Stephen Ladyman
Encyclopedia
Stephen John Ladyman is a British
Labour Party
politician who was the Member of Parliament
(MP) for South Thanet from 1997
until 2010.
, before studying at Liverpool Polytechnic
where he received a BSc
in Applied Biology.
He did work placements at Rothamsted Experimental Station
in Harpenden
and at Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
in Liverpool
, before studying for a PhD
awarded by the University of Strathclyde
for researching natural isotopic
abundances of elements to enable prediction of soil development when at the Natural Environment Research Council
's radiocarbon laboratory, in the Scottish Universities Research and Reactor Centre, East Kilbride
.
He worked as a research scientist for the Medical Research Council
(MRC) Radiobiology
Unit at Harwell
in Oxfordshire
from 1979–85, where he researched the removal of radionuclide
s from lung tissue, before becoming Head of Computing for the Mathilda and Terence Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology in Charing Cross
(now owned by Imperial College) from 1985–90, building computer systems for the Kennedy Institute (also part of Hammersmith Hospital
), the Arthritis and Rheumatism Research Council and Charing Cross Sunley Research Centre. From 1990-1, he was an IT consultant at Pfizer
Central Research in Sandwich
, south Thanet
, where Viagra was discovered, advising research scientists on the design of computer systems, before being working as Head of Computer User Support until 1997.
constituency in June 1987, when 34. From 1995-9, Ladyman was a Thanet
councillor and was appointed as Chairman of Finance of Thanet District Council. He was elected to Parliament in the United Kingdom general election, 1997
, defeating Jonathan Aitken
. He was a junior minister at the Department for Health from June 2003 until May 2005, when he was appointed Minister of State for Transport having narrowly held his seat in the 2005 General Election with a majority of 664 votes.
In the General election of 6 May 2010, Ladyman once again stood as the Labour Party candidate for Thanet South, however he was defeated by Conservative candidate Laura Sandys
who took the seat with a majority of over 7,600.
. The minister displayed a passion for fast cars including having owned an Alfa Romeo
and posting a lap time in the 'Reasonably Priced Car' towards the top of the leaderboard. He set a time of 1:48.8, faster than Jeremy Clarkson
's own time of 1:50.
After presenter Richard Hammond
was seriously injured in a high speed crash in 2006, Ladyman voiced his support for the program. He denied that Top Gear
encouraged dangerous driving, instead that they “celebrate great engineering and, yes, they celebrate fast cars . . . but, equally, they’ve had me on the programme giving out road safety messages. People don’t go onto the road and break the speed limit because they watch Top Gear.”.
. He has one daughter. He also has one stepdaughter and two stepsons.
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 South Thanet 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
He attended the Birkenhead Institute Grammar School for Boys (became the comprehensive Birkenhead Institute High School then closed in August 1993) on Tollemache Road in ClaughtonClaughton, Merseyside
Claughton is a residential district in Birkenhead, on the Wirral Peninsula, England. It is close to the main shopping area of Birkenhead town centre, and Birkenhead Park is partly located within its boundaries. Administratively, Claughton is a ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral...
, before studying at Liverpool Polytechnic
Liverpool John Moores University
Liverpool John Moores University is a British 'modern' university located in the city of Liverpool, England. The university is named after John Moores and was previously called Liverpool Mechanics' School of Arts and later Liverpool Polytechnic before gaining university status in 1992, thus...
where he received a BSc
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
in Applied Biology.
He did work placements at Rothamsted Experimental Station
Rothamsted Experimental Station
The Rothamsted Experimental Station, one of the oldest agricultural research institutions in the world, is located at Harpenden in Hertfordshire, England. It is now known as Rothamsted Research...
in Harpenden
Harpenden
Harpenden is a town in Hertfordshire, England.The town's total population is just under 30,000.-Geography and administration:There are two civil parishes: Harpenden and Harpenden Rural....
and at Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food was a United Kingdom government department created by the Board of Agriculture Act 1889 and at that time called the Board of Agriculture, and then from 1903 the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries, and from 1919 the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries...
in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, before studying for a PhD
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
awarded by the University of Strathclyde
University of Strathclyde
The University of Strathclyde , Glasgow, Scotland, is Glasgow's second university by age, founded in 1796, and receiving its Royal Charter in 1964 as the UK's first technological university...
for researching natural isotopic
Isotope
Isotopes are variants of atoms of a particular chemical element, which have differing numbers of neutrons. Atoms of a particular element by definition must contain the same number of protons but may have a distinct number of neutrons which differs from atom to atom, without changing the designation...
abundances of elements to enable prediction of soil development when at the Natural Environment Research Council
Natural Environment Research Council
The Natural Environment Research Council is a British research council that supports research, training and knowledge transfer activities in the environmental sciences.-History:...
's radiocarbon laboratory, in the Scottish Universities Research and Reactor Centre, East Kilbride
East Kilbride
East Kilbride is a large suburban town in the South Lanarkshire council area, in the West Central Lowlands of Scotland. Designated as Scotland's first new town in 1947, it forms part of the Greater Glasgow conurbation...
.
He worked as a research scientist for the Medical Research Council
Medical Research Council (UK)
The Medical Research Council is a publicly-funded agency responsible for co-ordinating and funding medical research in the United Kingdom. It is one of seven Research Councils in the UK and is answerable to, although politically independent from, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills...
(MRC) Radiobiology
Radiobiology
Radiobiology , as a field of clinical and basic medical sciences, originated from Leopold Freund's 1896 demonstration of the therapeutic treatment of a hairy mole using a new type of electromagnetic radiation called x-rays, which was discovered 1 year previously by the German physicist, Wilhelm...
Unit at Harwell
Harwell, Oxfordshire
Harwell is a village and civil parish in the Vale of White Horse west of Didcot. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire.-Amenities:...
in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
from 1979–85, where he researched the removal of radionuclide
Radionuclide
A radionuclide is an atom with an unstable nucleus, which is a nucleus characterized by excess energy available to be imparted either to a newly created radiation particle within the nucleus or to an atomic electron. The radionuclide, in this process, undergoes radioactive decay, and emits gamma...
s from lung tissue, before becoming Head of Computing for the Mathilda and Terence Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology in Charing Cross
Charing Cross
Charing Cross denotes the junction of Strand, Whitehall and Cockspur Street, just south of Trafalgar Square in central London, England. It is named after the now demolished Eleanor cross that stood there, in what was once the hamlet of Charing. The site of the cross is now occupied by an equestrian...
(now owned by Imperial College) from 1985–90, building computer systems for the Kennedy Institute (also part of Hammersmith Hospital
Hammersmith Hospital
Hammersmith Hospital is a major teaching hospital in West London. It is part of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and is associated with the Imperial College Faculty of Medicine...
), the Arthritis and Rheumatism Research Council and Charing Cross Sunley Research Centre. From 1990-1, he was an IT consultant at Pfizer
Pfizer
Pfizer, Inc. is an American multinational pharmaceutical corporation. The company is based in New York City, New York with its research headquarters in Groton, Connecticut, United States...
Central Research in Sandwich
Sandwich, Kent
Sandwich is a historic town and civil parish on the River Stour in the Non-metropolitan district of Dover, within the ceremonial county of Kent, south-east England. It has a population of 6,800....
, south Thanet
Thanet
Thanet is a local government district of Kent, England which was formed under the Local Government Act 1972, and came into being on 1 April 1974...
, where Viagra was discovered, advising research scientists on the design of computer systems, before being working as Head of Computer User Support until 1997.
Political career
He contested the WantageWantage (UK Parliament constituency)
-Elections in the 1990s:- Notes and references :...
constituency in June 1987, when 34. From 1995-9, Ladyman was a Thanet
Thanet
Thanet is a local government district of Kent, England which was formed under the Local Government Act 1972, and came into being on 1 April 1974...
councillor and was appointed as Chairman of Finance of Thanet District Council. He was elected to Parliament in the United Kingdom general election, 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...
, defeating Jonathan Aitken
Jonathan Aitken
Jonathan William Patrick Aitken is a former Conservative Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom, and British government minister. He was convicted of perjury in 1999 and received an 18-month prison sentence, of which he served seven months...
. He was a junior minister at the Department for Health from June 2003 until May 2005, when he was appointed Minister of State for Transport having narrowly held his seat in the 2005 General Election with a majority of 664 votes.
In the General election of 6 May 2010, Ladyman once again stood as the Labour Party candidate for Thanet South, however he was defeated by Conservative candidate Laura Sandys
Laura Sandys
Laura Jane Sandys is a British Conservative Party politician. She has been the Member of Parliament for South Thanet since the general election on 6 May 2010.-Early life:...
who took the seat with a majority of over 7,600.
Top Gear
Ladyman appeared on Top Gear in 2005 for the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car segment. He revealed himself to be a fan of cars, and admitted to having received several speeding fines and a total of nine penalty pointsPoint system
A demerit point system is one in which a driver's licensing authority, police force, or other organization issues cumulative demerits, or points to drivers on conviction for road traffic offenses. Points may either be added or subtracted, depending on the particular system in use. A major offense...
. The minister displayed a passion for fast cars including having owned an Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of cars. Founded as A.L.F.A. on June 24, 1910, in Milan, the company has been involved in car racing since 1911, and has a reputation for building expensive sports cars...
and posting a lap time in the 'Reasonably Priced Car' towards the top of the leaderboard. He set a time of 1:48.8, faster than Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson is an English broadcaster, journalist and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for his role on the BBC TV show Top Gear along with co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May...
's own time of 1:50.
After presenter Richard Hammond
Richard Hammond
Richard Mark Hammond is an English broadcaster, writer, and journalist most noted for co-hosting car programme Top Gear with Jeremy Clarkson and James May, as well as presenting Brainiac: Science Abuse on Sky 1.-Early life:...
was seriously injured in a high speed crash in 2006, Ladyman voiced his support for the program. He denied that Top Gear
Top Gear (current format)
Top Gear is a British television series about motor vehicles, primarily cars. It began in 1977 as a conventional motoring magazine show. Over time, and especially since a relaunch in 2002, it has developed a quirky, humorous style...
encouraged dangerous driving, instead that they “celebrate great engineering and, yes, they celebrate fast cars . . . but, equally, they’ve had me on the programme giving out road safety messages. People don’t go onto the road and break the speed limit because they watch Top Gear.”.
Personal life
He married Janet Pike (née Baker) in May 1995 on the Isle of ThanetThanet
Thanet is a local government district of Kent, England which was formed under the Local Government Act 1972, and came into being on 1 April 1974...
. He has one daughter. He also has one stepdaughter and two stepsons.
External links
- Dr Stephen Ladyman MP official site
- Department for Transport - Dr Stephen Ladyman MP
- Voting record at the Public Whip
- Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Stephen Ladyman MP
- TheyWorkForYou.com - Stephen Ladyman MP
- BBC Politics profile
- Interviewed on The Westminster Hour about saving the planet
- 2005 campaign
- fully documents seriously misleading speed camera comparisons given by Ladyman to Transcom