Lynda Waltho

Lynda Ellen Waltho (born 22 May 1960) is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Stourbridge from 2005 to 2010 elected after sitting Labour MP Debra Shipley had stepped down due to ill-health just days before the 2005 election was called. In the 2010 election she lost to Conservative Margot James.

Waltho was born in London and educated at Keele University. She is married with two children and her husband Steve is a Labour member of Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council. She worked as principal advisor to Neena Gill MEP. She is a member of the GMB (trade union). Her special interests include education, childcare and the economy.

Waltho won the seat with a slim majority of just 407 over Conservative candidate, Diana Coad, reduced from her predecessor's 3812 at the 2001 general election. In November 2005, she was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to David Hanson MP, Minister of State in the Northern Ireland Office and later to the Ministry of Justice. This made her the first Labour member first elected in 2005 to hold any government role. She became a member of the Children, Schools and Skills Select Committee. In September 2008 Lynda joined the Government as Assistant Regional Minister for the West Midlands.

She served as an important member of several All Party Parliamentary Groups:

• Chairman: Alcohol Misuse
• Chairman: Animal Welfare
• Chairman: Libraries, Literacy and Information Management
• Vice Chairman: Heart Disease
• Treasurer: Waterways Group.

External links

• Lynda Waltho - Official website