The Baroness Sharp of Guildford | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 21 November 1938 |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Liberal Democrats |
Margaret Lucy Sharp, Baroness Sharp of Guildford (born 21 November 1938) is a former member of the House of Lords of the United Kingdom. She sat as a Liberal Democrat.
She is the daughter of Osmund and Sydney Hailstone. She was educated at Tonbridge Grammar School and Newnham College, Cambridge where she gained a BA in 1960.
She had a successful career as an economist before entering the House of Lords. Sharp's work encompassed both academic and public service, starting in the civil service, followed by a long spell at the London School of Economics (LSE), a short spell back in public service with the National Economic Development Office in the late 1970s and, since the early 1980s, with the Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) at the University of Sussex. She retired from the University of Sussex in 1999 but retains a visiting fellowship.
Sharp's political career began in the early 1980s when she joined the newly formed Social Democratic Party (SDP) and was selected to stand in Guildford in the 1983 general election. She fought three further elections in Guildford for the SDP and then the Liberal Democrats, gradually squeezing a 20,000 majority down to 4,500 and preparing the way for Liberal Democrat Sue Doughty's victory in the 2001 election.
On the national scene she has played an active part in policy making, chairing a number of policy working groups and for several years being vice-chair to Paddy Ashdown on the Party's main policy committee.
As leader of higher and further education policy group, who produced the paper 'Quality, Diversity and Choice' which is now party policy, Sharp was widely attributed as masterminding the Liberal Democrat's rejection of top-up fees, which contributed to the party's success in taking a number of university seats at the 2005 general election.
She is a member of the Advisory Council for the Campaign for Science and Engineering. [1]
She was created a Life peer as Baroness Sharp of Guildford, of Guildford in the County of Surrey on 1 August 1998, [2] and spoke for her party on issues of education, science, and technology in the House of Lords. She retired from the House on 31 July 2016. [3]
She married Thomas Sharp CBE in 1962. He has been a Lib Dem councillor on Surrey County Council and Guildford Borough Council.
Shirley Vivian Teresa Brittain Williams, Baroness Williams of Crosby, was a British politician and academic. Originally a Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP), she served in the Labour cabinet from 1974 to 1979. She was one of the "Gang of Four" rebels who founded the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in 1981 and, at the time of her retirement from politics, was a Liberal Democrat.
Sally Rachel Hamwee, Baroness Hamwee is a Liberal Democrat politician and their Lead Home Affairs Spokesperson in the House of Lords. She is a Life Peer and former chair of the London Assembly.
Dick Taverne, Baron Taverne, is a British politician and life peer who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Lincoln from 1962 to 1974. A member of the Liberal Democrats, he was a Labour MP until his deselection in 1972, following which he resigned his seat and won the subsequent by-election in 1973 as a Democratic Labour candidate.
Edward Timothy Razzall, Lord Razzall, is a British Liberal Democrat politician and parliamentarian.
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.
Guildford Borough Council in Surrey, England is elected every four years.
The Social Democratic Party (SDP) formed in 1988 was a political party in the United Kingdom led by David Owen, which lasted for only two years. A successor party to the original Social Democratic Party (SDP), it was known informally as the 'continuing' SDP.
Joan Margaret Walmsley, Baroness Walmsley is a British Liberal Democrat politician. She is currently the deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords.
Pauline Perry, Baroness Perry of Southwark is an educator, educationist, academic, and activist. She is a Conservative politician and was for 25 years a working member of the British House of Lords. In 1981 she became Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools in England. In 1986 she became Vice-Chancellor of South Bank Polytechnic, and serving during its transition to a university, became the first woman in history to run a British university.
Lindsay Patricia Northover, Baroness Northover, is a British academic, Liberal Democrat politician, member of the House of Lords, and former junior government minister.
Angela Felicity Harris, Baroness Harris of Richmond, is a Liberal Democrat life peer and formerly a Deputy Speaker in the House of Lords of the United Kingdom.
Susan Petronella Thomas, Baroness Thomas of Walliswood, is a British businesswoman and Liberal Democrat politician.
The Welsh Liberal Democrats are a branch of the United Kingdom Liberal Democrats that operates in Wales. The party is led by Jane Dodds, who served as MP for Brecon and Radnorshire from August to December 2019, and MS for Mid and West Wales since May 2021. The party currently has 1 elected member in the Senedd and no Welsh seats in the UK House of Commons, but does have several members of the House of Lords. The party had 69 local councilors serving in principal authorities as of the 2022 local authority elections, up 10 from 2017.
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.
Veronica Linklater, Baroness Linklater of Butterstone was a British Liberal Democrat politician and member of the House of Lords. Her career indicates her interests in children's welfare, education and special needs, and prison reform.
Meral Hussein Ece, Baroness Hussein-Ece, is a British Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords. She is the first woman of Turkish Cypriot origin to be a member of either house of Parliament after she was appointed a Liberal Democrat working peer on 28 May 2010. She was the Liberal Democrat Spokeswoman for Equalities from 2015 until 2016, under leader Tim Farron.
Inga-Stina Robson, Baroness Robson of Kiddington, often known as Stina Robson, was an Anglo-Swedish political activist.
Kathryn Jane Parminter, Baroness Parminter is a Liberal Democrat life peer, and Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords of the United Kingdom.
Claire Tyler, Baroness Tyler of Enfield, is a Liberal Democrat life peer in the House of Lords.
Judith Anne Jolly, Baroness Jolly is a Liberal Democrat life peer. She was raised to the peerage in 2010 and was introduced to the House of Lords in January 2011. Her maiden speech was made within a week on health issues and she immediately became involved in briefings on the Health and Social Care Bill.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
