Helen Olivia Bicknell Whately[2] (née Lightwood;[3] born 23 June 1976) is a British Conservative Party politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Faversham and Mid Kent since 2015 and Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions since November 2024.

Whately was appointed Deputy Chair of the Conservative Party by Theresa May in 2019, and was retained in the post by new Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

In the 2021 Cabinet reshuffle, Johnson moved her to the post of Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, serving under Chancellor Rishi Sunak.

[7] In 2008, British society magazine Tatler selected Whately as one of ten young rising stars of the Conservative Party and tipped her as a future health secretary.

[13][15] Whately was the Conservative candidate for Kingston and Surbiton at the 2010 general election, coming second with 36.5% of the vote behind the incumbent Liberal Democrat MP Ed Davey.

[24] In December 2015, Whately voted in support of Prime Minister David Cameron's plans to carry out airstrikes against ISIL targets in Syria.

[26] In July 2016, Whately was appointed as the Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the International Trade Minister Greg Hands.

[27][28][29] In February 2017, she voted to support the Government's motion for the invoking of Article 50 to formally start the process of the UK's withdrawal from the EU.

[34][35][36] In July 2017, Whately was criticised for accepting several thousand pounds' worth of hospitality from the Saudi Arabian government before going on to defend its record in a parliamentary debate.

Whately had urged parliamentarians to "appreciate that the government of Saudi Arabia is taking to steps to improve their actions on human rights", but was criticised by an Opposition Labour Party MP as a "serial apologist for the régime".

[52] Upon Kemi Badenoch's victory in the 2024 Conservative Leadership election Whately was appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.

[66][67][68] As a horse rider she was a member of the British Junior Eventing Squad, and at university she was captain of the riding team and won two half-blues.