Lucy Powell

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Lucy Powell MP
Lucy Powell and Eddie Izzard.
Member of Parliament
for Manchester Central
Incumbent
Assumed office
15 November 2012
Preceded by Tony Lloyd
Majority 9,936 (59.7%)
Personal details
Born (1974-10-10) 10 October 1974
Moss Side, Manchester, England
Nationality British
Political party Labour Co-operative
Children 2 children
Alma mater Somerville College, Oxford
King's College London
Website lucypowell.org.uk

Lucy Maria Powell (born 10 October 1974)[1] is a British Labour and Co-operative politician and Member of Parliament for Manchester Central in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Powell is the first woman Labour MP in Manchester[2] and the second woman to be elected from Manchester, after Florence Horsbrugh.[3] She was elected at the Manchester Central by-election in November 2012.

Early life

Powell was born in Moss Side. She attended the comprehensive school, Parrs Wood High School. She studied chemistry at Somerville College, Oxford and King's College London (BSc).

Powell joined the Labour Party at the age of 15.

Political career

Powell started her career working as a parliamentary assistant for Beverley Hughes MP after having worked at the Labour Party Headquarters in Millbank Tower during the 1997 general election campaign.[4]

She joined the pro-Euro and pro-EU Treaty pressure group Britain in Europe (BiE) originally in a public relations role and later as head of regional campaigning.[5] She later replaced Simon Buckby as Campaign Director of BiE and in this capacity she worked with Chris Patten, Neil Kinnock, Nick Clegg and Danny Alexander.[6]

After Britain in Europe was wound down in June 2005 because of the referendum "No" votes in France and the Netherlands, she worked for the non-departmental public body or quango NESTA (the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) inititally in a public affairs role and later to establish and manage the Manchester Innovation Fund project.

Labour candidate for Manchester Withington (2010)

She was selected as Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Manchester Withington in April 2007 to contest the seat against the incumbent Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament, John Leech for the 2010 general election. She came second.

From May 2010 to September 2010 Powell managed Ed Miliband's successful campaign for the Labour Party leadership.[7]

She then served as Ed Miliband's acting and later deputy chief of staff from September 2010 to April 2012.

She was selected by the local Constituency Labour Party (CLP) in April 2012 for the 15 November 2012 Manchester Central by-election. She was chosen (with 400 party members eligible to vote) from a shortlist of four candidates which also included local councillor Mike Amesbury; local councillor Rosa Battle and London councillor Patrick Vernon. The by-election was triggered by Tony Lloyd who stepped down as its MP to contest the England and Wales Police and Crime Commissioner elections, 2012 for Greater Manchester Police area.

Member of Parliament (2012-present)

Powell was elected at the Manchester Central by-election held in November 2012 following the resignation of her predecessor Tony Lloyd to enable him to stand for election as Police and Crime Commissioner for Greater Manchester. Powell won the election with a majority of 9,936 votes[8] and is Manchester's first female Labour MP.[9] The voter turnout of 18.2% is believed to be the lowest ever in a by-election since World War II.[10]

A month after her election, Powell announced she was pregnant with her second child. On 27 May 2013 she gave birth to a boy, Tom James Williamson.[11] In December, The Sun published a news story featuring a list of the "Top 10 Laziest MPs" based on voting records, without acknowledging that Powell had been on maternity leave.[12] The article also failed to note that Powell had been paired.[12] The Sun removed its article from its website and later printed an apology to Powell in its newspaper.[13]

Political views

In a July 2012 interview, she stated: I've always said it's never been economically right for Britain to be part of the Euro, but I've always argued that Britain should be at the centre of Europe rather than on its fringes.[14]

Personal life

She is married to James Williamson, an emergency medicine doctor, and has three children - a step-son, daughter and a son who was born on 27th May 2013.[14]

She supports Manchester City.[15]

References

  1. ↑ "The Next Generation: Parliamentary Candidates to Watch" (PDF). Insight Public Affairs. 2009. Retrieved 22 November 2012. 
  2. ↑ Labour's Lucy Powell wins Manchester Central election
  3. ↑ http://www.manchesterconfidential.co.uk/News/The-Big-Interview-Lucy-Powell
  4. ↑ http://labourlist.org/2009/07/ppc-profile-lucy-powell/
  5. ↑ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-335464/EU-referendum-question-revealed.html
  6. ↑ Patrick Wintour, chief political correspondent (2004-09-24). "Kinnock joins Europe campaign | Politics". The Guardian. Retrieved 2012-11-16. 
  7. ↑ "About Lucy | Lucy Powell for Manchester Central". Lucypowell.org.uk. Retrieved 2012-11-16. 
  8. ↑ "Labour's Lucy Powell elected MP for Manchester Central | Granada - ITV News". Itv.com. 2012-11-12. Retrieved 2012-11-16. 
  9. ↑ "Lucy Powell wins Manchester Central by-election for Labour - but with lowest turnout since WWII | Manchester Evening News". menmedia.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-11-16. 
  10. ↑ Arif Ansari (1970-01-01). "BBC News - Labour's Lucy Powell wins Manchester Central election". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-11-16. 
  11. ↑ "Manchester Central MP Lucy Powell celebrates birth of her second child". Manchester Evening News. 2013-05-27. Retrieved 2013-12-31. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Adam Withnall (2013-12-15). "Sun apologises after branding pregnant MP Lucy Powell 'lazy'". The Independent. Retrieved 2012-12-31. 
  13. ↑ "The Sun Apologizes For Calling Woman On Maternity Leave 'Lazy'". Huffington Post. 2013-12-18. Retrieved 2013-12-31. 
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Interview: 'Hackgate hero' Tom Watson & Labour’s Lucy Powell on the Manchester Central by-election campaign trail". Mancunian Matters. 2012-07-07. Retrieved 2012-11-16. 
  15. ↑ Powell, Lucy (2008-02-07). "About Lucy Powell | Politics | guardian.co.uk". Guardian. Retrieved 2012-11-16. 

External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Tony Lloyd		 Member of Parliament for Manchester Central
2012–present 		Incumbent
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