| Councillor Victoria Borwick AM | |
|---|---|
| Member of the London Assembly for the Conservative Party (London-wide) |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 1 May 2008 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | 26 April 1956 |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Residence | London |
Victoria Lorne Peta, Baroness Borwick (born Victoria Lorne Peta Poore, 26 April 1956) is a British businesswoman and politician. After holding senior management positions with P & O and DMG World Media, she became director of fundraising for the Conservative Party. She has been prominent in London politics as a councillor in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and has run for the Conservative nomination to be Mayor of London. In 2008 she was elected to the London Assembly.
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Victoria Borwick was born in London. On 20 March 1981 she married Jamie Borwick,[1] who succeeded to the Peerage as Baron Borwick in 2007; they have three sons and a daughter.[2] For most of her working life, Lady Borwick has been in events management. She was group director of the events arm of shipping company P & O.[3] She organised the Olympia Fine Art and Antiques Fairs as Director from 1990 until 2001,[4] and in 2002 was recruited to assist International Fine Art Expositions' New International Fine Art Fair in New York City.[5]
In September 1999, Victoria Borwick was picked by Steve Norris as his running mate and potential Deputy Mayor, during Norris' bid for the Conservative Party nomination in the race for Mayor of London.[6] When Norris became the candidate she was given a place on the Conservative Party list for the London Assembly; however she was not elected.
Lady Borwick was elected to Kensington and Chelsea London Borough Council in May 2002 in Abingdon ward.[7] She became Director of Income Generation and Marketing for the Conservative Party in October 2002, aiming to increase revenue from the party's supporter base.[8]
In the run-up to the 2004 Mayoral election, Victoria Borwick offered herself as a candidate.[9] She made the shortlist but was not in the final two in the selection, which went again to Steve Norris.[10] Despite her defeat she spoke at the 2003 Conservative Party conference in support of Norris, using her resemblance to television host Anne Robinson (including red hair) to direct the catchphrase "You are the weakest link, goodbye" to incumbent Mayor Ken Livingstone.[11]
Victoria Borwick stood again for the nomination for the 2008 race, declaring her candidacy in July 2006; contrasting her appearance with the nickname for the incumbent Mayor, she declared "London needs a redhead, not Red Ken".[12] However, the Conservatives found the overall standard of their candidates poor and postponed the planned open primaries.[13] In 2007 she published a pamphlet for the Centre for Policy Studies outlining "The Cost of Ken" which itemised the Greater London Authority budget.[3]
In the middle of the postponed Mayoral selection, Lady Borwick ran for the selection to be Assembly candidate for West Central, but lost to Kit Malthouse.[14] The Mayoral selection resumed in summer 2007 when Boris Johnson declared his candidacy; although Borwick made the shortlist of four[15] and ended up second in the ballot, she was far behind Johnson, receiving 1,869 votes to Johnson's 15,661.[16] She was appointed as a consultant to the Johnson campaign.[17]
Lady Borwick was placed second on the Conservative list for the London Assembly. The Conservatives won three seats and so Borwick was elected in the 2008 election.[18]
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