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Sharon Taylor, Baroness Taylor of Stevenage

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The Right Honourable
The Baroness Taylor of Stevenage
OBE
Official portrait, 2023
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing and Local Government
Incumbent
Assumed office
9 July 2024
Prime MinisterKeir Starmer
Preceded byThe Baroness Swinburne
Baroness-in-Waiting
Government Whip
Incumbent
Assumed office
9 July 2024
Prime MinisterKeir Starmer
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
Incumbent
Assumed office
28 October 2022
Life peerage
Leader of Stevenage Borough Council
In office
23 May 2006 – 31 December 2022
Preceded byBrian Hall
Succeeded byRichard Henry
Member of Hertfordshire County Council
for Bedwell
In office
27 March 2008 – 10 July 2024
Preceded byTanis Kent
Member of Stevenage Borough Council
for Symonds Green
In office
1 May 1997 – 2 May 2024
Personal details
Born
Sharon Jane Severn

(1956-01-19) 19 January 1956 (age 68)
Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England
Political partyLabour
Children3

Sharon Jane Taylor, Baroness Taylor of Stevenage, OBE (née Severn; born 19 January 1956), is a British politician and life peer who has served as a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing and Local Government and a Baroness-in-Waiting since July 2024.[1][2] She was a member of Stevenage Borough Council in Hertfordshire from 1997 to 2024, and served as the leader of the council from 2006 to 2022.

Early life

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Taylor was born in Welwyn Garden City on 19 January 1956 to David Severn and Joan Adele Severn (née Burkitt). She attended the Girls Grammar School in Stevenage and Hatfield Polytechnic, from which she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts honours degree.[3]

Career

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In 1997, Taylor became a local councillor for the Labour Party, representing her home area of Symonds Green.[4] She was leader of the council from 2006 to 2022.[3][5] Before this, she was Head of Executive Support at Hertfordshire Constabulary.[6] Before that, she worked for John Lewis and British Aerospace.[7]

In 2008, Taylor became a county councillor for Hertfordshire County Council. At the 2010, 2015 and 2017 general elections, she unsuccessfully contested the constituency of Stevenage. She was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to local government in the 2013 New Year Honours.[8][9]

In October 2022, it was announced that she would receive a life peerage, sitting in the House of Lords for the Labour Party.[10][8] On 28 October 2022, she was created Baroness Taylor of Stevenage, of Stevenage in the County of Hertfordshire.[11][12] She was introduced to the Lords on 31 October 2022.[13]

In February 2023, she accepted the role of patron of the Stevenage Community Trust. Taylor has been a supporter since the trust's inception in 1990. [14]

Personal life

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Taylor is divorced and has three children: a son and two daughters.[7][3]

References

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  1. ^ "Ministerial Appointments: July 2024". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2024-07-19.
  2. ^ "Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Lords Minister for Housing and Local Government) - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 2024-08-16.
  3. ^ a b c "Taylor of Stevenage". Who's Who. A & C Black. 2023. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U297845. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  4. ^ "Stevenage: Interview with new Baroness Taylor". The Comet. 3 November 2022. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  5. ^ "Cllr Sharon Taylor OBE – House of Lords appointment". Stevenage Borough Council. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  6. ^ "Sharon Taylor". Hertfordshire Labour Group. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  7. ^ a b Taylor, Sharon (15 February 2010). "Q&A: Sharon Taylor of Stevenage Borough Council". Great British Life (Interview). Interviewed by Great British Life. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  8. ^ a b "Sharon Taylor to enter House of Lords and step down as council leader". The Comet. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  9. ^ "No. 60367". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 28 December 2012. p. 14.
  10. ^ "Political Peerages 2022". gov.uk. 14 October 2022. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  11. ^ "No. 63864". The London Gazette. 2 November 2022. p. 20950.
  12. ^ "Baroness Taylor of Stevenage". MPs and Lords. UK Parliament. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  13. ^ "Latest civil service & public affairs moves – November 7". Civil Service World. 4 November 2022. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  14. ^ "Baroness Sharon Taylor - Patron". www.stevenagecommunitytrust.org. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
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