Clarke Chronicler's Politicians
Thursday 5 September 2019
2340 Philip Lee
Constituency : Bracknell 2010-19 ( Conservative ), 2019-?
Philip became the latest defector to the Liberal Democrats two days ago when he crossed the floor of the Commons during the Prime Minister's address.
Philip was born in Buckinghamshire. He was educated at Sir William Borlase's Grammar School and Oxford. He studied medicine at Imperial College, London and became a doctor in 1999. He worked in hospitals across the South of England and became a GP in 2004. He joined the Conservatives in 1992 and became a councillor in Beaconsfield in 2001. He stood in Blaenau Gwent in 2005 after which, David Cameron put him on the A list of suitable candidates. He was selected for Bracknell through an open primary, defeating Iain Dale and Rory Stewart. In 2013, he called for the exclusion of migrants with HIV and in 2017 referred to the health service as a Ponzi scheme. In 2016, he became a junior minister in the Ministry of Justice but resigned in 2018 over the handling of Brexit. He became chair of Right to Vote earlier this year.
Philip's defection caused one or two gay members to leave the party over his abstention on same sex marriage in 2014.
Thursday 15 August 2019
2339 Sarah Wollaston
Constituency : Totnes 2010-19 ( Conservative ), 2019 ( Change UK ), 2019-?
Sarah joined the Liberal Democrats in a much-anticipated switch following the disintegration of Change UK.
Sarah was born in Woking to an army officer. She was educated at a girls grammar school in Watford and Guys Hospital Medical School. She had a varied medical career in hospital paediatrics, police surgery, teaching and general practice. She joined the Tories in 2006 and put her name forward for Totnes as part of David Cameron's open primaries experiment. She defeated two more experienced politicians in the primary and won the seat comfortably in 2010. She declined to be appointed a PPS to a health minister. She became chair of the Health Select Committee in 2014. She took an independent stance on a number of issues. She initially supported Vote Leave in 2016 but switched sides after the promise of £350 billion for the NHS denouncing it as a lie. She joined Change UK in February 2019 but left after the European elections.
She is now 57.
Friday 2 August 2019
2338 Jane Dodds
Constituency : Brecon and Radnorshire 2019-?
Well I'm back again with a new Liberal Democrat MP to cover. Earlier today Jane was confirmed as the winner of the Brecon and Radnorshire by-election after the Tory incumbent was recalled due to expenses fraud. She was helped by Plaid Cymru and the Greens standing down in the Remain cause.
Jane is from Wrexham and speaks Welsh. She was educated at Cardiff University and became a social worker specialising in child protection. She was a councillor or Richmond-upon-Thames between 2006 and 2010. She stood in Montgomery in 2015, 2016 ( Welsh Assembly ) and 2017, coming second each time. She became leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats in 2017.
Sunday 21 July 2019
2337 Chuka Umunna
Constituency : Streatham 2010-19 ( Labour ) 2019 ( Change UK ), 2019-?
Chuka became the Liberal Democrats' newest MP in June this year having abandoned the Change UK project following the European elections.
Chuka is the son of a Nigerian businessman and an Anglo-Irish solicitor. He was educated at St Dunstan's College and the University of Manchester. He was a chorister at Southwark Carhedral. He became a solicitor specialising in employment law. He also dabbled in political journalism and joined the Compass group. He backed John Cruddas for the Labour leadership in 2007. He was elected for Streatham in 2010. Chuka supported the Blue Labour movement towards more conservative stands on international and social issues. He was a member of Labour Friends of Israel. He nominated Ed Miliband for the leadership and became his PPS. After a good performance on the Treasury Select Committee he was promoted to Shadow Business Secretary opposing Vince Cable who was a good friend in private. He announced his intention to run for the leadership after the 2015 election but withdrew three days later and backed Liz Kendall. He resigned from the shadow cabinet on Jeremy Corbyn's election. In 2017 he opposed the idea of a second referendum. By 2018 he had changed his mind and attended the launch of the People's Vote campaign. He then became chairman of a new centrist think tank Progressive Centre UK. In February 2019, he was the most prominent of seven Labour MPs who left the party to form Change UK .
Change UK believed that the Liberal Democrats were weak and ripe for a takeover. After the local election results, this analysis was proven hopelessly flawed and the European elections left their aspirations in shreds. Chuka and five other MPs left the party and eight days later he joined the Liberal Democrats admitting his previous strategy of setting up a new party was a fundamental misjudgement. He said he had massively underestimated the challenge of getting a new party off the ground.
Chuka was appointed the party's Treasury spokesman within days of his move.
He is now 40.
And that's it for now. Hopefully I'll have some more posts to write in the near future.
2336 Wera Hobhouse
Constituency : Bath 2017-?
Wera recaptured Bath from the Tories by a convincing majority. She was a last minute candidate after the previous choice stepped down.
Wera was born in Germany. She was educated at the University of Munster and the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris. She got married in 1989 and moved to Liverpool where she opened an art gallery. She also worked as a teacher and journalist. In 1999 they moved to Rochdale where they were both elected Conservative councillors in 2004. A year later they switched to the Liberal Democrats over a housing development proposal. She was re-elected twice and became leader of the much-reduced party group in 2011. She was naturalised as a British citizen in 2007. In 2010, she stood for Heywood and Middleton where she came a respectable third. In 2014 , she stood down in Rochdale and moved to Bath. In 2015 she stood in North East Somerset coming fourth. She is a Christian.
Wera became spokesperson for housing, communities and local government. In 2018 , she presented a private member's bill to amend the Sexual Offences Act to cover upskirting.
It was obstructed by a backbench Tory but the government took the issue on board in its Voyeurism ( Offences ) Act 2019. In 2018 she was criticised for buying a heavy duty printer but said it was necessary for her constituency letters.
Wera is a member of the governing council of the Electoral Reform Society. She is a strong opponent of Brexit and fracking.
Wera and her husband own Compotex, a company providing adhesives to the textile industry.
She is now 59.
Saturday 20 July 2019
2335 Layla Moran
Constituency : Oxford West and Abingdon 2017-?
Layla scored the most surprising Liberal Democrat victory of the election in recapturing Oxford West, a seat that had been lost in 2010 rather than 2015.
Layla is the daughter of a British diplomat father and a Palestinian mother. She was educated at Roedean and Imperial College, London. She became a maths and physics teacher at international schools. In 2013, she became academic manager for Oxford Study Courses. She was briefly arrested for slapping her partner at the Liberal Democrat conference in 2013 but no charges were brought. She stood for Battersea in 2010 and for the London Assembly in 2012.She stood for Oxford West in 2015 maintaining second place.
Layla became education spokesperson. She had a lot of support to stand for leader when Vince Cable stood down but eventually decided against it.
Layla is multi-lingual.
She is now 36.
Friday 19 July 2019
2334 Christine Jardine
Constituency : Edinburgh West 2017-?
Christine recovered Edinburgh West from the SDP, helped by the fact that the 2015 SNP victor had become mired in financial scandal soon after their election. There may also have been a sympathy vote as her husband died during the campaign. Her victory meant that Edinburgh West joined Cornwall North in electing four post-war Liberals , achieved in a much shorter time.
Christine was educated at Braidfield High School and Glasgow University. She became a journalist working for BBC Scotland and the Press Association in Scotland. She also taught journalism in higher education. She was a media adviser to the coalition government.
Christine started out as spokesperson for Scotland but earlier this year she moved to spokesman for work and pensions and also covers digital culture, media and sport. She was tipped as a future leader but isn't standing in the current contest.
She is now 58.
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