Jenny Tonge, Baroness Tonge: Difference between revisions
Reverted good faith edits by 88.111.72.212; If the blockade is illegal then how is it illegal to break it ? the paragraph later states israel did not agree with action. (TW) |
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The Liberal Democrat rank and file were disturbed however by the hounding out of Tonge by the Party leadership who responded to pressure by the Liberal Democrat Friends of Israel. There was a groundswell for the need for balance in the way the Party addressed the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories thus enabling the Liberal Democrat Friends of Palestine (LDFP) to be formed as an official Associated Organisation. The same groundswell of sympathy at the way Tonge had been treated similarly enabled the tabling a Motion on the Israel/Palestine issue at the National Conference in September 2007. This Motion condemned the Israeli methods of Occupation and called for the suspension of the EU/Israel Association Trade Agreement because of Israeli disregard for Article 2 of the Agreement, which calls on signatories to uphold international humanitarian law. The Motion was passed almost unanimously by the Conference. Tonge is a member of LDFP.{{Fact|date=February 2008}} |
The Liberal Democrat rank and file were disturbed however by the hounding out of Tonge by the Party leadership who responded to pressure by the Liberal Democrat Friends of Israel. There was a groundswell for the need for balance in the way the Party addressed the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories thus enabling the Liberal Democrat Friends of Palestine (LDFP) to be formed as an official Associated Organisation. The same groundswell of sympathy at the way Tonge had been treated similarly enabled the tabling a Motion on the Israel/Palestine issue at the National Conference in September 2007. This Motion condemned the Israeli methods of Occupation and called for the suspension of the EU/Israel Association Trade Agreement because of Israeli disregard for Article 2 of the Agreement, which calls on signatories to uphold international humanitarian law. The Motion was passed almost unanimously by the Conference. Tonge is a member of LDFP.{{Fact|date=February 2008}} |
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During November Tonge along with [[Lord Ahmed]], [[Clare Short]] and some other European MPs, broke |
During November Tonge along with [[Lord Ahmed]], [[Clare Short]] and some other European MPs, broke through the [[Blockade of the Gaza Strip|Blockade of Gaza]] (which is considered by some Humanitarian organisations such as [[Human Rights Watch]] to be in breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention) by boat and visited Gaza.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ldfp.eu/latestnews.html|title=Latest News|publisher=Lib Dem Friends of Palestine|accessdate=17 January 2009}}</ref> The European parliamentarians' trip as it was called ran from 6-11 November 2008, and consisted of 12 MPs coming from Ireland, Italy ,Switzerland and the UK. They were there at the invitation of the '[[European Campaign to lift the Siege of Gaza]]'.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ldfp.eu/Documents/08-11-21%20Jenny%20Tonge%20in%20Gaza.doc|title=POWERLESS IN GAZA|publisher=Lib Dem Friends of Palestine|accessdate=17 January 2009}}</ref> This was in contravention of the Israeli Blockade . |
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On the 12 January Tonge made asked a question in the Lords about investigations into war crimes in Gaza, she said <blockquote> |
On the 12 January Tonge made asked a question in the Lords about investigations into war crimes in Gaza, she said <blockquote> |
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Revision as of 22:29, 20 January 2009
Baroness Jennifer Louise Tonge | |
|---|---|
 Baroness Tonge in Liverpool | |
| Member of Parliament for Richmond Park | |
| In office 1997 – 5 May 2005 | |
| Preceded by | New Constituency |
| Succeeded by | Susan Kramer |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 19 February 1941 Walsall |
| Political party | Liberal Democrats |
Jennifer Louise Tonge, Baroness Tonge (born Jennifer Louise Smith 19 February 1941, Walsall), also known as Jenny Tonge, is a politician in the United Kingdom. She was Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament (MP) for Richmond Park in London from 1997 to 2005.
Early life
From 1957-9, she attended Dudley Girls High School in the West Midlands. She trained to be a doctor at University College Hospital, gaining an MB and BS in 1964. She is also MFFP (Membership of the Faculty of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care of the RCOG). From 1968-78, she worked in General Practice and Family Planning. From 1980-85, she worked as Senior Medical Officer in Women's Services in Ealing. She managed Community Health Services in Ealing from 1992-6.
Before her election to Parliament, Tonge was a councillor in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames 1981-90 and served as a committee chair for four years.
In the House of Commons
She was a Member of Parliament for Richmond Park from 1997-2005. While in the Commons she was Liberal Democrat spokesman on: International Development, from 1999-2003, and then the spokesperson for children, from 2003-2004.[1]
In 2002 she had made a notable contribution to the Creationism - Evolution debate in the UK by asking PM Tony Blair if he was "happy to allow the teaching of creationism alongside Darwin's theory of evolution in state schools" - to which he readily agreed, triggering a row over the issue.[2]
Tonge lost her daughter in an electrical accident in 2004 [3] and retired from the House of Commons at the 2005 general election to help look after her two young grandchildren. Her replacement as Lib Dem candidate was Susan Kramer, who held the seat.
House of Lords
As of 8 January 2009 she has been the Lib Dem Spokesperson for Health. She has spoken in 50 debates in last year making her an above averagely active peer. [1] She is very strongly pro stem cell reaserch and has stated so in the Lords. [4]
Critic of Israel's Occupation Policies
Following her election to Parliament in 1997, Tonge served as Liberal Democrat spokeswoman on international development but was sacked by Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy in January 2004 after saying she could understand why a Palestinian would become a suicide bomber and also that she would consider becoming one were she a Palestinian. Tonge refused to apologise, stating that she did not condone the bombers.[5]
Tonge has been and remains a vocal critic of alleged Israeli disregard for international, UN, Quartet and other agreements calling on Israel to end its Occupation, to uphold international humanitarian law and to disband the settlements, as called for by these agreements. She has been frequently criticised as being heavily biased.[6]
In September 2006, she claimed in a speech at the Liberal Democrat conference (aired on the BBC Radio 4 programme "Today") that the "pro-Israeli lobby has got its financial grips on the Western World" and on "our party".[citation needed] She was accused of reviving the language of classic anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, and heavily criticised by Norman Lamb MP, spokesman for Liberal Democrat leader Menzies Campbell. Campbell later wrote a letter to Tonge, which was quoted in a Board of Deputies press release, in which he disassociated himself and the party from what he called "her deeply offensive remarks and what I believe to be their clear anti-Semitic connotations."[7] Later in Edinburgh Tonge clarified what she had said by stating that there was '"extensive" research in the United States supporting her contention'.[8] Tonge has continued to criticize the "oppression" of the Palestinians at the hands of the Israelis and insists that her claim that the "lobby" has its grips on the western world simply constitutes "criticism".[citation needed]
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The Liberal Democrat rank and file were disturbed however by the hounding out of Tonge by the Party leadership who responded to pressure by the Liberal Democrat Friends of Israel. There was a groundswell for the need for balance in the way the Party addressed the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories thus enabling the Liberal Democrat Friends of Palestine (LDFP) to be formed as an official Associated Organisation. The same groundswell of sympathy at the way Tonge had been treated similarly enabled the tabling a Motion on the Israel/Palestine issue at the National Conference in September 2007. This Motion condemned the Israeli methods of Occupation and called for the suspension of the EU/Israel Association Trade Agreement because of Israeli disregard for Article 2 of the Agreement, which calls on signatories to uphold international humanitarian law. The Motion was passed almost unanimously by the Conference. Tonge is a member of LDFP.[citation needed]
During November Tonge along with Lord Ahmed, Clare Short and some other European MPs, broke through the Blockade of Gaza (which is considered by some Humanitarian organisations such as Human Rights Watch to be in breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention) by boat and visited Gaza.[9] The European parliamentarians' trip as it was called ran from 6-11 November 2008, and consisted of 12 MPs coming from Ireland, Italy ,Switzerland and the UK. They were there at the invitation of the 'European Campaign to lift the Siege of Gaza'.[10] This was in contravention of the Israeli Blockade .
On the 12 January Tonge made asked a question in the Lords about investigations into war crimes in Gaza, she said
"Is the Minister aware that Mrs Pillay, the new UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, has spoken of war crimes being committed in Gaza? Will the Government, therefore, show leadership and call for the immediate—and I mean immediate—establishment by theUnited Nations Security Council of an independent fact-finding commission to Palestine to investigate all breaches of international law?"[11]
On the edition of Question Time shown on 15 January 2009 she got into a debate, about the recent Israel-Gaza conflict, with Stephen Pollard, the editor of the Jewish Chronicle and was accused of blatant fabrication, claiming that Israeli helicopters patrolled Gaza shooting civilians.[12]
Personal life
She met her future husband, Dr Keith Tonge, while dissecting a corpse in 1959[13] and married him on May 23 1964 in Wednesbury. He is a consultant neuroradiologist at St Thomas' Hospital in Lambeth.
They have three grown up children and three grandchildren.[13]
On 13 May 2005, it was announced that she would be created a life peer, and on 23 June she was created Baroness Tonge, of Kew in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames.
Notes
- ^ a b "Baroness Tonge, former MP". theyworkforyou.com. Retrieved 18 January 2009.
- ^ "PM sparks row over creationism". ePolitix.com. 14 March 2002. Retrieved 16 January 2009.
- ^ "Coroner verdict on MP's daughter". BBC. 12 October, 2004. Retrieved 16 January 2009.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "29 Oct 2008 : Column 1605". publications.parliament.uk. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
- ^ "Tonge sacked over suicide comment". BBC. 23 January, 2004. Retrieved 16 January 2009.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Living in a Bubble: The BBC’s very own Mideast foreign policy by Tom Gross
- ^ BBC News October 13 2006, Rebuke for Peer's Israel remarks, retrieved 19-12-2008
- ^ "British baroness chastised for 'pro-Israel lobby' comments". Retrieved 18 January 2009.
- ^ "Latest News". Lib Dem Friends of Palestine. Retrieved 17 January 2009.
- ^ "POWERLESS IN GAZA". Lib Dem Friends of Palestine. Retrieved 17 January 2009.
- ^ "House of Lords debates Monday, 12 January 2009". theyworkforyou.com. 12 January 2009. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
- ^ "Panellists clash over Gaza conflict". BBC. 16 January 2009. Retrieved 16 January 2009.
- ^ a b "Profile: Jenny Tonge". BBC. 23 January, 2004. Retrieved 16 January 2009.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)
External links
- 1941 births
- Living people
- Liberal Democrat MPs (UK)
- Alumni of University College London
- Members of the United Kingdom Parliament for English constituencies
- Female life peers
- Councillors in Richmond upon Thames
- British female MPs
- People from Dudley
- People from Walsall
- Life peers
- UK MPs 1997-2001
- UK MPs 2001-2005