Gisela Stuart
Encyclopedia
Gisela Gschaider Stuart (born 26 November 1955) is a German born, British
Labour Party
politician
, who has been the Member of Parliament
(MP) for Birmingham Edgbaston since 1997
.
, Bavaria
, West Germany
, was raised in her parents' Roman Catholic faith. She attended the Realschule Vilsbiburg on Amselstraße in Vilsbiburg
. She moved to Britain in 1974, to improve her English and relocated to the Midlands
. She graduated from the London School of Economics
with an LLB in 1993, having studied through the University of London External System. She also studied Business Studies at Manchester Polytechnic
. From 1992-7, she was a law lecturer at Worcester College of Technology
and researched pensions law at the University of Birmingham
.
In 1994 Stuart contested the Worcester and South Warwickshire
seat at the European Elections.
. This method of selection was subsequently declared illegal in January 1996 as it breached sex discrimination laws, Despite the ruling she remained in place as the candidate for the 1997 general election
. She won the Birmingham Edgbaston seat, which had been held by the Conservative Party
for over seventy years. Her victory in the Labour general election landslide of 1 May 1997 was the first televised seat to change hands on election night (Crosby
was actually the first but it was not covered on TV).
Stuart was a junior health minister until 2001. In that election year she once accompanied Tony Blair
on a televised visit to a Birmingham hospital, where Blair was confronted by Sharron Storer, a Birmingham resident whose partner was a cancer patient at the hospital. Storer related how the cancer unit could not find a bed for her partner, and demanded in front of the cameras that the government improve health services; some commentators speculated that Blair's embarrassment at this incident during the 2001 election campaign
led to Stuart being sacked from the government. She sat on the European Convention's 13-strong presidium or steering group, but after the draft constitution was published, she stated that it had been drawn up by a "self-selected group of the European political elite" determined to deepen European integration. She was a member of the UK Parliament's Foreign Affairs Select Committee from 2001–2010 and now serves on the Defence Select Committee
She successfully held Birmingham Edgbaston for Labour at the 2005 General Election but her majority was exactly halved in both percentage and numerical terms. She retained the seat at the 2010 general election.
She is a signatory of the Henry Jackson Society
principles, which promote the spread of liberal democracy
across the world and the maintenance of a strong military with global expeditionary reach.
She is editor of the weekly political magazine The House Magazine
.
in that year's US presidential election, arguing "you know where you stand with George and, in today's world, that's much better than rudderless leaders who drift with the prevailing wind." She wrote that a victory for Democratic Party challenger, John Kerry
, would prompt "victory celebrations among those who want to destroy liberal democracies. More terrorists and suicide bombers would step forward to become martyrs in their quest to destroy the West.".
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
, who has been the Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for Birmingham Edgbaston since 1997
United Kingdom general election, 1997
The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...
.
Early life
Stuart, who was born as Gisela Gschaider in VeldenVelden
Velden may refer to several places:*Velden am Wörther See, a municipality in Austria on the Wörthersee*Velden, Limburg, a village in the municipality of Venlo, Netherlands*Velden , a town in the district of Nürnberger Land in Bavaria, Germany...
, Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
, West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
, was raised in her parents' Roman Catholic faith. She attended the Realschule Vilsbiburg on Amselstraße in Vilsbiburg
Vilsbiburg
Vilsbiburg is a town on the river Große Vils, 18 km southeast of Landshut, in the district of Landshut, in Bavaria, Germany. Vilsbiburg has 11,000 inhabitants.- Geography :...
. She moved to Britain in 1974, to improve her English and relocated to the Midlands
English Midlands
The Midlands, or the English Midlands, is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...
. She graduated from the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
with an LLB in 1993, having studied through the University of London External System. She also studied Business Studies at Manchester Polytechnic
Manchester Metropolitan University
Manchester Metropolitan University is a university in North West England. Its headquarters and central campus is in the city of Manchester, but there are outlying facilities in the county of Cheshire. It is the third largest university in the United Kingdom in terms of student numbers, behind the...
. From 1992-7, she was a law lecturer at Worcester College of Technology
Worcester College of Technology
Worcester College of Technology is a Further Education College situated in the city of Worcester in the United Kingdom. It also has a Construction Centre located in the nearby town of Malvern.- History :...
and researched pensions law at the University of Birmingham
University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College . Birmingham was the first Redbrick university to gain a charter and thus...
.
In 1994 Stuart contested the Worcester and South Warwickshire
Worcestershire and South Warwickshire (European Parliament constituency)
Prior to its uniform adoption of proportional representation in 1999, the United Kingdom used first-past-the-post for the European elections in England, Scotland and Wales...
seat at the European Elections.
Parliamentary career
Stuart was selected to stand for election for Labour through an all-women shortlistAll-women shortlists
The use of all-women shortlists is the political practice intended to increase the proportion of female Members of Parliament in the United Kingdom by allowing only women to stand in particular constituencies for a particular political party. Though the practice is available to all parties, only...
. This method of selection was subsequently declared illegal in January 1996 as it breached sex discrimination laws, Despite the ruling she remained in place as the candidate for the 1997 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1997
The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...
. She won the Birmingham Edgbaston seat, which had been held by the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
for over seventy years. Her victory in the Labour general election landslide of 1 May 1997 was the first televised seat to change hands on election night (Crosby
Crosby (UK Parliament constituency)
Crosby was a constituency in Merseyside, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1950 until 2010. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-History:...
was actually the first but it was not covered on TV).
Stuart was a junior health minister until 2001. In that election year she once accompanied Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
on a televised visit to a Birmingham hospital, where Blair was confronted by Sharron Storer, a Birmingham resident whose partner was a cancer patient at the hospital. Storer related how the cancer unit could not find a bed for her partner, and demanded in front of the cameras that the government improve health services; some commentators speculated that Blair's embarrassment at this incident during the 2001 election campaign
United Kingdom general election, 2001
The United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats...
led to Stuart being sacked from the government. She sat on the European Convention's 13-strong presidium or steering group, but after the draft constitution was published, she stated that it had been drawn up by a "self-selected group of the European political elite" determined to deepen European integration. She was a member of the UK Parliament's Foreign Affairs Select Committee from 2001–2010 and now serves on the Defence Select Committee
She successfully held Birmingham Edgbaston for Labour at the 2005 General Election but her majority was exactly halved in both percentage and numerical terms. She retained the seat at the 2010 general election.
She is a signatory of the Henry Jackson Society
Henry Jackson Society
The Henry Jackson Society is a non-partisan association. The society's goals include the promotion of "democratic geopolitics". The society is named after after Henry M. Jackson, the late Democratic Senator from Washington State...
principles, which promote the spread of liberal democracy
Liberal democracy
Liberal democracy, also known as constitutional democracy, is a common form of representative democracy. According to the principles of liberal democracy, elections should be free and fair, and the political process should be competitive...
across the world and the maintenance of a strong military with global expeditionary reach.
She is editor of the weekly political magazine The House Magazine
The House Magazine
The House Magazine is a weekly British political magazine relating to the British House of Commons. It is managed by a cross-party editorial team of MPs and overseen by a panel of senior parliamentarians....
.
Support for George W. Bush's re-election
In October 2004 she became the only Labour MP to openly support the re-election of George W. BushGeorge W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
in that year's US presidential election, arguing "you know where you stand with George and, in today's world, that's much better than rudderless leaders who drift with the prevailing wind." She wrote that a victory for Democratic Party challenger, John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
, would prompt "victory celebrations among those who want to destroy liberal democracies. More terrorists and suicide bombers would step forward to become martyrs in their quest to destroy the West.".
Voting record
How Stuart voted on key issues since 2001 :- Has never voted on a transparent Parliament
- Voted for introducing a smoking ban
- Voted for introducing ID cards
- Voted for introducing foundation hospitals
- Voted for introducing student top-up fees
- Voted for Labour's anti-terrorism laws
- Voted for the Iraq war
- Voted against investigating the Iraq war
- Voted for replacing Trident
- Voted for the hunting ban
- Voted for equal gay rights