Liz Jarvis | |
---|---|
Member of Parliament for Eastleigh | |
Assumed office 4 July 2024 | |
Preceded by | Paul Holmes |
Majority | 1,546 (3.3%) |
Personal details | |
Political party | Liberal Democrats |
Alma mater | University of Essex |
Website | https://www.lizjarvis.uk/ |
A major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject.(November 2024) |
Elizabeth Jarvis [1] known as Liz Jarvis, is a British Liberal Democrat politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Eastleigh since 2024, gaining the seat from the Conservatives.
Jarvis's mother Eileen was of Irish descent. A former secretary, she went on to become a senior social worker before gaining an Open University degree. [2] Jarvis's father Harry was a shipping fleet personnel officer from Hampshire who had served in the British Army in the Middle East. [2] [3]
Her mother was a member of the Labour Party and her father voted Conservative. Jarvis has said that politics was discussed at every meal and she was taken on her first march by her mother as a toddler. [3] She and her younger sister also helped their mother volunteer at women's refuges. Jarvis's father, Harry, died suddenly before Jarvis was 21, [4] and her mother, Eileen, died aged 92 in March 2024 [2] after a seven-year struggle with Alzheimer's. [2]
The first in her family to go to university, Jarvis graduated from the University of Essex in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in American literature. [5]
Jarvis began her career in journalism on national newspapers and had a national newspaper column by the time she was 25. [6] She went on to work on magazines, editing three, while continuing to contribute to newspapers, and also worked closely with Southampton's cruise industry. [3] She was the editor of Cruise International magazine for eight years (2012-2020). [7]
Jarvis joined the Liberal Democrats in 2018, having been a "lifelong Labour voter". [8] She stood in Southampton Itchen in the 2019 general election, coming third with 5.3% of the vote when the seat was won by Conservative Royston Smith with a narrow majority over Labour. [9] In 2022 she was elected as an Eastleigh Borough Councillor for the Hamble and Netley ward, with a majority of over 1000. [10]
In the 2024 general election she was elected as the Liberal Democrat MP for Eastleigh, [11] winning the seat back from the Conservatives for the first time since 2015 and overturning a notional majority of 8,641 (calculated as the likely outcome of the 2019 election on the 2024 boundaries). [12] She had a majority of 1,546 (3.3%) over the Conservative candidate; there were six candidates and a turnout of 66%. [13] She chose not to stand down as a Borough Councillor and told journalists she would donate her councillor allowance to charities. [14] In September 2024, she made her maiden speech in the House of Commons during a debate on Great British Energy. [15] On 21st October 2024 she was appointed to the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee. [16] In November 2024, Jarvis voted for the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. [17]
She stood down as a councillor in January 2025. [18]
Jarvis has a son who she raised as a single parent since he was aged 18 months. [19] She lives outside the Eastleigh constituency, in Hamble Valley, where she is also a councillor. [20] From 2019 to 2023 she was a trustee of Home-Start Westminster, a charity supporting families in London. [7] [21]
Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the 2011 census.
David William George Chidgey, Baron Chidgey was a British Liberal Democrat politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Eastleigh from 1994 to 2005, and latterly sat in the House of Lords from 2005 until his death.
The Borough of Eastleigh is a local government district with borough status in Hampshire, England. It is named after its main town of Eastleigh, where the council is based. The borough also contains the town of Hedge End along with several villages, many of which form part of the South Hampshire urban area.
Southampton, Itchen is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Darren Paffey from the Labour Party (UK). Before then, it had been held since 2015 by Royston Smith GM of the Conservative Party, who had announced his retirement from frontline politics in 2023 and did not seek re-election in 2024.
Winchester is a constituency in Hampshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Danny Chambers, a Liberal Democrat.
Eastleigh is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Liz Jarvis, a Liberal Democrat.
The ceremonial county of Hampshire, which includes the unitary authorities of Portsmouth and Southampton, is divided into 19 parliamentary constituencies: 9 borough constituencies and 10 county constituencies. One of the county constituencies, Farnham and Bordon is split between Hampshire and Surrey
Richard Charles Mitchell, commonly known as Bob Mitchell, was a Labour Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom. He represented Southampton Test for Labour from 1966 to 1970, and Southampton Itchen for Labour and then the Social Democratic Party from 1971 to 1983.
Caroline Fiona Ellen Nokes is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Romsey and Southampton North since 2010. Elected as a Conservative, Nokes had the Conservative whip removed on 3 September 2019 and sat as an independent politician until the whip was restored to her on 29 October.
Dame Jacqueline Doyle-Price is a British former Conservative Party politician and former civil servant who was Member of Parliament (MP) for Thurrock from 2010 to 2024. She was first elected as MP in the 2010 general election and was defeated in the 2024 general election.
Rowenna Davis is a Labour Party politician. She is currently a councillor representing Waddon ward in the London Borough of Croydon. She has worked as a teacher and political journalist. She has previously been a Labour councillor for the London Borough of Southwark and contested the parliamentary seat of Southampton Itchen in the 2015 general election. She has written numerous articles for publications such as the New Statesman, The Guardian, The Sun and The Economist. In 2011, Davis authored Tangled Up in Blue, an examination of the rise of the Blue Labour movement.
A by-election for the House of Commons constituency of Eastleigh in Hampshire was held on 28 February 2013.
Elizabeth Anne McInnes is a British Labour Party politician and biochemist who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Heywood and Middleton from 2014 to 2019.
Royston Matthew Smith is a British Conservative Party politician and who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Southampton Itchen from 2015 to 2024, when he stood down. Smith was previously a councillor on the Southampton City Council. He received the George Medal for disarming a sailor who had killed a Royal Navy officer during Smith's 2011 visit to a submarine.
Florence Dauta Eshalomi is a British politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Vauxhall and Camberwell Green, formerly Vauxhall, since 2019. A Member of the Labour and Co-operative parties, she was Member of the London Assembly (AM) for Lambeth and Southwark from 2016 to 2021.
Sara Alice Britcliffe is a British Conservative Party politician, who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hyndburn from 2019 to 2024. At the age of 24, she was the youngest Conservative MP elected in the election, and the first to represent the constituency since 1992.
Joanna Mary Gideon is a British Conservative Party politician, who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Stoke-on-Trent Central constituency from the 2019 general election to the 2024 general election.
Paul John Holmes is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hamble Valley since 2024. He was the Member of Parliament for Eastleigh from 2019 to 2024. Holmes currently serves as Shadow Minister for Housing, Communities and Local Government having been appointed by Kemi Badenoch.
Annalissa Firth is a British former politician and former barrister who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Southend West from 2022 to 2024. A member of the Conservative Party, she was also a councillor on Sevenoaks District Council between 2011 and 2022.
Hamble Valley is a parliamentary constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament. Further to the completion of the 2023 periodic review of Westminster constituencies, it was first contested in the 2024 general election. It is represented by Paul Holmes of the Conservative Party, who served as the MP for Eastleigh from 2019 to 2024.