Iain Duncan Smith

The Right Honourable Sir Iain Duncan Smith MP
Official portrait, 2020
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
In office 12 May 2010 – 18 March 2016
Prime Minister	David Cameron
Preceded by	Yvette Cooper
Succeeded by	Stephen Crabb
Leader of the Opposition
In office 13 September 2001 – 6 November 2003
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Preceded by	William Hague
Succeeded by	Michael Howard
Leader of the Conservative Party
In office 13 September 2001 – 6 November 2003
Preceded by	William Hague
Succeeded by	Michael Howard
Chair of the Social Justice Policy Group
Incumbent
Assumed office 12 September 2016
Preceded by	Rory Brooks
In office 7 December 2005 – 12 May 2010
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Mark Florman
Member of Parliament for Chingford and Woodford Green Chingford (1992–1997)
Incumbent
Assumed office 9 April 1992
Preceded by	Norman Tebbit
Majority	4,758 (10.8%)
Shadow Cabinet portfolios
1997–1999	Shadow Secretary of State for Social Security
1999–2001	Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
Personal details
Born	George Ian Duncan Smith (1954-04-09) 9 April 1954 (age 70) Edinburgh, Scotland
Political party	Conservative
Spouse	Betsy Fremantle ​ (m. 1982)​
Children	4
Residence(s)	Swanbourne, Buckinghamshire, England
Alma mater	Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
Nickname	IDS
Military service
Branch/service	British Army
Years of service	1975–1981
Rank	Lieutenant
Unit	Scots Guards
Battles/wars	The Troubles
Iain Duncan Smith's voice Duncan Smith outlines the government's plans for welfare reform as Work and Pensions Secretary Recorded 1 June 2010

Sir George Iain Duncan Smith (born 9 April 1954), often referred to by his initials IDS, is a British politician who was Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from 2001 to 2003. He was Secretary of State for Work and Pensions from 2010 to 2016. He has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Chingford and Woodford Green, formerly Chingford, since 1992.

The son of W. G. G. Duncan Smith, a Royal Air Force flying ace, Duncan Smith was born in Edinburgh and raised in Solihull. After education at the HMS Conway training school and Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, he served in the Scots Guards from 1975 to 1981, seeing tours in Northern Ireland and Rhodesia. He joined the Conservative Party in 1981. After unsuccessfully contesting Bradford West in 1987, he was elected to Parliament at the 1992 general election. He was a backbencher during the premiership of John Major. During the leadership of William Hague he was Shadow Secretary of State for Social Security between 1997 and 1998, and Shadow Secretary of State for Defence from 1998 to 2001.^[1]

Following the resignation of William Hague, Duncan Smith won the 2001 Conservative Party leadership election, partly owing to the support of Margaret Thatcher for his Eurosceptic beliefs. However, many Conservative MPs came to consider him incapable of winning the next general election and, in 2003, he lost a vote of confidence in his leadership; he immediately resigned and was succeeded by Michael Howard. Returning to the backbenches, Duncan Smith founded the Centre for Social Justice, a centre-right think tank independent of the Conservative Party, and became chair of its Social Justice Policy Group.

In May 2010, new Prime Minister David Cameron appointed him to serve in the cabinet as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. During his tenure, he was responsible for seeing through changes to the welfare state. He resigned from the cabinet in March 2016, in opposition to Chancellor George Osborne's proposed cuts to disability benefits, returning to the backbenches, where he remains.