Lynne Featherstone
Encyclopedia
Lynne Choona Featherstone (born Lynne Choona Ryness, 20 December 1951), is a British
Liberal Democrat politician, and the Member of Parliament
(MP) for Hornsey and Wood Green.
Under the Conservative – Liberal Democrat coalition
in 2010 she was appointed as a junior Home Office
minister with responsibility for equality. Previously she was Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Youth and Equality issues, and chair of the Liberal Democrats technology board.
to a British Jewish
family, and educated at the Highgate
Primary School, the independent South Hampstead High School
(then a direct grant grammar school
) and gained a Diploma in Communication and Design at Oxford Polytechnic. Her family's wealth is generated from a family business started by her parents - the Ryness chain of hardware and electrical shops in London
.
in 1998 for Muswell Hill
ward. She and her two colleagues (June Andersen and Julia Glenn) were the first three Liberal Democrat councillors to be elected in the borough. She was leader of Liberal Democrat Group (and thereby Leader of the Opposition) on the council 1998-2002.
She stood down from Haringey Council at the May 2006 elections. She played a substantial role in the May 2006 election campaign in Haringey where Labour's majority was cut from 25 to 3, with 30 Labour councillors elected to 27 Liberal Democrats.
. She was replaced as a member of the London Assembly by Geoff Pope. In 2005, a speech she made pointing out that local councillors receive an allowance which they could use to free up time to do council work by hiring domestic cleaners and babysitters was used against her by opponents. A transcript of this speech was reported in the Evening Standard
newspaper.
Featherstone was promoted by some as a potential Liberal Democrat candidate for Mayor of London
in the 2008 election
. In response to a poll on the Liberal Democrat Voice website, she ruled herself out, stating that, of the other people in the poll, she would back Brian Paddick
.
where she finished in third place some 25,998 votes behind the winner Barbara Roche
. She again fought Hornsey and Wood Green at the 2001 general election
, moving into second place and reducing Roche's majority to 10,614. In one of the largest swings at the 2005 general election
, Featherstone defeated Roche with a majority of 2,395 votes.
She made her maiden speech
in Parliament on 24 May 2005. She was appointed as a junior home affairs
spokesperson by Charles Kennedy
in 2005, and to the environment audit select committee. She was co-chair of Chris Huhne
's unsuccessful campaign to be leader
of the Liberal Democrats following the resignation of Kennedy in January 2006. In March, following the election of Menzies Campbell
as party leader, she was promoted to number two in the Liberal Democrat home affairs team and made London spokesperson. In December 2006, she succeeded Susan Kramer
as the Liberal Democrat Shadow International Development Secretary, and two months later was succeeded by Tom Brake
as London spokesperson.
In 2007, following the resignation of Menzies Campbell, she again chaired Chris Huhne's leadership election campaign. On 20 December 2007 the new Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg
, who defeated Chris Huhne, made her Youth and Equalities spokesperson.
death, Haringey Council initiated an internal audit Serious Case Review (SCR). Although the actual report was completed months earlier, the Executive Summary of the report was released immediately after the resulting court case had completed. The full details of the report have been kept confidential.
Featherstone had been particularly critical of Haringey Council, writing "I personally met with George Meehan and Ita O'Donovan — Haringey Council's leader and chief executive — to raise with them three different cases, where the pattern was in each case Haringey seeming to want to blame anyone who complained rather than to look at the complaint seriously. I was promised action — but despite repeated subsequent requests for news on progress — I was just stonewalled."
In November 2008, at Prime Minister's Questions
, Featherstone asked the Prime Minister to order an inquiry into the Connelly case. She was leader of the Liberal Democrat opposition on Haringey Council at the time of the murder of Victoria Climbié.
drug called Progesterex
. Featherstone submitted a question to a government minister inquiring "what assessment he has made of the use of progesterex in cases of date rape". Paul Goggins
replied in the House of Commons that Progesterex did not exist: "It has been the subject of a hoax e-mail". The hoax first originated in 1999. Featherstone criticised the minister's response, stating "they need to do more to discover the unearthly monster who sends them out" and that "their cavalier attitude will not do"., However, critics such as fellow Liberal Democrat James Graham castigated Featherstone's conduct in "criticising the Home Office for not having a response to made up drugs and made up crimes", stating "trivialising rape in this way without bothering to do basic research first doesn’t help anybody".
In April 2007, Featherstone was forced to return large quantities of stationery
after her office ordered £22,000 worth in the previous month in an attempt to beat new rules on stationery allowances. Featherstone blamed a staff member for the incident, stating she "knew nothing". In a leaked email, Parliamentary official Cliff Harris reportedly stated "it's quite alarming when you see that Lynne Featherstone spent over £22,000 in one month, the equivalent to three years of the new capped rate". Featherstone subsequently said she would be putting in place better office procedures.
She came to the attention of the national media in 2008 when she was criticized by Conservative
Member of the London Assembly
Brian Coleman
for calling 999
(the UK's emergency number) when her boiler began making noises and sparking. Coleman referred to her as a "dizzy airhead", Featherstone responded by calling his comments "sexist" and "political" in nature. A London Fire Brigade spokeswoman told the BBC: "If it's obvious that there has been an ongoing problem with the boiler, then you can call a plumber. But if your boiler suddenly starts making strange noises in the middle of the night, call the fire brigade."
In May 2009, she was listed by The Daily Telegraph as one of the "Saints" in the expenses scandal.
She has indicated she would attempt to ban topless models from appearing on The Sun newspaper's Page Three, stating "I would love to take on Page 3".
in 2010 she was appointed as a junior minister at the Home Office
as Parliamentary Under secretary
for equalities. She announced her appointment herself ahead of the formal announcement and expected some compromise with the Tories on her previous aims; her senior minister Theresa May
is noted as not voting favouring homosexual equality.
In December 2010 Featherstone introduced a move that would allow positive discrimination which is primarily aimed at addressing female under-representation in the workforce. It will also mean that a manager will be able lawfully to hire a black man over a white man, a homosexual man over a heterosexual man, if they have the same skill set. Featherstone, denied the plans were about “political correctness
, or red tape, or quotas” and would help make the workplace fairer.
In September 2011 Featherstone caused controversy by claiming men make "terrible decisions" when they are in charge. Speaking at the Liberal Democrat conference Featherstone blamed men for the mess the world was in, and commentators drew parallels with similar comments by one of Featherstone's predecessors Harriet Harman
. Her comments attracted criticism from across the political spectrum and were considered particularly inappropriate given her role as a minister in charge of ending sexism
. MP Priti Patel
stated "These comments are really ill-thought out. As equalities minister she has got to be unbiased about the value that both men and women bring to decision-making." Elizabeth Day of The Observer
newspaper was equally troubled by the remarks, writing "the notion that women are not as aggressive as men, that we would all just sit around a table eating red velvet
cupcakes and talking out the world's problems rather than firing off phallic-shaped nuclear weapons is a complete fallacy".
political awards, but did not win. She has also been nominated for the prestigious Dods "Woman Of The Year" award.
At the Liberal Democrat Conference in Brighton in 2006, she was named by The Sun
as one of four "Lib Dem lovelies", and in a February 2010 Sky News
poll she was named the most fanciable MP in the UK.
d in 1996. They have two daughters (born February 1984 and July 1989). She is a millionaire and lives in Highgate
, London
.
Video clips
News articles
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...
Liberal Democrat politician, and 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 Hornsey and Wood Green.
Under the Conservative – Liberal Democrat coalition
Cameron Ministry
David Cameron is Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, after being invited by Queen Elizabeth II to form a new government after the resignation as Prime Minister of Gordon Brown on 11 May 2010. Leading a coalition government formed by the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats, the coalition...
in 2010 she was appointed as a junior Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
minister with responsibility for equality. Previously she was Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Youth and Equality issues, and chair of the Liberal Democrats technology board.
Early life
Featherstone was born and brought up in North LondonNorth London
North London is the northern part of London, England. It is an imprecise description and the area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes. Common to these definitions is that it includes districts located north of the River Thames and is used in comparison with South...
to a British Jewish
British Jews
British Jews are Jews who live in, or are citizens of, the United Kingdom. In the 2001 Census, 266,740 people listed their religion as Jewish. The UK is home to the second largest Jewish population in Europe, and has the fifth largest Jewish community worldwide...
family, and educated at the Highgate
Highgate
Highgate is an area of North London on the north-eastern corner of Hampstead Heath.Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live. It has an active conservation body, the Highgate Society, to protect its character....
Primary School, the independent South Hampstead High School
South Hampstead High School
South Hampstead High School is an all-girls independent day school situated in Hampstead, north-west London. The school was founded and is still supported by The Girls' Day School Trust . The school operates over two sites, the Senior school and Junior school which are run as a single unit with...
(then a direct grant grammar school
Direct grant grammar school
A direct grant grammar school was a selective secondary school in England and Wales between 1945 and 1976 funded partly by the state and partly through private fees....
) and gained a Diploma in Communication and Design at Oxford Polytechnic. Her family's wealth is generated from a family business started by her parents - the Ryness chain of hardware and electrical shops in London
London
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...
.
Councillor of London Borough of Haringey 1998-2006
She was elected as a councillor in the London Borough of HaringeyLondon Borough of Haringey
The London Borough of Haringey is a London borough, in North London, classified by some definitions as part of Inner London, and by others as part of Outer London. It was created in 1965 by the amalgamation of three former boroughs. It shares borders with six other London boroughs...
in 1998 for Muswell Hill
Muswell Hill
Muswell Hill is a suburb of north London, mostly in the London Borough of Haringey. It is situated about north of Charing Cross and around from the City of London. Muswell Hill is in the N10 postal district and mostly in the Hornsey and Wood Green parliamentary constituency.- History :The...
ward. She and her two colleagues (June Andersen and Julia Glenn) were the first three Liberal Democrat councillors to be elected in the borough. She was leader of Liberal Democrat Group (and thereby Leader of the Opposition) on the council 1998-2002.
She stood down from Haringey Council at the May 2006 elections. She played a substantial role in the May 2006 election campaign in Haringey where Labour's majority was cut from 25 to 3, with 30 Labour councillors elected to 27 Liberal Democrats.
Member of the London Assembly 2000-2005
From 2000 until 2005, when she stood down, Featherstone was a member of the London AssemblyLondon Assembly
The London Assembly is an elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds majority, to amend the mayor's annual budget. The assembly was established in 2000 and is headquartered at City Hall on the south...
. She was replaced as a member of the London Assembly by Geoff Pope. In 2005, a speech she made pointing out that local councillors receive an allowance which they could use to free up time to do council work by hiring domestic cleaners and babysitters was used against her by opponents. A transcript of this speech was reported in the Evening Standard
Evening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
newspaper.
Featherstone was promoted by some as a potential Liberal Democrat candidate for Mayor of London
Mayor of London
The Mayor of London is an elected politician who, along with the London Assembly of 25 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Greater London. Conservative Boris Johnson has held the position since 4 May 2008...
in the 2008 election
London mayoral election, 2008
The London mayoral election, 2008 for the office of Mayor of London was held on 1 May 2008 and was won by Conservative Party candidate Boris Johnson....
. In response to a poll on the Liberal Democrat Voice website, she ruled herself out, stating that, of the other people in the poll, she would back Brian Paddick
Brian Paddick
Brian Leonard Paddick is a British politician, and was the Liberal Democrat candidate for the London mayoral election, 2008, coming third behind Boris Johnson and Ken Livingstone...
.
Member of Parliament
Lynne Featherstone first contested the Hornsey and Wood Green seat at the 1997 general electionUnited 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...
where she finished in third place some 25,998 votes behind the winner Barbara Roche
Barbara Roche
Barbara Maureen Roche is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Hornsey and Wood Green from 1992 until 2005, when she lost the seat, despite having previously enjoyed a majority of over 10,500.During her time in Government, she held several ministerial offices;...
. She again fought Hornsey and Wood Green at 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...
, moving into second place and reducing Roche's majority to 10,614. In one of the largest swings 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....
, Featherstone defeated Roche with a majority of 2,395 votes.
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...
in Parliament on 24 May 2005. She was appointed as a junior home affairs
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
spokesperson by Charles Kennedy
Charles Kennedy
Charles Peter Kennedy is a British Liberal Democrat politician, who led the Liberal Democrats from 9 August 1999 until 7 January 2006 and is currently a Member of Parliament for the Ross, Skye and Lochaber constituency....
in 2005, and to the environment audit select committee. She was co-chair of Chris Huhne
Chris Huhne
Christopher Murray Paul-Huhne, generally known as Chris Huhne is a British politician and cabinet minister, who is the current Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for the Eastleigh constituency in Hampshire...
's unsuccessful campaign to be leader
Liberal Democrats leadership election, 2006
In the 2006 Liberal Democrats leadership election, Sir Menzies Campbell was elected to succeed Charles Kennedy as Leader of the Liberal Democrats, the third-largest political party in the United Kingdom....
of the Liberal Democrats following the resignation of Kennedy in January 2006. In March, following the election of Menzies Campbell
Menzies Campbell
Sir Walter Menzies "Ming" Campbell, CBE, QC, MP is a British Liberal Democrat politician and advocate, and a retired sprinter. He is the Member of Parliament for North East Fife, and was the Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2 March 2006 until 15 October 2007.Campbell held the British record...
as party leader, she was promoted to number two in the Liberal Democrat home affairs team and made London spokesperson. In December 2006, she succeeded Susan Kramer
Susan Kramer
Susan Veronica Kramer, Baroness Kramer is a British Liberal Democrat politician. She was Member of Parliament for Richmond Park from 2005 to 2010, having been an unsuccessful candidate in the London mayoral election in 2000....
as the Liberal Democrat Shadow International Development Secretary, and two months later was succeeded by Tom Brake
Tom Brake
Thomas Anthony Brake, known as Tom Brake, British Liberal Democrat politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Carshalton and Wallington.-Early life:Tom Brake was born in Melton Mowbray, moving to France when he was eight...
as London spokesperson.
In 2007, following the resignation of Menzies Campbell, she again chaired Chris Huhne's leadership election campaign. On 20 December 2007 the new Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg
Nick Clegg
Nicholas William Peter "Nick" Clegg is a British Liberal Democrat politician who is currently the Deputy Prime Minister, Lord President of the Council and Minister for Constitutional and Political Reform in the coalition government of which David Cameron is the Prime Minister...
, who defeated Chris Huhne, made her Youth and Equalities spokesperson.
Aftermath of death of Peter Connelly
Following Peter Connelly'sDeath of Baby P
Peter Connelly was an English 17-month old boy who died in London after suffering more than 50 injuries over an eight-month period, during which he was repeatedly seen by Haringey Children's services and NHS health professionals...
death, Haringey Council initiated an internal audit Serious Case Review (SCR). Although the actual report was completed months earlier, the Executive Summary of the report was released immediately after the resulting court case had completed. The full details of the report have been kept confidential.
Featherstone had been particularly critical of Haringey Council, writing "I personally met with George Meehan and Ita O'Donovan — Haringey Council's leader and chief executive — to raise with them three different cases, where the pattern was in each case Haringey seeming to want to blame anyone who complained rather than to look at the complaint seriously. I was promised action — but despite repeated subsequent requests for news on progress — I was just stonewalled."
In November 2008, at Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime minister's questions is a constitutional convention in the United Kingdom that takes place every Wednesday during which the prime minister spends half an hour answering questions from members of parliament...
, Featherstone asked the Prime Minister to order an inquiry into the Connelly case. She was leader of the Liberal Democrat opposition on Haringey Council at the time of the murder of Victoria Climbié.
Media attention
In April 2006 one of Featherstone's researchers received a hoax email warning about an apparent date rapeDate rape
"Date rape", often referred to as acquaintance rape, is an assault or attempted assault usually committed by a new acquaintance involving sexual intercourse without mutual consent....
drug called Progesterex
Progesterex
Progesterex is a fictitious date rape drug that would purportedly cause sterilization. It is part of a hoax that began to circulate in 1999 via e-mail on the internet. No actual drug by this name or even with these properties exists, and no such incident has ever been documented or confirmed...
. Featherstone submitted a question to a government minister inquiring "what assessment he has made of the use of progesterex in cases of date rape". Paul Goggins
Paul Goggins
Paul Gerard Goggins is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Wythenshawe and Sale East since 1997, and was a Minister of State at the Northern Ireland Office.-Early life:...
replied in the House of Commons that Progesterex did not exist: "It has been the subject of a hoax e-mail". The hoax first originated in 1999. Featherstone criticised the minister's response, stating "they need to do more to discover the unearthly monster who sends them out" and that "their cavalier attitude will not do"., However, critics such as fellow Liberal Democrat James Graham castigated Featherstone's conduct in "criticising the Home Office for not having a response to made up drugs and made up crimes", stating "trivialising rape in this way without bothering to do basic research first doesn’t help anybody".
In April 2007, Featherstone was forced to return large quantities of stationery
Stationery
Stationery has historically meant a wide gamut of materials: paper and office supplies, writing implements, greeting cards, glue, pencil case etc.-History of stationery:...
after her office ordered £22,000 worth in the previous month in an attempt to beat new rules on stationery allowances. Featherstone blamed a staff member for the incident, stating she "knew nothing". In a leaked email, Parliamentary official Cliff Harris reportedly stated "it's quite alarming when you see that Lynne Featherstone spent over £22,000 in one month, the equivalent to three years of the new capped rate". Featherstone subsequently said she would be putting in place better office procedures.
She came to the attention of the national media in 2008 when she was criticized by 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...
Member of the London Assembly
London Assembly
The London Assembly is an elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds majority, to amend the mayor's annual budget. The assembly was established in 2000 and is headquartered at City Hall on the south...
Brian Coleman
Brian Coleman
Brian Coleman FRSA is a Conservative Party politician and member of the London Assembly for Barnet and Camden, England. He is a Councillor in the London Borough of Barnet, and was Mayor for 2009-2010....
for calling 999
999 (emergency telephone number)
999 is an official emergency telephone number in a number of countries which allows the caller to contact emergency services for urgent assistance....
(the UK's emergency number) when her boiler began making noises and sparking. Coleman referred to her as a "dizzy airhead", Featherstone responded by calling his comments "sexist" and "political" in nature. A London Fire Brigade spokeswoman told the BBC: "If it's obvious that there has been an ongoing problem with the boiler, then you can call a plumber. But if your boiler suddenly starts making strange noises in the middle of the night, call the fire brigade."
In May 2009, she was listed by The Daily Telegraph as one of the "Saints" in the expenses scandal.
She has indicated she would attempt to ban topless models from appearing on The Sun newspaper's Page Three, stating "I would love to take on Page 3".
In government
Under the Conservative – Liberal Democrat coalitionCameron Ministry
David Cameron is Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, after being invited by Queen Elizabeth II to form a new government after the resignation as Prime Minister of Gordon Brown on 11 May 2010. Leading a coalition government formed by the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats, the coalition...
in 2010 she was appointed as a junior minister at the Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
as Parliamentary Under secretary
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
A Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State is the lowest of three tiers of government minister in the government of the United Kingdom, junior to both a Minister of State and a Secretary of State....
for equalities. She announced her appointment herself ahead of the formal announcement and expected some compromise with the Tories on her previous aims; her senior minister Theresa May
Theresa May
Theresa Mary May is a British Conservative politician who is Home Secretary in the Conservative – Liberal Democrat Coalition government. She was elected to Parliament in 1997 as the Member of Parliament for Maidenhead, and served as the Chairman of the Conservative Party, 2003–04...
is noted as not voting favouring homosexual equality.
In December 2010 Featherstone introduced a move that would allow positive discrimination which is primarily aimed at addressing female under-representation in the workforce. It will also mean that a manager will be able lawfully to hire a black man over a white man, a homosexual man over a heterosexual man, if they have the same skill set. Featherstone, denied the plans were about “political correctness
Political correctness
Political correctness is a term which denotes language, ideas, policies, and behavior seen as seeking to minimize social and institutional offense in occupational, gender, racial, cultural, sexual orientation, certain other religions, beliefs or ideologies, disability, and age-related contexts,...
, or red tape, or quotas” and would help make the workplace fairer.
In September 2011 Featherstone caused controversy by claiming men make "terrible decisions" when they are in charge. Speaking at the Liberal Democrat conference Featherstone blamed men for the mess the world was in, and commentators drew parallels with similar comments by one of Featherstone's predecessors Harriet Harman
Harriet Harman
Harriet Ruth Harman QC is a British Labour Party politician, who is the Member of Parliament for Camberwell and Peckham, and was MP for the predecessorPeckham constituency from 1982 to 1997...
. Her comments attracted criticism from across the political spectrum and were considered particularly inappropriate given her role as a minister in charge of ending sexism
Sexism
Sexism, also known as gender discrimination or sex discrimination, is the application of the belief or attitude that there are characteristics implicit to one's gender that indirectly affect one's abilities in unrelated areas...
. MP Priti Patel
Priti Patel
Priti Patel is a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. First elected in the 2010 general election, she is the Member of Parliament for the Witham constituency, and an officer of the Conservative Friends of Israel group....
stated "These comments are really ill-thought out. As equalities minister she has got to be unbiased about the value that both men and women bring to decision-making." Elizabeth Day of The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
newspaper was equally troubled by the remarks, writing "the notion that women are not as aggressive as men, that we would all just sit around a table eating red velvet
Velvet
Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric in which the cut threads are evenly distributed,with a short dense pile, giving it a distinctive feel.The word 'velvety' is used as an adjective to mean -"smooth like velvet".-Composition:...
cupcakes and talking out the world's problems rather than firing off phallic-shaped nuclear weapons is a complete fallacy".
Polls and awards
In 2006, she was shortlisted in the "Rising Stars" category of the Channel 4Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
political awards, but did not win. She has also been nominated for the prestigious Dods "Woman Of The Year" award.
At the Liberal Democrat Conference in Brighton in 2006, she was named by The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
as one of four "Lib Dem lovelies", and in a February 2010 Sky News
Sky News
Sky News is a 24-hour British and international satellite television news broadcaster with an emphasis on UK and international news stories.The service places emphasis on rolling news, including the latest breaking news. Sky News also hosts localised versions of the channel in Australia and in New...
poll she was named the most fanciable MP in the UK.
Personal life
She married Stephen Featherstone in Haringey in 1982, but divorceDivorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
d in 1996. They have two daughters (born February 1984 and July 1989). She is a millionaire and lives in Highgate
Highgate
Highgate is an area of North London on the north-eastern corner of Hampstead Heath.Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live. It has an active conservation body, the Highgate Society, to protect its character....
, London
London
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...
.
External links
- Lynne Featherstone MP official constituency website
- Profile at the Liberal Democrats
- Profile at Yoosk.com
- Lynne Featherstone MP at Open Rights GroupOpen Rights GroupThe Open Rights Group is a UK-based organisation that works to preserve digital rights and freedoms by campaigning on digital rights issues, acting as a media clearinghouse service putting journalists in touch with experts, and by fostering a community of grassroots activists...
Video clips
- Featherstone's video diaries from the 2007 Liberal Democrats conference: Sun · Mon · Tues · Wed · Thurs
News articles
- Meet the MP: Lynne Featherstone, BBC NewsBBC NewsBBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
, 27 June 2005 - Liberal gets tough on pub hours, Justin Parkinson, BBC NewsBBC NewsBBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
, September 2005 - 'Dead cool', the knife culture in Britain, Lynne Featherstone, Liberal Review, June 2006
- Balancing life as a female MP, Jo Coburn, BBC NewsBBC NewsBBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
, 1 March 2007