Claire Ward
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| Claire Ward MP | |
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Member of Parliament
for Watford |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 1 May 1997 |
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| Preceded by | Tristan Garel-Jones |
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| Born | 9 May 1972 North Shields |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Labour |
| Alma mater | University of Hertfordshire |
Claire Margaret Ward (born 9 May 1972) is a politician in the United Kingdom. She is Labour Party Member of Parliament for Watford. She is currently a Government Whip and Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury.
Although born in North Shields, Ward was brought up in Elstree and studied at the University of Hertfordshire. She was an active member of Young Labour and took the Young Labour place on the Labour Party National Executive Committee in 1995. She was also elected to Elstree and Borehamwood Town Council where she became Mayor. She was elected to Parliament in 1997, succeeding former Deputy Chief Whip Tristan Garel-Jones who retired, and defeating Robert Gordon of the Conservative Party. Her election was notable in that she was only 24, although she was not quite the youngest MP - being beaten by a few weeks by Christopher Leslie who unexpectedly won Shipley. In 2001 she retained her seat by 5,792 votes.
The increasing dominance of local politics in Watford Borough council by the Liberal Democrats, including the election of a Liberal Democrat Mayor, led to speculation that Ward would find re-election extremely difficult. However, she managed to hold off a strong Liberal Democrat challenge, despite a 12% swing against her in the 2005 general election holding the seat with a majority of just over 1,000 (2.3% of the electorate). The Conservative candidate was narrowly forced into third place, making Watford a three way marginal seat.
[edit] Voting record
How Claire Ward voted on key issues since 2001 (They Work For You):
- Voted against 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.
[edit] External links
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
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| Preceded by Tristan Garel-Jones |
Member of Parliament for Watford 1997 – present |
Incumbent |
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This article about a current Member of the Parliament of the United Kingdom is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
