Angela Browning
Encyclopedia
Angela Frances Browning, Baroness Browning (born 4 December 1946) is a British
Conservative Party
politician
. She was the Member of Parliament
(MP) for Tiverton and Honiton from 1997 to 2010, having previously been MP for Tiverton
from 1992 to 1997.
. Her father was a lab technician at the University of Reading
. She was educated at the Westwood Grammar School for Girls (a grammar school, now called Prospect School
) on Honey End Lane in Reading, Reading College of Technology
, and the Bournemouth College of Technology
. She became a Home Economics
tutor
in adult education
from 1968 until 1974. She was an auxiliary nurse for a year in 1976. She was appointed as a sales and training manager with GEC Hotpoint in 1977. In 1985 she became a self-employed management consultant and was also became Director of the Small Business Bureau until 1994. From 1988-92, she was the Chairman of Women into Business.
at the 1987 general election
but was narrowly defeated by the veteran Labour
MP Gwyneth Dunwoody
by just 1,092 votes. She was selected for the safe Conservative seat of Tiverton
following the retirement of Robin Maxwell-Hyslop
, who had represented the seat for 32 years. She held the seat comfortably at the 1992 general election
with a majority of 11,089. She made her maiden speech
on 12 June 1992.
After her election, Browning became a Member of the Agriculture Select Committee in 1992. She was appointed the Parliamentary Private Secretary
to the Minister of State
at the Department for Education and Employment Michael Forsyth
in 1993. Also in 1993 she became the President of the National Autistic Society
. She entered John Major's
government in 1994 when she became a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Ministry for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, where she remained until the Major government fell. She became a vice president of the National Alzheimer's Disease
Society in 1997.
Her Tiverton seat was abolished, but she won the nomination for the newly drawn Tiverton and Honiton seat which she contested at the 1997 general election
. She won the new seat with a majority of 1,653.
After John Major
resigned from the Leadership of the Conservative Party she ran the John Redwood
campaign team. She was appointed as an opposition spokeswoman on Education and Employment under William Hague
but she stepped down in 1998 to look after her autistic
adult son, Robin. However, Hague brought her back in 1999 and she entered the Shadow Cabinet
as the Shadow Trade and Industry Secretary, and in 2000 was the Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
. After the 2001 general election
she was briefly an opposition spokesperson on Constitutional Affairs, before becoming the Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party 2000-04.
In the 2005 general election
, Browning increased her majority to 11,051; almost the majority of the original Tiverton seat she took in 1992.
She was a Member of both the Public Accounts and Standards and Privileges Select Committees.
On 17 November 2006, Browning announced her intention not to stand as a candidate at the 2010 general election.
as Baroness Browning, of Whimple in the County of Devon, and was introduced
in the House of Lords
on 13 July 2010, where she sits as a Conservative.
On 11 May 2011, it was announced that Lady Browning would replace James Brokenshire as the Minister for Crime Prevention and Anti-Social Behaviour Reduction in the coalition government following the resignation of Lady Neville-Jones as Security Minister. Lady Browning also became the Home Office Minister of State in the House of Lords, making her the lead for all Home Office business in the Upper House.
She resigned from government on health grounds on 16 September 2011, and was replaced in the Home Office by Lord Henley
.
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...
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...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
. She 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 Tiverton and Honiton from 1997 to 2010, having previously been MP for Tiverton
Tiverton (UK Parliament constituency)
Tiverton was a constituency located in east Devon, formerly represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Enfranchised as a parliamentary borough in 1615 and first represented in 1621, it elected two Members of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...
from 1992 to 1997.
Early life
Born Angela Pearson in ReadingReading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
. Her father was a lab technician at the University of Reading
University of Reading
The University of Reading is a university in the English town of Reading, Berkshire. The University was established in 1892 as University College, Reading and received its Royal Charter in 1926. It is based on several campuses in, and around, the town of Reading.The University has a long tradition...
. She was educated at the Westwood Grammar School for Girls (a grammar school, now called Prospect School
Prospect School
Prospect School is a large Academy in West Reading, Berkshire, England.-Admissions:...
) on Honey End Lane in Reading, Reading College of Technology
Thames Valley University
The University of West London is a public university based in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in Ealing and Brentford, London, and Reading, Berkshire....
, and the Bournemouth College of Technology
Bournemouth University
Bournemouth University is a university in and around the large south coast town of Bournemouth, UK...
. She became a Home Economics
Family and consumer science
Family and consumer sciences is an academic discipline that combines aspects of social and natural science. Family and consumer sciences deals with the relationship between individuals, families, and communities, and the environment in which they live...
tutor
Tutor
A tutor is a person employed in the education of others, either individually or in groups. To tutor is to perform the functions of a tutor.-Teaching assistance:...
in adult education
Adult education
Adult education is the practice of teaching and educating adults. Adult education takes place in the workplace, through 'extension' school or 'school of continuing education' . Other learning places include folk high schools, community colleges, and lifelong learning centers...
from 1968 until 1974. She was an auxiliary nurse for a year in 1976. She was appointed as a sales and training manager with GEC Hotpoint in 1977. In 1985 she became a self-employed management consultant and was also became Director of the Small Business Bureau until 1994. From 1988-92, she was the Chairman of Women into Business.
Political career
Browning contested Crewe and NantwichCrewe and Nantwich (UK Parliament constituency)
Crewe and Nantwich is a county 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. For 25 years since its creation in 1983, the constituency had elected the Labour MP Gwyneth...
at the 1987 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1987
The United Kingdom general election of 1987 was held on 11 June 1987, to elect 650 members to the British House of Commons. The election was the third consecutive election victory for the Conservative Party under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher, who became the first Prime Minister since the 2nd...
but was narrowly defeated by the veteran Labour
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...
MP Gwyneth Dunwoody
Gwyneth Dunwoody
Gwyneth Patricia Dunwoody was a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Exeter from 1966 to 1970, and then for Crewe from 1974 to her death in 2008...
by just 1,092 votes. She was selected for the safe Conservative seat of Tiverton
Tiverton (UK Parliament constituency)
Tiverton was a constituency located in east Devon, formerly represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Enfranchised as a parliamentary borough in 1615 and first represented in 1621, it elected two Members of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...
following the retirement of Robin Maxwell-Hyslop
Robin Maxwell-Hyslop
Sir Robin John Maxwell-Hyslop was a British Conservative Party politician.Maxwell-Hyslop was educated at Stowe School and Christ Church, Oxford. He worked for the aero engine division of Rolls-Royce from 1954 to 1960....
, who had represented the seat for 32 years. She held the seat comfortably at the 1992 general election
United 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...
with a majority of 11,089. She made her maiden speech
Maiden speech
A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament.Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country...
on 12 June 1992.
After her election, Browning became a Member of the Agriculture Select Committee in 1992. She was appointed the 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...
to 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 Employment Michael Forsyth
Michael Forsyth, Baron Forsyth of Drumlean
Michael Bruce Forsyth, Baron Forsyth of Drumlean PC, Kt is a British financier and politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Stirling from 1983 to 1997 and served in the cabinet of John Major as Secretary of State for Scotland from 1995 to 1997...
in 1993. Also in 1993 she became the President of the National Autistic Society
National Autistic Society
The National Autistic Society is a British charity for people with autistic spectrum disorders , including autism and Asperger's Syndrome. The purpose of the organisation is primarily to improve of the lives of people with Autism in the United Kingdom.Founded in 1962 as the Autistic Children's Aid...
. She entered John Major's
John Major
Sir John Major, is a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990–1997...
government in 1994 when she became a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Ministry for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, where she remained until the Major government fell. She became a vice president of the National Alzheimer's Disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
Society in 1997.
Her Tiverton seat was abolished, but she won the nomination for the newly drawn Tiverton and Honiton seat which she contested at 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 new seat with a majority of 1,653.
After John Major
John Major
Sir John Major, is a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990–1997...
resigned from the Leadership of the Conservative Party she ran the John Redwood
John Redwood
John Alan Redwood is a British Conservative Party politician and Member of Parliament for Wokingham. He was formerly Secretary of State for Wales in Prime Minister John Major's Cabinet and was an unsuccessful challenger for the leadership of the Conservative Party in 1995...
campaign team. She was appointed as an opposition spokeswoman on Education and Employment under William Hague
William Hague
William Jefferson Hague is the British Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State. He served as Leader of the Conservative Party from June 1997 to September 2001...
but she stepped down in 1998 to look after her autistic
Autism
Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their...
adult son, Robin. However, Hague brought her back in 1999 and she entered the Shadow Cabinet
Shadow Cabinet
The Shadow Cabinet is a senior group of opposition spokespeople in the Westminster system of government who together under the leadership of the Leader of the Opposition form an alternative cabinet to the government's, whose members shadow or mark each individual member of the government...
as the Shadow Trade and Industry Secretary, and in 2000 was the Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Shadow Leader of the House of Commons is a member of the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet responsible for working with the Leader of the House in arranging Commons business and holding the Government to account in its overall management of the House...
. After the 2001 general election
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...
she was briefly an opposition spokesperson on Constitutional Affairs, before becoming the Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party 2000-04.
In 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....
, Browning increased her majority to 11,051; almost the majority of the original Tiverton seat she took in 1992.
She was a Member of both the Public Accounts and Standards and Privileges Select Committees.
On 17 November 2006, Browning announced her intention not to stand as a candidate at the 2010 general election.
House of Lords
On 9 July 2010, she was created a life peerLife peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
as Baroness Browning, of Whimple in the County of Devon, and was introduced
Introduction (House of Lords)
Introduction is a ceremony in the House of Lords whereby new members are "introduced" to the existing membership. Introductions in the Lords are more elaborate than those in the House of Commons.-Origins:...
in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
on 13 July 2010, where she sits as a Conservative.
On 11 May 2011, it was announced that Lady Browning would replace James Brokenshire as the Minister for Crime Prevention and Anti-Social Behaviour Reduction in the coalition government following the resignation of Lady Neville-Jones as Security Minister. Lady Browning also became the Home Office Minister of State in the House of Lords, making her the lead for all Home Office business in the Upper House.
She resigned from government on health grounds on 16 September 2011, and was replaced in the Home Office by Lord Henley
Oliver Eden, 8th Baron Henley
Oliver Michael Robert Eden, 8th Baron Henley is a British politician and Conservative member of the House of Lords, currently a Minister of State at the Home Office with responsibility for Crime Prevention and Anti-Social Behaviour Reduction, a role in which he succeeded Lady Browning in September...
.
External links
- Official Website
- ePolitix - Angela Browning MP
- Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Angela Browning MP
- TheyWorkForYou.com - Angela Browning MP
- Blakes Parliamentary Yearbook
- Tiverton and Honiton Conservative Association
- The Public Whip - Angela Browning MP voting record
- BBC News Profile - Angela Browning