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Among the right-wing Tories ushered to power in Boris Johnson's Cabinet reshuffle, there's one name you'll recognise more than most.

Esther McVey is back in government for the third time - as the Tories' ninth Housing Minister in nine years.

It's a job of grave seriousness, responsible for the re-cladding of hundreds of unsafe tower blocks in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire.

So campaigners may be unnerved by the appointment of bullish Ms McVey - a true-blue Tory who's not exactly known for subtlety - to the sensitive role.

In her years as a Work and Pensions Minister she made a string of comments that angered benefit claimants and had to apologise for using misleading statistics.

And as a Tory leadership contender (knocked out with just nine votes) she vowed to strip back foreign aid payments to spend more on schools and police.

So who is the former GMTV presenter and what has she said?

(Image: PA)

She was ousted from her Wirral West seat in 2015 after a sustained campaign against her, but returned in George Osborne's ultra-safe Tatton seat in 2017.

Ms McVey served as a minister in the Department for Work of Pensions for three years in the welfare-slashing days of Iain Duncan Smith, followed by her role as Work and Pensions Secretary - which she quit to protest against Theresa May's Brexit deal.

Here's a short guide.

1. She said the rise of food banks was 'positive'

(Image: Getty Images Europe)

Ms McVey told the House of Commons in December 2013: "In the UK it is right that, you know, more people are visiting - which you'd expect - going to foodbanks.

"As time is tough, we are all having to pay back this £1.5 trillion debt personally which spiralled under Labour."

To furious heckles she added: "The community has come together to support one another - that must be a positive move."

Ms McVey blamed the rise in food banks on Labour "refusing" to let Jobcentres signpost people to them before 2010.

And she compared Britain's 60,000 food bank users to 1.5million in Germany to point out the number was relatively low.

Embarrassingly for her, since her speech the number of parcels handed out by the Trussell Trust foodbank charity in the UK has soared to 1.2million.

Labour MP Luciana Berger said Ms McVey's response still "haunted" her, telling the Liverpool Echo: "It was disgraceful and showed absolutely no empathy - I was on the benches going ballistic."

2. She repeatedly defended the Bedroom Tax

(Image: PA)

Ms McVey was a key defender of the Bedroom Tax, launched by the Tories in April 2013, which increases the rent people have to pay if they have "extra" rooms.

Critics point out there's a shortage of smaller flats for people to 'downsize' to - so they were left stuck paying higher rates. Several aspects of the charge have been defeated in the courts.

But Ms McVey vehemently defended the measure - and claimed people who stayed put would be "more than happy".

She said Labour were hypocritical because they applied a penalty to housing benefit in the private rented sector in 2008. She said this justified its huge extension, under the Tories, to social housing as well.

In one 2014 debate she said: "We could not afford it [the 'extra' cash to spare rooms]. Labour had already introduced the measure.

"We have to consider the 2 million people on the housing waiting list and the 400,000 people in overcrowded accommodation.

"We have to ask how we will support the taxpayers paying for it, who might not have spare bedrooms themselves, as well as the people on waiting lists and the people in overcrowded accommodation."

3. She apologised for misleading MPs about Universal Credit

(Image: Jeff J Mitchell)

In July 2018 Ms McVey faced calls to quit as she apologised for misleading MPs over her flagship benefits shake-up.

The row erupted after Ms McVey disowned a report by the National Audit Office that warned Universal Credit was poor value for money and forcing people to food banks.

Ms McVey claimed the damning report was out of date. But in an unprecedented open letter, respected NAO chief Sir Amyas Morse said there was “no evidence” of this.

He also accused the Cabinet minister of contradicting her own officials, who had “fully agreed” to the report, and misrepresenting its findings.

He then branded her behaviour “odd” and said her key claim that Universal Credit is working “has not been proven”.

Ms McVey faced shouts of “resign” as she apologised to parliament - for only one of three “unproven” statements highlighted by the NAO.

She told MPs: “I mistakenly said the NAO had asked for the rollout of Universal Credit to continue at a faster rate and be speeded up.

“In fact the NAO did not say that and I want to apologise to [the Speaker] and the House for inadvertently misleading you.”

Labour demanded a probe into whether the Work and Pensions Secretary broke the Ministerial Code.

4. She suggested Tory benefit cuts were 'fake news'

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At the 2018 Tory conference, Ms McVey suggested her own party's benefit cuts are "fake news".

The Work and Pensions Secretary launched an arrogant attack on Labour and "social media" - despite cuts being well-documented by think tanks and her predecessor Iain Duncan Smith.

Most working-age benefits are frozen for four years from 2016/17 to 2019/20 - a cut to families' real income. The government's own 2015 Budget said this would cut £4billion a year from the benefits bill.

Yet Ms McVey appeared to suggest all these facts were "fake news" because the total amount of money put into thebenefits system has gone up.

She told Tory members in Birmingham: "If you were to believe everything you heard from Labour or read on social media you'd think we were somehow letting down the most vulnerable in society - especially disabled people.

"However, those who say we are cutting budgets are peddling fake news.

"So here’s the real news - we have never spent more on those with disabilities and long-term health conditions. We spend over £50billion a year, up £9billion on 2010."

5. She said benefit sanctions 'help' people find work and compared claimants to school children

(Image: PA)

Defending the sanctions system, accused of stopping people's benefits for months for minor mistakes, she told a Commons committee in 2013: "What does a teacher do in a school?

"A teacher would tell you off, or give you lines and detentions, or whatever it is, but at the same time they have your best interest at heart.

"They are teaching you, they are educating you, but at the same time they will also have the ability to sanction you."

Standing by the policy, she told another committee hearing in 2015: "For people who have been sanctioned, that helps them get into work."

6. She said there was 'no robust evidence' that linked soaring food bank use to welfare cuts

(Image: PA)

Ms McVey prompted a backlash in 2014 by claiming there was "no robust evidence" linking food bank use to Tory welfare cuts.

In the letter to the Scottish government, seen by the BBC, she added: "The rise in food banks predates most of the welfare reforms this government has put in place."

The claim was branded "heartless" by the SNP , and the Trussell Trust, Britain's largest food bank charity, said at the time: "All the empirical evidence and research shows that welfare reform is the main force driving increasing demand for food banks."

Latest surveys by the Trussell Trust show clients gave "benefit delays" and "benefit changes" as two of the three most likely reasons for using food banks (26%) and 17%). "Low income" was the most likely on 26%.

Successor as DWP chief Amber Rudd later admitted there was a link between the early rollout of Universal Credit and food banks.

7. She billed taxpayers £8,000 for a professional photographer

(Image: LBC /Youtube)

Vain Esther McVey billed taxpayers at least £8,000 in expenses for a professional photographer.

The Tory leadership hopeful was slammed as "absurd" after the spending was revealed by a newspaper investigation.

Official records confirm she spent thousands of pounds in the last 18 months on Jonathan Farber.

The former Tory councillor's website describes him as a "PR and press photographer" while his LinkedIn page boasts he runs "visual communications" for Ms McVey.

One £750 invoice released under freedom of information laws showed he did five hours’ work for two shoots including “edits, image processing and travel time”.

And finally... she said 'success isn't anything to do with luck'

This self-help clip - from long, long before Ms McVey's time as a minister - is much less serious. It's worth watching purely for its 1990s production values.

But it also, perhaps, reveals something about her view on life.

Staring down the camera in front of cheesy music and a montage that begins with John Major, she says: "We all have dreams, whether it be about success in our careers, improving our relationship with family and friends, or sorting out our finances.

"Plenty of people have [turned dreams into reality] so why shouldn't you?

"Success isn't anything to do with being lucky.

"It's knowing what you want, taking the necessary action and believing you can achieve anything you set your mind to.

"Welcome to the world of personal development."

According to an archived schedule, it aired on BBC mid-morning TV in February 1996. So it could, of course, have a tongue in its cheek.

The clip was billed as "Esther McVey's tips on How to Be Successful".

The 9 Tory housing ministers in 9 years

July 2019 - ? Esther McVey

July 2018 - July 2019 Kit Malthouse

Jan 2018 - July 2018 Dominic Raab

Jun 2017 - Jan 2018 Alok Sharma

July 2016 - June 2017 Gavin Barwell

July 2014 - July 2016 Brandon Lewis

Oct 2013 - July 2014 Kris Hopkins

Sept 2012 - Oct 2013 Mark Prisk

May 2010 - Sept 2012 Grant Shapps