Laura Moffatt
Encyclopedia
Laura Jean Moffatt is a British
Labour Party
politician who was the Member of Parliament
(MP) for Crawley
from 1997
until 2010.
in 1954, she was educated at Hazelwick School
in Crawley
, West Sussex
before attending the Crawley College of Technology (now renamed Central Sussex College
).
From 1975 until her election to the House of Commons in 1997, she worked as a state registered nurse
at Crawley Hospital
. She joined the Labour Party in 1979 and was elected to Crawley Borough Council in 1984, remaining as a councillor until 1997 and serving as the town's mayor in 1990.
, but lost out to the sitting Conservative
MP Nicholas Soames
. For the following election she was again selected as the Labour candidate, though this time through an all-women shortlist
. 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 following year's election.
At the 2005 general election
she was elected to the Commons on the smallest majority in the country with 37 votes, with her share of the vote falling by over 10 percent from the 2001 general election result. After an epic count, and numerous re-counts, Moffatt broke down in tears after being returned to Parliament.
In the Commons, Moffatt has served variously as a Parliamentary Private Secretary
(PPS) to the Lord Chancellor
Derry Irvine
(2001–03); the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs
Charles Falconer
(2003–05); the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
David Blunkett
(2005); the Minister of State
at the Department for Education and Skills Jacqui Smith
(2005–06), and since 2006 has served as the PPS to Alan Johnson
initially as Secretary of State for Education and Skills
and since 2007 as Secretary of State for Health
. From 1997-2001 she served as a member of the Defence Select Committee
.
On 15 March 2010, Moffatt announced her intention to stand down at the 2010 General Election because the job had taken a toll on her family life.
She has a tattoo on her left foot of a Labour rose with the number '37' in order to remind her of her slim majority.
In May 2009, Moffatt made the news during the MPs' expenses row as one of the most responsible members of parliament even after taking into consideration the small size of her constituency. Once giving up her flat in London because she said that the "annual cost did not sit comfortably with me", in her blog she writes: "I never travel first class when commuting and since getting rid of my flat I more often sleep on a camp bed in my office when the house sits late … and have only made one claim for personal goods in 2007/08, under £20, I think, to replace some towels."
Moffatt may have been induced into giving up the flat by a report in the Daily Mail in Nov 2007 ridiculing her need for London accommodation because she felt unsafe having been flashed on two occasions on a late night train.
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 who was 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 Crawley
Crawley (UK Parliament constituency)
Crawley is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...
from 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...
until 2010.
Early life
Born Laura Jean Field in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1954, she was educated at Hazelwick School
Hazelwick School
Hazelwick School is an Academy Co-educational Comprehensive School for pupils aged 11 to 18, located in Crawley, West Sussex.-History:Hazelwick School is a Secondary school for pupils aged 11-18. The school was finished being built in 1952 although it did not officially open until 1953 as a...
in Crawley
Crawley
Crawley is a town and local government district with Borough status in West Sussex, England. It is south of Charing Cross, north of Brighton and Hove, and northeast of the county town of Chichester, covers an area of and had a population of 99,744 at the time of the 2001 Census.The area has...
, West Sussex
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...
before attending the Crawley College of Technology (now renamed Central Sussex College
Central Sussex College
Central Sussex College is a college of further education in West Sussex. It has campuses across West Sussex and offers courses ranging from Sixth form and Adult education to undergraduate courses through partnerships with universities.-History:...
).
From 1975 until her election to the House of Commons in 1997, she worked as a state registered nurse
Registered nurse
A registered nurse is a nurse who has graduated from a nursing program at a university or college and has passed a national licensing exam. A registered nurse helps individuals, families, and groups to achieve health and prevent disease...
at Crawley Hospital
Crawley Hospital
Crawley Hospital is a National Health Service hospital in Crawley, a town and borough in West Sussex, England. Since 2006 it has been part of the West Sussex Primary Care Trust, which has overall management responsibility. Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust also provides some services...
. She joined the Labour Party in 1979 and was elected to Crawley Borough Council in 1984, remaining as a councillor until 1997 and serving as the town's mayor in 1990.
Parliamentary career
Moffatt stood in Crawley at the 1992 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1992
The United Kingdom general election of 1992 was held on 9 April 1992, and was the fourth consecutive victory for the Conservative Party. This election result was one of the biggest surprises in 20th Century politics, as polling leading up to the day of the election showed Labour under leader Neil...
, but lost out to the sitting Conservative
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...
MP Nicholas Soames
Nicholas Soames
Arthur Nicholas Winston Soames MP , known as Nicholas Soames, is a British Conservative Party Member of Parliament for the constituency of Mid Sussex....
. For the following election she was again selected as the Labour candidate, though this time through an all-women shortlist
All-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 following year's election.
At the 2005 general election
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
she was elected to the Commons on the smallest majority in the country with 37 votes, with her share of the vote falling by over 10 percent from the 2001 general election result. After an epic count, and numerous re-counts, Moffatt broke down in tears after being returned to Parliament.
In the Commons, Moffatt has served variously as a Parliamentary Private Secretary
Parliamentary Private Secretary
A Parliamentary Private Secretary is a role given to a United Kingdom Member of Parliament by a senior minister in government or shadow minister to act as their contact for the House of Commons; this role is junior to that of Parliamentary Under-Secretary, which is a ministerial post, salaried by...
(PPS) to the Lord Chancellor
Lord Chancellor
The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom. He is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking only after the Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Sovereign...
Derry Irvine
Derry Irvine, Baron Irvine of Lairg
Alexander Andrew Mackay Irvine, Baron Irvine of Lairg, PC, QC , known as Derry Irvine, is a British lawyer and political figure who served as Lord Chancellor under his former pupil barrister Tony Blair....
(2001–03); the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs
Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs
The Secretary of State for Justice is a senior position in the cabinet of the United Kingdom. It was created in 2007 replacing the abolished Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs, which was originally intended to fulfil those functions of the office of Lord Chancellor which related to the...
Charles Falconer
Charles Falconer, Baron Falconer of Thoroton
Charles Leslie Falconer, Baron Falconer of Thoroton, PC is a British Labour politician, who became the Lord Chancellor and the first Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs in 2003...
(2003–05); the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is a post in the British Cabinet, responsible for the Department for Work and Pensions. It was created on 8 June 2001 by the merger of the Employment part of the Department for Education and Employment and the Department of Social Security.The Ministry...
David Blunkett
David Blunkett
David Blunkett is a British Labour Party politician and the Member of Parliament for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough, having represented Sheffield Brightside from 1987 to 2010...
(2005); the Minister of State
Minister of State
Minister of State is a title borne by politicians or officials in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a "minister of state" is a junior minister, who is assigned to assist a specific cabinet minister...
at the Department for Education and Skills Jacqui Smith
Jacqui Smith
Jacqueline Jill "Jacqui" Smith is a member of the British Labour Party. She served as the Member of Parliament for Redditch from 1997 until 2010 and was the first ever female Home Secretary, thus making her the third woman to hold one of the Great Offices of State — after Margaret Thatcher and...
(2005–06), and since 2006 has served as the PPS to Alan Johnson
Alan Johnson
Alan Arthur Johnson is a British Labour Party politician who served as Home Secretary from June 2009 to May 2010. Before that, he filled a wide variety of cabinet positions in both the Blair and Brown governments, including Health Secretary and Education Secretary. Until 20 January 2011 he was...
initially as Secretary of State for Education and Skills
Secretary of State for Education and Skills
The Secretary of State for Education is the chief minister of the Department for Education in the United Kingdom government. The position was re-established on 12 May 2010, held by Michael Gove....
and since 2007 as Secretary of State for Health
Secretary of State for Health
Secretary of State for Health is a UK cabinet position responsible for the Department of Health.The first Boards of Health were created by Orders in Council dated 21 June, 14 November, and 21 November 1831. In 1848 a General Board of Health was created with the First Commissioner of Woods and...
. From 1997-2001 she served as a member of the Defence Select Committee
Defence Select Committee
The Defence Select Committee is one of the Select Committees of the British House of Commons, having been established in 1979. It oversees the operations of the Ministry of Defence and its associated public bodies, including the armed forces.-Membership:...
.
On 15 March 2010, Moffatt announced her intention to stand down at the 2010 General Election because the job had taken a toll on her family life.
Personal life
She married Colin Moffatt in 1975 in Crawley and they have three grown up sons, Russell, Alistair and Edward. She lives in the Broadfield area of the town.She has a tattoo on her left foot of a Labour rose with the number '37' in order to remind her of her slim majority.
In May 2009, Moffatt made the news during the MPs' expenses row as one of the most responsible members of parliament even after taking into consideration the small size of her constituency. Once giving up her flat in London because she said that the "annual cost did not sit comfortably with me", in her blog she writes: "I never travel first class when commuting and since getting rid of my flat I more often sleep on a camp bed in my office when the house sits late … and have only made one claim for personal goods in 2007/08, under £20, I think, to replace some towels."
Moffatt may have been induced into giving up the flat by a report in the Daily Mail in Nov 2007 ridiculing her need for London accommodation because she felt unsafe having been flashed on two occasions on a late night train.
External links
- Official Website
- Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Laura Moffatt MP
- TheyWorkForYou.com - Laura Moffatt MP
- BBC Politics Profile