Linda Gilroy
Linda Gilroy | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament for Plymouth Sutton | |
| Assumed office 1 May 1997 | |
| Preceded by | Gary Streeter |
| Succeeded by | Oliver Colville |
| Majority | 4,109 (10.8%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 19 July 1949 Moffat, Scotland, UK |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Labour Co-operative |
| Spouse | Bernard Gilroy |
| Alma mater | University of Edinburgh, University of Strathclyde |
Linda Gilroy (born 19 July 1949) is a British Labour Co-operative politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Plymouth Sutton from 1997to 2010. She lost her seat in 2010 to the Conservative party candidate, Oliver Colvile.
Early Life
Born Linda Wade Jarvie and educated privately at the Maynard School in Exeter, Devon and then Stirling High School, before attending the University of Edinburgh where she was awarded a master's degree in history in 1971. She finished her education at the University of Strathclyde where she received a postgraduate diploma in secretarial studies in 1972.
She joined Age Concern Scotland in 1972, leaving in 1979 as a deputy director to join the Gas Consumer Council as a regional manager for the south west of England, in which capacity she founded the Devon and Cornwall energy efficiency centre, before she left in 1996.
Politics
She was elected as the secretary to the Plymouth Drake Constituency Labour Party in 1987-8, and was elected chairwoman of the Cornwall Labour Party for four years from 1990. She unsuccessfully contested Cornwall South East at the 1992 General Election where she finished in third place some 25,029 votes behind the sitting Conservative MP Robert Hicks. She also contested the European Parliament elections in 1994 when she was defeated at Devon East and Plymouth.
Gilroy was selected to stand for Labour in the 1997 election through an all-women shortlist [1]. This method of selection was subsequently declared illegal in January 1996 as it breached sex discrimination laws.[2] Despite the ruling she remained in place as the candidate for the following year's election.
She was elected to the House of Commons at the 1997 General Election for Plymouth Sutton with a majority of 9,440 and she has remained the MP there since. Her majority in the 2005 general election was 4,109. She made her maiden speech on 27 October 1997.[1]
In parliament she was a member of the European legislation select committee from 1997 until after the 2001 General Election when she was appointed as the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Minister of State at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Raynsford. She has been a member of the defence select committee since the 2005 General Election. She is a loyal MP: as at August 2006 she has rebelled in just seven of 2,300 votes made. Her attendance record is 80%.
Family
She has been married to Bernard Gilroy since 1987 and they have no children.
References
External links
- Linda Gilroy MP official site
- Labour Party - Linda Gilroy MP official biography
- Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Linda Gilroy MP
- TheyWorkForYou.com - Linda Gilroy MP
- The Public Whip - Linda Gilroy MP voting record
- BBC News - Linda Gilroy profile 10 February, 2005