| Geraldine Smith | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament for Morecambe and Lunesdale |
|
| In office 1 May 1997 – 6 May 2010 |
|
| Preceded by | Mark Lennox-Boyd |
| Succeeded by | David Morris |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 29 August 1961 Belfast |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Labour |
Maria Geraldine Smith (born 29 August 1961) is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Morecambe and Lunesdale from 1997 to 2010.
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She is former pupil of Morecambe High School on Dallam Avenue and Lancaster and Morecambe College on Morecambe Road in Lancaster, where she gained a Diploma in Business Studies. Her first campaign was supported by the Communication Workers Union, for whom she was formerly an officer. Prior to becoming an MP she was a Lancaster City Councillor and worked for the Royal Mail from 1980-97.
After the Labour Party's poor showing in the local government elections of 4 May 2006 she was linked to a campaign [1] on a timetable for Tony Blair's departure as Prime Minister and also expressed a preference for Gordon Brown to succeed him. She also found "outrageous" the survival of John Prescott as a government minister following the reshuffle.[2]. For this criticism of the Deputy Prime Minister's behavior, as well as for her defence of the Chinese Cockle Pickers rights in her Morecambe constituency, Richard Littlejohn described her as a "heroic MP" on the BBC's Question Time programme on 4 May 2006. She has said that she believes William Hague will be the next Conservative Prime Minister rather than David Cameron [3]. In August 2009 she criticised the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 which conferred legal parenthood on a biological mother's female partner, saying "To have a birth certificate with two mothers and no father is just madness."[4] Smith is a member of the All Party Parliamentary Flag Group [1]
On Wednesday 17 September 2008, Geraldine Smith was interviewed by Tony Livesey on BBC Radio Lancashire's Breakfast Show, when she attacked the so-called "Lancashire Mafia" for their plot against Prime Minister Gordon Brown and accused those behind the scenes of being cowards.
On 21st February 2010, the Daily Mail alleged that Ms Smith partook in an expenses funded 'drinking contest' with fellow Labour MP Bill Etherington whilst in Paris.[2]
Geraldine Smith lost her seat to the Conservative David Morris in the general election in May 2010.
Geraldine Smith is the Patron of the Morecambe Bay National Osteoporosis Society Support Group.
Geraldine Smith is the President of 455 (Morecambe and Heysham) Squadron Air Training Corps a youth organisation sponsored by the Royal Air Force for local youth between the ages of 13 and 18 giving them opportunities to learn new skills and support their local community.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Mark Lennox-Boyd |
Member of Parliament for Morecambe and Lunesdale 1997 - 2010 |
Succeeded by David Morris |