- Maria Eagle
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Maria Eagle MP Shadow Secretary of State for Transport Incumbent Assumed office
8 October 2010Leader Ed Miliband Preceded by Sadiq Khan Shadow Solicitor General In office
11 May 2010 – 8 October 2010Leader Harriet Harman
Ed MilibandPreceded by Jonathan Djanogly Succeeded by Catherine McKinnell Member of Parliament
for Garston and Halewood
Liverpool Garston (1997–2010)Incumbent Assumed office
1 May 1997Preceded by Eddie Loyden Majority 16,877 (39.4%) Personal details Born 17 February 1961
Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire, EnglandNationality British Political party Labour Alma mater Pembroke College, Oxford Maria Eagle (born 17 February 1961) is a British solicitor and Labour Party politician. She is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Garston and Halewood, having been the MP for Liverpool Garston from 1997 to 2010.
Until 2010, she held the rank of Minister of State at both the Government Equalities Office and the Ministry of Justice. She was previously a Minister at the Department for Work and Pensions, the Department for Education and Skills, and the Northern Ireland Office. After the 2010 general election she became the Shadow Solicitor General.[1] On 8 October 2010, Eagle was announced as the Shadow Secretary of State for Transport in Ed Milliband's new shadow cabinet.
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Early life
Eagle was born in Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire,[2] the daughter of a printworker, she was educated at St Peter's Church of England School in Formby and Formby High School, before attending Pembroke College, Oxford, where she was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics in 1983.[3]
She then went to The College of Law, London, where she took her law finals in 1990.[citation needed] She was a solicitor in the voluntary sector from 1983,[citation needed] before she joined Brian Thompson & Partners in Liverpool as an articled clerk in 1990,[citation needed] before becoming a solicitor with Goldsmith Williams in Liverpool in 1992,[citation needed] and the senior solicitor at Steven Irving & Co also in Liverpool,[citation needed] where she remained until her election to Westminster. Before entering parliament, Eagle concentrated on housing issues whilst a solicitor.[citation needed]
Political life
Eagle joined the Labour Party in 1978,[citation needed] and was elected the secretary of the Crosby Constituency Labour Party (CLP) for two years in 1983,[4] and was also elected as the campaigns organiser with that CLP for three years in 1993.[4] She unsuccessfully contested the Crosby seat at the 1992 general election[4] where she was defeated by the sitting Conservative MP Malcolm Thornton by 14,806 votes.[citation needed]
For the following election Eagle was selected to stand for Labour in Garston through an all-women shortlist.[5][6] This method of selection was subsequently declared illegal in January 1996 as it breached sex discrimination laws.[6] Despite the ruling she remained in place as the candidate for the following year's election. She was elected to the House of Commons at the 1997 general election at Liverpool Garston[4] following the retirement of the veteran Labour MP Edward Loyden.[citation needed] Eagle held the seat with a majority of 18,417 and remained the MP until the constituency was abolished in 2010.[4] She made her maiden speech on 17 June 1997.[7]
Parliamentary career
In parliament Eagle was a member of the Public Accounts Committee following her initial election,[4] and in 1999 she was appointed the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Minister of State at the Department of Health, John Hutton.[4] She was promoted to the Tony Blair government following the 2001 general election as a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Work and Pensions,[4] and after the 2005 general election, she was the Minister for Children at the Department for Education and Skills,[4] until the May 2006 reshuffle moved her to Northern Ireland,[4] where she was Minister for more than one department at a time, including a period at the Department for Employment and Learning, on 29 June 2007 she moved to the Ministry of Justice. As part of the reshuffle of Gordon Brown's government in October 2008, she assumed additional responsibility for the Government Equalities Office.[4] In the June 2009 reshuffle she was promoted to Minister of State within the justice department.[4]
When she was first elected to parliament in 1997 she joined her twin sister, Angela Eagle, who had been elected at the previous parliament, to serve as one of the first set of twins in the House of Commons.[citation needed] Another set of sisters, Sylvia Heal and Ann Keen, had both been elected at the 1997 election,[citation needed] also, meaning that neither pair of sisters holds the record for being the first.
She has called for the ban on mink fur farming.[citation needed]
After Labour lost the 2010 general election served in interim Labour leader Harriet Harman's front bench as Shadow Solicitor General[8] and Shadow Justice Minister.[4] In October 2010 Eagle was elected to the Shadow Cabinet of new Labour Party leader Ed Miliband as Shadow Secretary of State for Transport in the Labour Party Shadow Cabinet election.[9]
Expenses controversy
Main article: United Kingdom Parliamentary expenses scandalOn 17 May 2009 The Daily Telegraph revealed that Eagle had claimed £3,500 for the refurbishment of the bathroom of her Liverpool home property, then switched her second home designation to a different property just four months later. Eagle voted in favour of legislation which would have kept MPs' expenses information secret.[10]
Personal life
Like her twin sister Angela, Maria Eagle is a very able chess player having played for England,[11] and a keen cricketer.[11]
References
- ^ Opposition Front Bench Labour Party
- ^ "The Biography of Angela Eagle". Angela Eagle. 2008. http://www.angelaeaglemp.co.uk/biography.php. Retrieved 17 October 2010.
- ^ http://books.google.co.uk/books?ei=KRW6TKDTIIPsObay6eoN&ct=result&id=KbiIAAAAMAAJ&dq=%22maria+eagle%22+dods&q=%22maria+eagle%22+#search_anchor
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Biography - Maria Eagle UK Parliament
- ^ http://www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/research/rp2001/rp01-075.pdf
- ^ a b Rentoul, John; Ward, Stephen; MacIntyre, Donald (9 January 1996). "Labour blow as all-women lists outlawed". The Independent (London). http://www.independent.co.uk/news/labour-blow-as-allwomen-lists-outlawed-1323046.html.
- ^ Hansard Debates for 17 June 1997 UK Parliament
- ^ Thornberry among new Labour front benchers ePolitix.com, 28 May 2010
- ^ Cooper tops shadow cabinet vote BBC News, 7 October 2010
- ^ Sawer, Patrick (17 May 2009). "Maria Eagle: bathroom renovated on expenses before flat was 'flipped'". Daily Telegraph (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/5336468/Maria-Eagle-bathroom-renovated-on-expenses-before-flat-was-flipped.html. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
- ^ a b Wynne-Jones, Ros (13 June 2009). "Yes, twinister: Meet political sister act.. Angela and Maria Eagle". Mirror.co.uk (London: MGN Limited). http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2009/06/13/yes-twinister-115875-21437014/. Retrieved 17 October 2010.
Publications
- High Time or High Tide for Labour Women? by Maria Eagle and Joni Lovenduski, 1998, Fabian Society Books, ISBN 0-7163-0585-2, OCLC 39267019
External links
- Maria Eagle MP official website
- Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
- Contributions in Parliament at Hansard 1803–2005
- Current session contributions in Parliament at Hansard
- Electoral history and profile at The Guardian
- Voting record at PublicWhip.org
- Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou.com
- Profile at Westminster Parliamentary Record
- Profile at BBC News Democracy Live
Parliament of the United Kingdom Preceded by
Edward LoydenMember of Parliament for Liverpool Garston
1997 – 2010Constituency abolished New constituency Member of Parliament for Garston and Halewood
2010 – presentIncumbent Political offices Preceded by
Margaret HodgeMinister for Children
2005–2006Succeeded by
Beverley HughesLabour Party shadow cabinet election, 2010 Leader: Ed Miliband Elected Douglas Alexander • Ed Balls • Hilary Benn • Andy Burnham • Liam Byrne • Yvette Cooper • Mary Creagh • John Denham • Angela Eagle • Maria Eagle • Caroline Flint • John Healey • Meg Hillier • Alan Johnson • Tessa Jowell • Sadiq Khan • Ivan Lewis • Ann McKechin • Jim MurphyNot elected Diane Abbott • Roberta Blackman-Woods • Ben Bradshaw • Kevin Brennan • Chris Bryant • Vernon Coaker • Wayne David • Jack Dromey • Robert Flello • Mike Gapes • Barry Gardiner • Helen Goodman • Peter Hain • David Hanson • Tom Harris • Huw Irranca-Davies • Kevan Jones • Eric Joyce • Barbara Keeley • David Lammy • Chris Leslie • Ian Lucas • Fiona Mactaggart • Pat McFadden • Alun Michael • Gareth Thomas • Emily Thornberry • Stephen Timms • Stephen Twigg • Shaun Woodward • Iain WrightOfficial Opposition Shadow Cabinet Leadership Shadow Cabinet Members Also attends meetings Categories:- 1961 births
- Living people
- Labour Party (UK) MPs
- Identical twins
- British female MPs
- UK MPs 1997–2001
- UK MPs 2001–2005
- UK MPs 2005–2010
- UK MPs 2010–
- Northern Ireland Government ministers
- People from Formby
- People from Bridlington
- Alumni of Pembroke College, Oxford
- Members of the United Kingdom Parliament for Liverpool constituencies
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