Stella Creasy

Stella Creasy MP
Member of Parliament for Walthamstow
Incumbent
Assumed office 6 May 2010
Preceded by	Neil Gerrard
Majority	9,478 (23.1%)
Personal details
Born	Stella Judith Creasy (1977-01-01) 1 January 1977 Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, England
Nationality	British
Political party	Labour Co-operative
Alma mater	Magdalene College, Cambridge London School of Economics
Occupation	Psychologist Public relations Politician
Religion	Christian (Anglicanism)
Website	workingforwalthamstow.org.uk

Stella Judith Creasy^[1] (born in 1977)^[2] is a British Labour Co-operative politician who has been the MP for Walthamstow since 2010.^[3]

Early life and career

Stella Creasy was born in Sutton Coldfield. Her parents are Philip Creasy and Corinna (née Martin), both active Labour Party members; the former is an opera singer and the latter a teacher.^[4] She has aristocratic relations, q.v. Gort, Rotherwick, etc^[5][6] After spending the earlier years of her childhood in Manchester, the family moved to Colchester where she attended Colchester County High School for Girls, a grammar school.^[4]

After reading social and political sciences at Magdalene College, Cambridge, she was awarded a PhD in social psychology in 2006 entitled Understanding the lifeworld of social exclusion, while working as a parliamentary researcher.^[7] She was the recipient of the Richard Titmuss Award for her psychology papers. Creasy had failed the Eleven Plus, and had a second chance only because it coincided with her family's move south.^[4]

She undertook a career in public relations, and prior to her election to Parliament, was head of public affairs for the Scout Association.^[8]

Early political career

Creasy is a former deputy director of the think tank Involve, and has worked as a researcher and speech writer for Douglas Alexander, Charles Clarke, and Ross Cranston.^[9][10]

She is a former Waltham Forest councillor, having served as deputy mayor, chief whip and as mayor for four months.^[9] Creasy was also a member of the Young Fabians and served on their executive. In 2009 she co-wrote a pamphlet for the Young Fabians called The New Progressives^[11] which also featured articles by Rachel Reeves.

As an MP

Creasy was selected as the Labour Party candidate for Walthamstow. She was elected to parliament at the 2010 general election, succeeding Neil Gerrard who had retired.^[6] Ed Miliband appointed her Shadow Minister for Crime Prevention.

Payday loans

Creasy has been active in campaigning for increased regulation of payday loans companies.^[12] In an article in The Guardian, she stated that six companies controlled lending to 90% of the seven million Britons who lacked a bank account or credit card. She claimed that the average cost of credit to these customers at 272% APR has led to cross-party support for a cap as in the rest of Europe and there has been a fourfold increase in payday loans since the start of the recession. In a debate in Parliament she noted the lack of competition in the market and asked for Government support to cap loans which exploited the poor, and in some cases reached 4000%. APR.^[13]

In 2012, a Wonga employee used company equipment to make offensive personal attacks on Creasy.^[14] Wonga made an "immediate and unreserved apology" after the attacks, and Creasy also requested that the firm promote a constituency event to help struggling families.^[14] According to the Guardian, a Wonga computer was used to edit the company Wikipedia entry using several accounts.^[14]

Twitter

At the end of July 2013 on her Twitter timeline, in common with the feminist journalist Caroline Criado-Perez, Creasy received numerous rape threats and other misogynistic messages.^[15] The two women had first come into contact in connection with Criado-Perez's successful campaign for the Bank of England to feature a woman on the reverse of £10 bank notes.^[4]

Creasy wrote in an article published on 27 July: "Twitter tell me we should simply block those who 'offend us', as though a rape threat is matter of bad manners, not criminal behaviour."^[16] She also appeared on Newsnight on 30 July 2013 with Toby Young, the Conservative commentator, over the validity of addressing harassment on the social networking site.^[17][18] Young objects to Twitter's subsequent change in policy, the company: "shouldn't change its abuse policy in response to being brow-beaten by a politician", he has written.^[19]

Outside interests

Creasy is a long-term fan of indie band The Wedding Present and wrote an essay to accompany the re-release of their album Seamonsters in 2012.^[20]

References

External links

• Official website
• www.parliamentaryrecord.com
• Stella Creasy on Twitter
• Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Current session contributions in Parliament at Hansard
• Electoral history and profile at The Guardian
• Voting record at Public Whip
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou
• Profile at Westminster Parliamentary Record
• Profile at BBC News Democracy Live
• Articles authored at Journalisted