The Baroness Thornhill | |
---|---|
Mayor of Watford | |
In office 6 May 2002 –6 May 2018 | |
Preceded by | Office created |
Succeeded by | Peter Taylor |
Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
Assumed office 21 October 2015 Life Peerage | |
Personal details | |
Born | Tenby,Pembrokeshire,Wales | 26 May 1955
Political party | Liberal Democrats |
Website | (as archived November 2009) |
Dorothy Thornhill,Baroness Thornhill, MBE (born 26 May 1955) was the first directly elected mayor of Watford,Hertfordshire,England. She was the Liberal Democrats' first directly elected mayor,and was also the first female directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom. She served as Mayor of Watford from May 2002 until May 2018. She was nominated for a life peerage in August 2015. [1]
In May 2002,Thornhill became the first elected mayor of Watford Borough with a majority of over 8,000 after second choice votes were counted. [2]
Thornhill increased her majority when she was re-elected as mayor in May 2006,gaining more than 50% of the vote in the first round and a majority of over 7,000. [3]
Thornhill was ranked the 41st most influential Liberal Democrat in the country,in an article by The Daily Telegraph . They stated:
"Dorothy Thornhill overcame tough opposition to become the first directly LibDem mayor in 2002 and she was re-elected in 2006. Watford is a target seat for the 'LibDems' at the next election and her tenure as mayor will prove crucial to their fortunes." [4]
At a Liberal Democrat town hall meeting in Watford,in February 2010,the leader of the party,Nick Clegg was asked whether he felt the Mayor was right to earn the same wage as a member of parliament whether she was "value for money",and in response he named her "one of the best mayors in this country". [5]
Thornhill was re-elected in May 2010,for a third term in office,with a majority of 11,921,becoming the second directly elected mayor in the UK to do so. [6] She was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2011 Birthday Honours. [7]
In 2015,Watford Borough Council lost a legal battle to evict allotment holders from the Terrace Farm allotments in Watford. [8]
Thornhill stood for the Watford constituency in the parliamentary elections on 7 May 2015 as the Liberal Democrat candidate. She won 10,152 votes compared to the Labour candidate's 14,606 and the Conservative candidate's 24,400.
On 21 October 2015,she was created a life peer as Baroness Thornhill,of Watford in the County of Hertfordshire. [9] She decided not to stand in the 2018 mayoral election and was succeeded by fellow Liberal Democrat Peter Taylor. [10]
As a Liberal Democrat peer,Thornhill led the party's internal review into their performance in the 2019 general election,which was published in May 2020. [11]
She ranked 15 out of 50 on the Top 50 Influential Lib Dems of 2020 list. [12]
Thornhill was assistant head teacher at Queens' School in Bushey for several years and had a teaching career spanning over 25 years. [13]
Thornhill lives in the Oxhey area of Watford,where she was a borough councillor for several years. She states on the Watford Council website "In my spare time I enjoy spending time with friends and family,reading,watching rugby and football and visiting old churches" and she describes herself as "an avid viewer of Coronation Street ". She is an Honorary Vice-President of Watford Football Club. [13] She is married to Cllr Iain Sharpe,a fellow Liberal Democrat. She is a regular Twitter user.
In 2023,Thornhill was fined and disqualified from holding or obtaining a driving licence for 6 months for speeding on Hempstead Road in Watford. [14]
Sandra Julia Gidley MRPharmS is a British pharmacist and politician who served as the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament (MP) for Romsey in Hampshire from 2000 to 2010,when she lost her seat to Conservative candidate Caroline Nokes.
Sarah Louise Teather is the Director of Jesuit Refugee Service UK and a former British Member of Parliament and Minister. As a Liberal Democrat politician,she founded the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Guantanamo Bay and was chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Refugees. On stepping down as an MP,she joined the Jesuit Refugee Service as an advocacy adviser and was appointed as country director of JRS UK in December 2015.
Sir Norman Peter Lamb is a British politician and solicitor. He was the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament (MP) for North Norfolk from 2001 to 2019,and was the chair of the Science and Technology Select Committee from 2017 to 2019.
Lynne Choona Featherstone,Baroness Featherstone,is a British politician,businesswoman and Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords.
In British politics,a Lib–Lab pact is a working arrangement between the Liberal Democrats and the Labour Party.
Joanne Kate Swinson is a British former politician who was Leader of the Liberal Democrats from July to December 2019. She was the first woman and the youngest person to hold the position,as well as the shortest-serving holder of the post. Swinson was Member of Parliament (MP) for East Dunbartonshire from 2005 to 2015 and 2017 to 2019. In September 2020 Swinson became Director of Partners for a New Economy (P4NE).
Mark James Hunter is a British Liberal Democrat politician and leader of Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council who became Member of Parliament (MP) for Cheadle at a 2005 by-election. At the 2015 general election,Hunter lost his seat to Mary Robinson of the Conservative Party. Since 19 May 2022,Hunter has served as the leader of Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council. As leader he is also a member of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and is the combined authority's portfolio holder for Children and Young People.
The 2006 United Kingdom local elections were held on Thursday 4 May 2006.
Hertfordshire County Council in England is elected every four years. Since the last boundary changes took effect in 2017 there have been 78 electoral divisions electing one councillor each.
Elections to Watford Borough Council were held on 2 May 2002. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control. At the same time an election for a directly elected mayor was held,which was won by the Liberal Democrat Dorothy Thornhill.
Elections to Watford Borough Council were held on 4 May 2006. One third of the council was up for election and the Liberal Democrat party kept overall control of the council. At the same time in the election for Watford's directly elected mayor the Liberal Democrat Dorothy Thornhill was re-elected.
Caroline Valerie Pidgeon is a British politician serving as the Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the London Assembly since 2018,and a Londonwide Member of the London Assembly (AM) since 2008.
Watford Borough Council is the local authority for the Watford non-metropolitan district in the south-west of Hertfordshire,England. The council is based in the Town Hall on Hempstead Road. The council comprises 36 councillors plus a directly-elected mayor.
The Liberal Democrats are a liberal political party in the United Kingdom,founded in 1988. Since the 1992 general election,with the exception of the 2015 general election,they have been the third-largest UK political party by the number of votes cast. They have 15 members of Parliament in the House of Commons,84 members of the House of Lords,four Members of the Scottish Parliament and one member in the Welsh Senedd. The party has nearly 3,000 local council seats. The party holds a twice-per-year Liberal Democrat Conference,at which party policy is formulated. In contrast to its main opponents' conference rules,the Lib Dems grant all members attending its Conference the right to speak in debates and vote on party policy,under a one member,one vote system. The party also allows its members to vote online for its policies and in the election of a new leader. The party served as the junior party in a coalition government with the Conservative Party between 2010 and 2015;with Scottish Labour in the Scottish Executive from 1999 to 2007,and with Welsh Labour in the Welsh Government from 2000 to 2003 and from 2016 to 2021.
The Mayor of Watford is the head of the borough council of Watford,Hertfordshire,England. The holder of the position is a directly elected mayor using the supplementary vote every four years. The current mayor of Watford is Peter Taylor,who was elected in May 2018 for the Liberal Democrats.
Professor Richard Sean Grayson is a British historian. He is currently the Head of School of Education,Humanities and Languages at Oxford Brookes University.
The 2008 Pendle Borough Council election took place on 1 May 2008 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.
The 2018 Watford Borough Council election took place on 3 May 2018 to elect members of Watford Borough Council in England. This was the same day as other local elections.
Peter Colin Taylor is a Liberal Democrat politician. He is the second directly elected mayor of Watford in the United Kingdom. He was elected in the 2018 election,succeeding Dorothy Thornhill. Before becoming Elected Mayor of Watford,he was a teacher and a local Oxhey ward councillor. He was re-elected in 2022.
The 2020 Liberal Democrats leadership election was held in August 2020,after Jo Swinson,the previous leader of the Liberal Democrats,lost her seat in the 2019 general election. It was initially set to be held in July 2020,but due to the COVID-19 pandemic it was delayed by six weeks,having been at first postponed until May 2021.