Barbara Janke

Last updated

The Baroness Janke
Official portrait of Baroness Janke crop 2.jpg
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
Assumed office
24 September 2014
Life Peerage
Personal details
Born (1947-06-05) 5 June 1947 (age 75)
Political party Liberal Democrats

Barbara Lilian Janke, Baroness Janke (born 5 June 1947) is a British former teacher and politician. She was the Liberal Democrat leader of Bristol City Council from 2005 to 2007 and from 2009 to 2012. She was first elected councillor for Clifton ward in 1995. She became leader of the Liberal Democrat group in 1997, with a break from 2007 to 2008. In August 2014 Cllr Janke was named as one of six new Liberal Democrat working peers. [1]

Contents

Early life

Janke was born in Liverpool on 5 June 1947. [2]

Career

Janke formerly taught economics and modern languages in London. [3]

Political career

She first became active in politics while in Scotland, before becoming a councillor and then deputy Leader in Kingston upon Thames Council in the early '90s. [3]

Janke stood unsuccessfully as the Liberal Democrat candidate for the Surbiton Constituency at the 1992 General Election, losing to the Conservative Party candidate Richard Tracey. [2]

In 1995, she was elected councillor for Clifton ward in Bristol City Council. She succeeded Stephen Williams as leader of the Liberal Democrat group in 1997. In 2007, she was replaced by Steve Comer. However, she replaced him as leader in 2008.

Janke became the first non-Labour leader of Bristol City Council for many decades after the 2003 elections when she led an all-party administration after the Council went into no overall control. This arrangement collapsed in late 2004 when the Labour group withdrew and took minority control as the largest party. At the 2005 elections the Liberal Democrat party became the largest party and took minority control of the Council under Janke as Leader until 2007, when a combined vote of Labour and Conservatives voted them out. In February 2009, she returned to the position of leader of Bristol City Council, following the resignation of the Labour cabinet. [4] She stood down as leader in May 2012 as she approached her 65th birthday, but remained a member of the council. [5]

On 24 September 2014 Janke was created a life peeress taking the title Baroness Janke, of Clifton in the City and County of Bristol. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aberdeen City Council</span> Scottish unitary authority council in Aberdeen, Scotland, UK

Aberdeen City Council is the local government authority for the city of Aberdeen, Scotland. It was created in 1996, under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, though a sense of Aberdeen as a city, with its own city council, can be traced back to 1900, when the county of the city of Aberdeen was created.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sal Brinton</span> British politician (born 1955)

Sarah Virginia Brinton, Baroness Brinton, known as Sal Brinton, is a British politician who served as president of the Liberal Democrats from 2015 to 2020. In November 2010 she was nominated to the House of Lords, taking her place on 10 February 2011 having been created Baroness Brinton, of Kenardington in the County of Kent on 4 February. After Jo Swinson lost her seat at the 2019 United Kingdom general election, Brinton and Sir Ed Davey became acting co-leaders of the Liberal Democrats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council</span> Local government body in England

Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council is the local authority for the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. The council is currently run by a Liberal Democrat minority administration. At the 2022 local elections, the Liberal Democrats gained two more seats, increasing their lead over the Labour Party to three seats, and took control of the council at the following full council meeting. The Liberal Democrats currently have 28 seats, Labour 24, Conservatives 4, Heald Green Ratepayers 3, and Greens 2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Politics of Bristol</span> Overview of the politics of Bristol

The city of Bristol, England, is a unitary authority, represented by four MPs representing seats wholly within the city boundaries. As well as these, Filton and Bradley Stoke covers the northern urban fringe in South Gloucestershire and the north eastern urban fringe is in the Kingswood constituency. The overall trend of both local and national representation became left of centre during the latter 20th century, but there was a shift to the right in the 2010 general election. The city has a tradition of local activism, with environmental issues and sustainable transport being prominent issues in the city.

Steve Comer is a former leader of the Liberal Democrats on Bristol City Council in Bristol, England. He was Councillor for Eastville ward from 2005 to 2013, having previously served as Councillor for the adjacent Easton ward (1983-7). He lost by a single vote to a Labour candidate in 2013.

Beatrice Nancy Seear, Baroness Seear was a British social scientist and politician. She was leader of the Liberal Party in the House of Lords from 1984 to 1988, and Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords from 1988 to 1997. She was also appointed a Privy Councillor in 1985.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 Derby City Council election</span>

The 2008 Derby City Council election took place on 1 May 2008 to elect members of Derby City Council in England. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control. Overall turnout was 34.6%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council election</span>

The 2008 Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 1 May 2008 to elect members of Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council in the West Midlands, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party gained overall control of the council from no overall control.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2007 Hull City Council election</span>

The 2007 Hull City Council election took place on 3 May 2007 to elect members of Hull City Council in England. One third of the council was up for election and the Liberal Democrats gained overall control of the council from no overall control. Overall turnout was 27%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2007 Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council election</span>

The 2007 Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 4 May 2007 to elect members of Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council in the West Midlands, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party lost overall control of the council to no overall control.

The 1999 Pendle Borough Council election took place on 6 May 1999 to elect members of Pendle Borough Council in Lancashire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Liberal Democrats lost overall control of the council to no overall control.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 City of York Council election</span>

Elections to City of York Council were held on Thursday 5 May 2011. The whole council was up for election. The vote took place alongside the 2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 Basildon District Council election</span>

The 2008 Basildon District Council election took place on 1 May 2008 to elect members of Basildon District Council in Essex, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative party stayed in overall control of the council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2007 Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council election</span>

The 2007 Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council election took place on 3 May 2007 to elect members of Redcar and Cleveland Unitary Council in England. The whole council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 Carlisle City Council election</span>

The 2011 Carlisle City Council election took place on 5 May 2011 to elect members of Carlisle District Council in Cumbria, England. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council election</span>

The 2014 Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 22 May 2014 to elect members of Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council in England. This was on the same day as local elections across the United Kingdom and a European election. One councillor was elected in each of the 17 wards for a four-year term. There are three councillors representing each ward elected on a staggered basis so one third of the councillor seats were up for re-election. The seats had previously been contested in 2010 which was held in conjunction with a general election. The turnout was significantly lower in 2014 than in 2010 which is not unusual when comparing local elections that coincide with general elections to ones that do not. Prior to the election Labour was the largest party in the council with 21 out of 51 seats, 5 seats short of an overall majority. After the election there was no overall control of the council. Labour had 25 seats, only one short of a majority and so Labour continued to operate a minority administration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 Brent London Borough Council election</span> 2014 local election in England

The 2014 Brent London Borough Council election took place on 22 May 2014 to elect members of Brent London Borough Council in London, England. The whole council was up for election and the Labour Party stayed in overall control of the council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council election</span>

The 2018 Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 3 May 2018 to elect members of Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council in England. This was on the same day as other local elections. One councillor was elected in each ward for a four-year term so the councillors elected in 2018 last stood for election in 2014. Each ward is represented by three councillors, the election of which is staggered, so only one third of the councillors were elected in this election. Before the election there was no overall control with a minority Labour administration. Following the election Labour, having gained one councillor, was still two councillors away from a majority so it remained no overall control.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 City of York Council election</span> 2019 council election in York, England

Elections to City of York Council were held on 2 May 2019, as part of the United Kingdom local elections. The election resulted in substantial gains for the Liberal Democrats, who became the largest party, although no party surpassed the 24-seat majority threshold. The Conservatives suffered badly in this election, and lost 12 of the 14 seats they had won at the previous election. The Green Party held all their four seats, and surpassed the Conservatives in the popular vote. Labour gained two seats, although they failed to gain support in rural areas, where voters favoured the Liberal Democrats. On 14 May, The Liberal Democrats and the Green Party announced that they had agreed to run the council in a new 'progressive partnership' coalition, with Green Party leader Andy D'Agorne assuming the role of Deputy Leader of the Council while Liberal Democrat leader Keith Aspden succeeded Ian Gillies as Leader of the Council.

References

  1. "Bristol councillor, Barbara Janke to become a peer". 8 August 2014.
  2. 1 2 Wood, Alan H.; Wood, Roger, eds. (1992). Guide to the House of Commons April 1992. Times Newspapers Ltd. p. 218. ISBN   978-0-7230-0497-4.
  3. 1 2 "Barbara Janke". Liberal Democrats. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
  4. "Labour group resigns over budget". BBC News. 24 February 2009.
  5. "Bristol City Council leader Barbara Janke to stand down". BBC News. 26 April 2012.
  6. "No. 61002". The London Gazette . 30 September 2014. p. 18966.