Lynne Featherstone

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Lynne Choona Featherstone (b. December 20, 1951), is a British politician, being the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Hornsey and Wood Green. She was born and brought up in North London and educated at the Highgate Primary School, South Hampstead High School and Oxford Polytechnic. She has lived in the Hornsey and Wood Green constituency for over thirty years. Her family's wealth is generated from a family business started by her parents - the Ryness chain of hardware and electrical shops in London. She lives in Highgate on the western side of the constituency.

Contents 1 London Borough of Haringey 2 Contest of Hornsey and Wood Green 1997-2005 3 Parliamentary career 4 Member of the London Assembly 2000-2005 5 Polls and Awards 6 External links

[edit] London Borough of Haringey

She was elected as a councillor in the London Borough of Haringey in 1998 for Muswell Hill ward. She and her two colleagues (June Andersen and Julia Glenn) were the first three Liberal Democrat councillors to be elected in the borough. She was leader of Liberal Democrat Group (and thereby Leader of the Opposition) on the council 1998-2002.

She stood down from Haringey Council at the May 2006 elections. She played a substantial role in the May 2006 election campaign in Haringey where Labour's majority was cut from 25 to 3, with 30 Labour councillors elected to 27 Liberal Democrats.

[edit] Contest of Hornsey and Wood Green 1997-2005

She contested the Hornsey and Wood Green seat at the 1997 General Election where she finished in third place some 25,998 votes behind the winner Barbara Roche. She again contested Hornsey and Wood Green at the 2001 General Election, moving into second place and reducing Roche's majority to 10,614. In one of the largest overturns of majorities at the 2005 General Election Featherstone ousted Roche with a majority of 2,395 votes.

[edit] Parliamentary career

Lynne Featherstone made her maiden speech in Parliament on May 24, 2005 [1]. She was appointed as a junior home affairs spokeswoman by Charles Kennedy in 2005, and to the environment audit select committee. She was co-chair of Chris Huhne's unsuccessful campaign to be leader of the Liberal Democrats following the resignation of Kennedy in January 2006. In March, following the election of Menzies Campbell as party leader, she was promoted to number two in the Liberal Democrat home affairs team and made London spokesperson. On 18 April 2006 UK Member of Parliament Lynne Featherstone submitted a Written Question to the Home Secretary on whether the Home Office had calculated the number of date rape incidences that had been connected with Progesterex. Home Office Minister Paul Goggins replied that the drug did not exist. [2] [3] In December 2006, she succeeded Susan Kramer as the Liberal Democrat Shadow International Development Secretary, and two months later was succeeded by Tom Brake as London spokesperson.

[edit] Member of the London Assembly 2000-2005

From 2000 until 2005 she was a member of the London Assembly, but stepped down in order to concentrate on her work as an MP. She was replaced as a member of the London Assembly by Geoff Pope. In 2005 a speech she made pointing out that local councillors receive an allowance which they could use to free up time to do council work by hiring domestic cleaners and babysitters was used against her by opponents. A transcript of this speech was reported in the Evening Standard newspaper.

[edit] Polls and Awards

Lynne Featherstone has quickly made a mark in parliament. Despite being well over 50, she is regarded as one of the most attractive MPs in Westminster. At the Liberal Democrat Conference in Brighton in 2006, she was named by the Sun as one of 5 'Lib Dem lovelies' [4], and in a 2007 Sky News poll she was named 7th most fanciable MP in the UK [5].

In 2006 she was shortlisted in the "Rising Stars" category of the Channel 4 political awards, but did not win. She has also been nominated for the prestigious Dods 'Woman Of The Year' award.

[edit] External links

• Official site
• Lynne Featherstone MP profile at the site of Liberal Democrats
• Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Lynne Featherstone MP
• TheyWorkForYou.com - Lynne Featherstone MP
• The Public Whip - Lynne Featherstone MP voting record
• MayorWatch Interview with Lynne Featherstone
• Article by Lynne Featherstone for Liberal Review
• Open Rights Group - Lynne Featherstone MP

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Barbara Roche	Member of Parliament for Hornsey and Wood Green 2005 – present	Incumbent