guardian2007">{{cite news|url=http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/michael_white/2007/05/a_levelheaded_tory_mp_of.html |title=It's over |newspaper=The Guardian|date=22 May 2007 |access-date=19 August 2010 |author=Michael White}}</ref> However, Willetts was forced to resign from the latter post by the Standards and Privileges Committee over an investigation into [[Neil Hamilton (politician)|Neil Hamilton]] in 1996, when it found that he had "dissembled" in his evidence to the Committee over whether pressure was put onto an earlier investigation into Hamilton.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/pride-that-came-before-the-minister-s-fall-1314100.html| title=Pride that came before the minister's fall | date= 12 December 1996}}</ref>

==Shadow Cabinet==
Despite the resignation, Willetts was able to return to the shadow front bench a few years later while [[William Hague]] was Leader of the Opposition, initially serving in the [[Shadow Cabinet]] as Shadow Education Secretary before becoming Shadow Social Security (later Shadow Work and Pensions) Secretary.  He carved out a reputation as an expert on pensions and benefits. Since leaving the DWP post, he has been recruited as an external consultant by the actuaries [[Punter Southall]].{{cn|date=May 2024}}

Following the 2005 election, he served as  [[Shadow Secretary of State for Trade and Industry]] in the Shadow Cabinet under [[Michael Howard]]. In August 2005, after ruling out running for leader owing to a lack of support, commentators speculated that he was gunning for the post of [[Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer]] and would cut a deal with either [[David Davis (British politician)|David Davis]] or [[David Cameron]]. On 15 September he confirmed his support for Davis, at that time the [[bookies]]' favourite. Willetts, a centrist moderniser, went to ground following the announcement of the Davis tax plan since it was widely speculated that he disagreed with the seemingly uncosted and widely derided<ref>{{cite news |author-link=Daniel Finkelstein |first=Daniel |last=Finkelstein |title=A David Davis guide to fiscal strategy: two and two make... um, er...|url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/a-david-davis-guide-to-fiscal-strategy-two-and-two-make-um-er-q750x6pkt22|access-date=7 August 2020 |newspaper=The Times |date=2 November 2005 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> tax plan and found it impossible to defend. Davis then lost the candidacy race to Cameron.

Following Cameron's win, Willetts was appointed [[Shadow Secretary of State for Education and Skills]] in Cameron's first Shadow Cabinet in December 2005, the role Cameron had vacated, later becoming Shadow [[Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills]]. His title became Shadow Minister for Universities and Skills since [[Gordon Brown]]'s merger of the [[Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills]] with the [[Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform]] into the [[Department for Business, Innovation and Skills]] in June 2009.

On 19 May 2007, Willetts made a controversial speech on [[grammar school]]s in which he defended the existing Conservative Party policy of not reintroducing grammar schools. The speech received a mixed reception. The analysis was applauded by ''The Guardian'' and ''[[The Times]]''.<ref name="guardian2007"/><ref>{{cite news |author=Anatole Kaletsky |title=Lesson one: get the yobs out of the classroom |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/anatole_kaletsky/article1832196.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202150220/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/anatole_kaletsky/article1832196.ece |url-status=dead |archive-date=2 December 2008 |access-date=19 August 2010 |newspaper=The Times |date=24 May 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Daniel Finkelstein |url=http://timesonline.typepad.com/comment/2007/05/fisking_janet_d_1.html |title=Fisking Janet Daley|work=The Times |date=21 May 2007 |access-date=5 June 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110709221143/http://timesonline.typepad.com/comment/2007/05/fisking_janet_d_1.html |archive-date=9 July 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Daniel Finkelstein |url=http://timesonline.typepad.com/comment/2007/05/are_david_camer.html |title=Do Cameron's critics really want grammar schools? |work=The Times |date=22 May 2007 |access-date=5 June 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110709221149/http://timesonline.typepad.com/comment/2007/05/are_david_camer.html |archive-date=9 July 2011 }}</ref> However, ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' was strongly critical of the speech, which was unpopular with some Conservative Party activists.<ref>{{cite news |author=Janet Daley |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/personal-view/3640014/When-did-wanting-the-best-for-your-children-become-a-crime.html |title=When did wanting the best for your children become a crime? |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|location=London |date=21 May 2007 |access-date=5 June 2011}}</ref> The speech was made more controversial when [[David Cameron]] weighed into the argument, backing Willetts' speech and describing his critics as "delusional", accusing them of "splashing around in the shallow end of the educational debate" and of "clinging on to outdated mantras that bear no relation to the reality of life".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6679005.stm |title=Cameron steps up grammars attack |work=BBC News |date=22 May 2007 |access-date=19 August 2010}}</ref>

The Department for Education and Skills was abolished by the new [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]], [[Gordon Brown]], who established two new departments. On 2 July 2007, Cameron reshuffled Willetts down to the junior of the two departments: the [[Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills]].

==Second period in government==
Following the [[2010 United Kingdom general election|2010 general election]], Prime Minister [[David Cameron]] appointed Willetts as the Minister of State for Universities and Science.

===Feminism claim===
In June 2011, Willetts said during the launch of the Government's [[social mobility]] strategy that movement between the classes had "stagnated" over the past 40 years, and Willetts attributed this partly to the entry of women into the workplace and universities for the lack of progress for men. "Feminism trumped [[egalitarianism]]", he said, adding that women who would otherwise have been housewives had taken university places and well-paid jobs that could have gone to ambitious working-class men. He went on to say that, <blockquote>"One of the things that happened over that period was that the entirely admirable transformation of opportunities for women meant that with a lot of the expansion of education in the 1960s, '70s and '80s, the first beneficiaries were the daughters of middle-class families who had previously been excluded from educational opportunities [...] And if you put that with what is called 'assortative mating' – that well-educated women marry well-educated men – this transformation of opportunities for women ended up magnifying social divides. It is delicate territory because it is not a bad thing that women had these opportunities, but it widened the gap in household incomes because you suddenly had two-earner couples, both of whom were well-educated, compared with often workless households where nobody was educated".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/8420098/David-Willets-feminism-has-held-back-working-men.html |title=David Willets: feminism has held back working men |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |first=Rosa |last=Prince |date=1 April 2011 |access-date=7 August 2020}}</ref></blockquote>

===Tuition fees and student loan debts===
As the minister responsible for universities, Willetts was an advocate and spokesperson for the [[Cameron–Clegg coalition|coalition government's]] policy of increasing the cap on [[Tuition fees in the United Kingdom|tuition fees]] in England and Wales from £3,225 to £9,000 per year.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/2010/dec/06/david-willetts-defends-tuition-fees-universities |title=Tuition fees will be 'fair and affordable' |author=David Willetts |newspaper=The Guardian|date=6 December 2010 |access-date=17 August 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11952449 |title=Tuition fees vote: Plans approved despite rebellion  |publisher=BBC News |date=9 November 2010 |access-date=17 August 2017}}</ref>

In November 2013, Willetts announced the sale of student loans to [[Erudio Student Loans]] – a debt collection consortium – removing £160m from [[public debt]] but ignoring the implications for former students.<ref>{{cite news |first=Simon |last=Read |date=26 November 2013 |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/student/news/government-sells-900-million-in-student-loans-to-debt-collection-company-8961790.html |title=Government sells £900 million in student loans to debt collection company |work=[[The Independent]] |access-date=29 November 2013}}</ref>

===Peerage and further ventures===
In July 2014, Willetts announced that he would not contest the [[2015 United Kingdom general election|next general election]], saying that "after more than 20 years the time has come to move onto fresh challenges."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/politics/havant-mp-to-stand-down-at-next-general-election-after-more-than-two-decades-1-6177913|title=Havant MP to stand down at next General Election after more than two decades |work=[[The News (Portsmouth)|The News]] |location=Portsmouth |first=Miles |last=O'Leary |date=14 July 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180630133141/https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/politics/havant-mp-to-stand-down-at-next-general-election-after-more-than-two-decades-1-6177913 |archive-date=30 June 2018 |access-date=7 August 2020}}</ref> In October 2014, Willetts was appointed a visiting professor at [[King's College London]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/willetts-appointed-to-teach-and-research-at-kings-college-london/2016482.article|title=Willetts appointed to teach and research at King's College London |date=21 October 2014 |first=John |last=Morgan |work=Times Higher Education (THE) |access-date=7 August 2020}}</ref> It was announced that he was to be a [[life peer]] in the [[2015 Dissolution Honours]] and was created Baron Willetts, of [[Havant]] in the [[County of Hampshire]], on 16 October 2015.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=61388 |date=22 October 2015 |page=19846}}</ref> In June 2015, Willetts was appointed executive chair of the think tank the [[Resolution Foundation]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.resolutionfoundation.org/about-us/team/david-willetts/|title=About us: David Willetts|publisher=Resolution Foundation|access-date=30 March 2016}}</ref> In May 2018 he was elected a Honorary Fellow of the [[Royal Society]].<ref>{{cite press release |url=https://royalsociety.org/news/2018/05/distinguished-scientists-elected-fellows-royal-society-2018/|title=Distinguished scientists elected as Fellows and Foreign Members of the Royal Society |agency=The Royal Society |date=9 May 2018 |access-date=9 May 2018}}</ref> In February 2022 he was appointed a director of the Synbioven investment fund,<ref name="Find and update company information 2022">{{cite web | title=SYNBIOVEN LIMITED people – GOV.UK | website=Find and update company information | date=21 February 2022 | url=https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/13929576/officers | access-date=11 July 2022}}</ref> and in April 2022 he was appointed chair of the board of the [[UK Space Agency]].<ref name="GOV.UK 2022"/>

===Brexit===
In December 2018, Willetts was one of the signatories of a statement by some senior Conservatives calling for a second referendum over [[Brexit]]. This stated, "If we are to remain a party of government, it is absolutely critical that we increase our support among younger generations.  To do this, we must listen to and engage with their concerns on Brexit. They voted overwhelmingly to Remain in the European Union in 2016 – and since then have become even stronger in their views. Since the referendum, nearly 2 million young people are now of voting age. Of those in this group who are certain to vote, an astounding 87% support the United Kingdom staying in the European Union. If we do not hear their voices, who could blame them for feeling excluded and powerless on this most vital issue. The truth is that if Brexit fails this generation, we risk losing young people for good. Our party's electoral future will be irrevocably blighted."<ref>{{cite news |first=Toby |last=Helm |date=16 December 2018 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/dec/16/labour-activists-pressure-corbyn-second-vote-new-referendum |title=Party activists pile pressure on Corbyn to back second vote |work=[[The Observer]] |access-date=7 August 2020}}</ref> In early 2019, he co-founded the group [[Right to Vote]].<ref>{{cite letter |first=Phillip |last=Lee |recipient=[[Theresa May]] |subject=Letter to the Prime Minister from Dr Phillip Lee MP |date=19 March 2019 |url=https://cdn.righttovote.co.uk/assets/righttovote-PMletter19thMarch.pdf |access-date=4 April 2019}}</ref>

==Free votes record==
According to the Public Whip analyses,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.publicwhip.org.uk/mp.php?mpn=David_Willetts&mpc=Havant |title=Voting Record – David Willetts MP, Havant |publisher=Public Whip |access-date=19 August 2010}}</ref> Willetts was strongly in favour of an elected House of Lords and was strongly against the [[Hunting Act 2004|ban on fox hunting]]. [[TheyWorkForYou]] additionally records that, amongst other things, Willetts was strongly in favour of the [[Iraq War]], strongly in favour of an investigation into it, moderately against equal gay rights, and very strongly for [[Dreadnought-class submarine|replacing Trident]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/david_willetts/havant#votingrecord |publisher=TheyWorkForYou.com |title=David Willetts MP, voting record |access-date=5 June 2011}}</ref>

==Other interests==
Following his decision to stand down at the 2015 General Election, Willetts joined the Resolution Foundation in Summer 2015. He Chaired the Foundation's Intergenerational Commission<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/advanced/a-new-generational-contract/|title=A New Generational Contract: The final report of the Intergenerational Commission • Resolution Foundation|date=8 May 2018 }}</ref> between 2016 and 2018, and is now President of the Resolution Foundation, along with its Intergenerational Centre.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/major-programme/intergenerational-centre/|title=Intergenerational Centre • Living standards through a generational lens}}</ref> He is currently a visiting professor at [[King's College London]] where he works with the Policy Institute at King's, a visiting professor at the [[Cass Business School]], a board member of the [[Institute for Fiscal Studies]] and a visiting fellow at [[Nuffield College, Oxford]]. On 9 February 2018, the [[University of Leicester]] announced they had elected David Willetts as successor to [[Bruce Grocott]] to become their new [[Chancellor (education)|chancellor]].<ref name=UL>{{Cite web|url=https://www2.le.ac.uk/news/blog/2018-archive/february/lord-willetts-former-universities-and-science-minister-announced-as-universitys-new-chancellor|title=Lord Willetts former Universities and Science Minister announced as Universitys new Chancellor|publisher= University of Leicester|date=8 February 2018|website=www2.le.ac.uk|language=en|access-date=6 March 2018}}</ref>

Willetts is the author of several books on conservatism, including "Why Vote Conservative" (1996) and "Modern Conservatism" (1992), as well as numerous articles. He was a founding signatory in 2005 of the [[Henry Jackson Society]] principles, advocating a proactive approach to the spread of [[liberal democracy]] across the world, including when necessary by military intervention.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.henryjacksonsociety.org/signatories.asp?pageid=36 |title=Signatories to the Statement of Principles |publisher=The Henry Jackson Society |date=27 July 2010 |access-date=19 August 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100808045304/http://www.henryjacksonsociety.org/signatories.asp?pageid=36 |archive-date=8 August 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.henryjacksonsociety.org/content.asp?pageid=35 |title=Statement of Principles |publisher=The Henry Jackson Society |date=27 July 2010 |access-date=19 August 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100808044933/http://www.henryjacksonsociety.org/content.asp?pageid=35 |archive-date=8 August 2010 }}</ref> He is an honorary member of Conservative Friends of Poland.<ref>[http://www.cfofp.co.uk/honorary-members.php Conservative Friends of Poland website] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120331005056/http://www.cfofp.co.uk/honorary-members.php |date=31 March 2012 }}</ref>

==Civic conservatism==
{{Conservatism UK}}
Willetts has pioneered the idea of "civic conservatism". This is the idea of focusing on the institutions between the state and individuals as a policy concern (rather than merely thinking of individuals and the state as the only agencies) and is one of the principles behind the increasing support in the Conservative Party's localist agenda and its emphasis on voluntary organisations. Willetts civic conservatism moves away from the "hard-edged" nature of Thatcherism to a softer social agenda. During an interview with ''[[The Spectator]]'', he was referred to as 'the real father of Cameronism' by [[Fraser Nelson]].<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.spectator.co.uk/essays/all/23081/the-real-father-of-cameronism.thtml |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130421073941/http://www.spectator.co.uk/essays/all/23081/the-real-father-of-cameronism.thtml |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 April 2013 |author=Fraser Nelson |date=24 June 2006 |title=The real father of Cameronism |journal=The Spectator |access-date=5 June 2011 }}</ref>

Fourteen years after the publication of "Civic Conservatism" Willetts gave the inaugural [[Michael Oakeshott|Oakeshott]] Memorial Lecture to the [[London School of Economics]] in which he made an attempt to explain how game theory can be used to help think about how to improve [[social capital]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lse.ac.uk/PublicEvents/pdf/20080220_Willetts.pdf|title=Renewing civic conservatism. The Oakeshott Lecture. LSE, 20th February 2008|publisher=London School of Economics |access-date=26 May 2014}}</ref> The lecture was described by the Times as "an audacious attempt by the Conservative Party's leading intellectual to relate a new Tory narrative".<ref>{{cite news |author=Daniel Finkelstein |title=Blood, bats and bonding: a new way |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/daniel_finkelstein/article3399671.ece |archive-url=https://archive.today/20080829184824/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/daniel_finkelstein/article3399671.ece |url-status=dead |archive-date=29 August 2008 |access-date=19 August 2010 |newspaper=The Times |date=20 February 2008}}</ref>

<blockquote>Civic conservatism, like free market economics, proceeds from deep-seated individual self-interest towards a stable cooperation. It sets the Tories the task not of changing humanity but of designing institutions and arrangements that encourage our natural reciprocal altruism.<ref>{{cite web |author=Daniel Finkelstein |url=http://timesonline.typepad.com/comment/2008/02/civic-conservat.html |title=Civic conservatism replies to compassionate conservatism |work=The Times |date=20 February 2008 |access-date=4 October 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110131133053/http://timesonline.typepad.com/comment/2008/02/civic-conservat.html |archive-date=31 January 2011 }}</ref></blockquote>

==Personal life==
Willetts is married to artist Sarah Butterfield.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2002/jun/13/conservatives.arts|title=Paintings row ends in division of oils|newspaper=The Guardian|author=Steven Morris|date=13 June 2002|access-date=23 March 2019}}</ref> The couple have one daughter, born 1988, and one son, born 1992. His wealth in 2009 was estimated at £1.9m.<ref>{{cite news |author1=Samira Shackle |author2=Stephanie Hegarty |author3=George Eaton |author-link3=George Eaton (journalist) |url=http://www.newstatesman.com/uk-politics/2009/10/oxford-universitywealth-school |title=The new ruling class |magazine=New Statesman |date=1 October 2009 |access-date=5 June 2011}}</ref>

==Honours==
Willetts was sworn in as a member of the [[Privy Council of the United Kingdom]] in 2010, giving him the [[Honorific|honorific title]] "[[The Right Honourable]]" and after [[ennoblement]] the [[List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom)|post nominal letters]] "PC" for life.

===Scholastic===
; University degrees

{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
! style="width:20%;"| Location
! style="width:20%;"| Date
! style="width:40%;"| School
! style="width:20%;"| Degree
|-
| {{Flagu|England}} ||  || [[Christ Church, Oxford]] || [[British undergraduate degree classification|First-class honours]] [[Bachelor of Arts]] (BA) in [[Philosophy, politics and economics|PPE]] 
|-
|}

; Chancellor, visitor, governor, and fellowships

{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
! style="width:20%;"| Location
! style="width:20%;"| Date
! style="width:40%;"| School
! style="width:20%;"| Position
|-
| {{Flagu|England}} || '''21 October 2014{{spaced ndash}}''' || [[King's College London]] || [[Visiting Professor]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kcl.ac.uk/newsevents/news/newsrecords/2014/October/David-Willetts-appointed-Visiting-Professor.aspx|title=King's College London – David Willetts appointed Visiting Professor|work=kcl.ac.uk|date=22 June 2023 }}</ref>  
|-
| {{Flagu|England}} || '''July 2018{{spaced ndash}}March 2023''' || [[University of Leicester]] || [[Chancellor (education)|Chancellor]]<ref name=UL />
|-
| {{Flagu|England}} || '''{{spaced ndash}}''' || [[Nuffield College, Oxford]] || [[Honorary Fellow]]<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.nuffield.ox.ac.uk/people/honorary-and-emeritus-fellows/?subCategory=1796 | title=Honorary and Emeritus fellows}}</ref>  
|-
|}

{{Incomplete list|date=October 2018}}

;Honorary degrees

{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
! style="width:20%;"| Location
! style="width:20%;"| Date
! style="width:40%;"| School
! style="width:20%;"| Degree
|-
| {{Flagu|England}} || '''21 November 2014''' || [[University of Bedfordshire]] || [[Doctor of Arts]] (D.Arts)<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.beds.ac.uk/news/2014/november/mp-david-willetts-presented-with-honorary-degree | title=MP David Willetts presented with honorary degree – beds.ac.uk &#124; University of Bedfordshire}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.beds.ac.uk/news/2014/november/al-murray-and-david-willetts-mp-to-be-among-honorands |title = Al Murray and David Willetts MP to be among honorands – beds.ac.uk &#124; University of Bedfordshire}}</ref>
|-
| {{Flagu|England}} || '''17 July 2016''' || [[University of Leicester]] || [[Doctor of Laws]] (LL.D.)<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www2.le.ac.uk/institution/graduation/previous/honorary-graduates | title=Honorary Graduates – University of Leicester}}</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i62Dzp34HFc&t=48s "Rt Hon Lord David Willetts – Honorary Degree – University of Leicester"], 17 July 2016.</ref>
|-
| {{Flagu|England}} || '''4 July 2017''' || [[University of Bath]] || [[Doctor of Laws]] (LL.D.)<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.bath.ac.uk/corporate-information/the-rt-hon-the-lord-willetts-oration/ |title = The Rt Hon. The Lord Willetts: Oration}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.bath.ac.uk/announcements/lord-willetts-receives-honorary-degree/ |title = Lord Willetts receives honorary degree}}</ref>
|-
| {{Flagu|England}} || '''2017''' || [[Richmond, The American International University in London]] || [[Doctor of Public Administration]] (DPA)<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.richmond.ac.uk/about-richmond/honorary-degree-recipients/ |title=Honorary Degree Recipients |access-date=31 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180930034044/https://www.richmond.ac.uk/about-richmond/honorary-degree-recipients/ |archive-date=30 September 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|-
| {{Flagu|England}} || '''2017''' || [[University of Chester]] || [[Doctor of Letters]] (D.Litt.)<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://alumni.chester.ac.uk/Pages/honorary-graduates-2017.aspx | title=Honorary graduates 2017| date=21 November 2017}}</ref>
|-
|}
{{Incomplete list|date=October 2018}}

===Memberships and fellowships===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
! style="width:20%;"| Country
! style="width:20%;"| Date
! style="width:40%;"| Organisation
! style="width:20%;"| Position
|-
| {{Flagu|United Kingdom}} || '''2014{{spaced ndash}}''' || [[Academy of Social Sciences]] || Fellow (FAcSS)<ref>{{cite web |title=Academy of Social Sciences Names 2014 Fellows |url=https://www.socialsciencespace.com/2014/10/academy-of-social-sciences-names-2014-fellows/ |website=Social Science Space |date=14 October 2014 |access-date=4 June 2022 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Academy of Social Sciences Fellows |url=https://acss.org.uk/fellows/#name-W |website=The Academy of Social Sciences |access-date=4 June 2022 |language=en}}</ref>
|-
| {{Flagu|United Kingdom}} || '''2016{{spaced ndash}}''' || [[Academy of Medical Sciences]] || Honorary Fellow (FMedSci)<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://acmedsci.ac.uk/fellows/fellows-directory/ordinary-fellows/fellow/Lord-David-Willetts-0014129 |title = Lord David Willetts &#124; The Academy of Medical Sciences}}</ref><ref>Mark Walport, [https://acmedsci.ac.uk/snip/uploads/5858c2dd0a45b.pdf "Citation for Lord David Willetts on his admission as an Honorary Fellow"], The Academy of Medical Sciences.</ref>
|-
| {{Flagu|United Kingdom}} || '''2017{{spaced ndash}}'''  || [[Royal Society of Chemistry]] || Honorary Fellow (HonFRSC)<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.rsc.org/about-us/our-history/our-honorary-fellows/ |title = Honorary Fellows of the Royal Society of Chemistry}}</ref>
|-
| {{Flagu|United Kingdom}} || '''2018{{spaced ndash}}'''  || [[Royal Society]] || Honorary Fellow (FRS)<ref>{{cite web |title=David Willetts' Royal Society Fellowship Biography |url=https://royalsociety.org/people/david-willetts-13851/?commitee=/about-us/committees/committee-on-general-and-honorary-candidates-168/ |website=The Royal Society |access-date=4 June 2022 |language=en}}</ref> 
|-
| {{Flagu|United Kingdom}} || '''2023{{spaced ndash}}'''  || [[Royal Academy of Engineering]] || Honorary Fellow (FREng)<ref name="NF23">{{cite web |title=Royal Academy of Engineering welcomes 73 new Fellows |url=https://raeng.org.uk/news/royal-academy-of-engineering-welcomes-73-new-fellows |access-date=4 October 2023}}</ref> 
|-
|}

{{Incomplete list|date=October 2018}}

==Published works==
* {{Cite book
  | title = Happy Families? Four Points to a Conservative Family Policy
  | year = 1991
  | isbn = 1-870265-62-9
 | last1 = Willetts
 | first1 = David
 }}
* {{Cite book
  | title = Modern Conservatism
  | year = 1992
  | isbn = 0-14-015477-9| last1 = Willetts
 | first1 = David
 }}
* {{Cite book
  | title = Welfare to Work
  | year = 1992
  | isbn = 1-874097-18-6
 | last1 = Willetts
 | first1 = David
 }}
* {{Cite book
  | title = Blair's Gurus
  | year = 1996
  | isbn = 0-14-026304-7| last1 = Willetts
 | first1 = David
 }}
* {{Cite book
  | title = Why Vote Conservative?
  | year = 1997
  | isbn = 0-14-026304-7| last1 = Willetts
 | first1 = David
 }}
* {{Cite book
  | title = Blair's Gurus
  | year = 1997
  | isbn = 1-897969-47-3
 | last1 = Willetts
 | first1 = David
 }}
* {{Cite book
  | title = Who do we think we are?
  | year = 1998
  | isbn = 1-897969-81-3| last1 = Willetts
 | first1 = David
 }}
* {{Cite book
  | title = Left Out, Left Behind
  | year = 2003
  | isbn = 0-9545611-0-4
 | last1 = Willetts
 | first1 = David
 | last2 = Willets
 | first2 = Hillman
 | last3 = Bogdanor
 | first3 = Adam
 }}
* {{Cite book
  | title = Old Europe? Demographic Change and Pension Reform
  | year = 2003
  | isbn = 1-901229-47-5| last1 = Willetts
 | first1 = David
 }}
* {{Cite book
  | title = The Pinch: How the Baby Boomers Took Their Children's Future – And Why They Should Give It Back
  | year = 2010
  | isbn = 978-1-84887-231-8| last1 = Willetts
 | first1 = David
 }}
* {{Cite book
  |title = A University Education
  |year=2017
  |isbn=978-0-19-876726-8|last1=Willetts
 |first1=David
 }}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

For Willetts' roles in the 1980s–1990s as a welfare specialist:
* {{Cite book
  | last = Timmins
  | first = Nicholas
  | author-link = Nicholas Timmins
  | title = The Five Giants: A Biography of the Welfare State
  | year = 2001
  | isbn = 0-00-710264-X }}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20101026180023/http://www.davidwilletts.co.uk/ David Willetts MP] ''official constituency website''
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100216161027/http://www.conservatives.com/People/Members_of_Parliament/Willetts_David.aspx Profile] at the Conservative Party
* {{UK MP links | parliament = david-willetts/53 | hansard = mr-david-willetts | hansardcurr = 4611 | guardian = 5542/david-willetts | publicwhip = David_Willetts | theywork = david_willetts | record = David-Willetts/Havant/571 | bbc = 25241.stm | journalisted = david-willetts-1 }}
* [https://www.theguardian.com/profile/davidwilletts Article archive] at ''[[The Guardian]]''
* [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article528876.ece The Tories don't have to make a false choice between roots or freedom]{{dead link|date=January 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, David Willetts, ''[[The Times]]'', 2 June 2005
* {{Guardian topic}}
* {{C-SPAN|46854}}
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/2090183.stm Profile: David Willetts] BBC News, 22 October 2002

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{{Cameron Shadow Cabinet}}
{{Cabinet of David Cameron}}
{{British special advisers}}
{{Paymaster General}}
{{Francis Crick Institute}}
{{FRS 2018}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Willetts, David}}
[[Category:1956 births]]
[[Category:Academics of City, University of London]]
[[Category:Academics of Bayes Business School]]
[[Category:Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford]]
[[Category:Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies]]
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[[Category:Life peers created by Elizabeth II]]
[[Category:Honorary Fellows of the Royal Society]]
[[Category:Honorary Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Academy of Social Sciences]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Society of Chemistry]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom]]
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