Marie Rimmer | |
---|---|
Opposition Whip | |
In office 14 April 2020 –4 December 2021 | |
Leader | Keir Starmer |
Shadow Minister for Disabled People | |
In office 1 February 2017 –9 October 2017 | |
Leader | Jeremy Corbyn |
Preceded by | Debbie Abrahams |
Succeeded by | Marsha de Cordova |
Member of Parliament for St Helens South and Whiston | |
Assumed office 7 May 2015 | |
Preceded by | Shaun Woodward |
Majority | 19,122 (38.0%) |
Personal details | |
Born | 27 April 1947 |
Political party | Labour |
Website | Official website |
Marie Elizabeth Rimmer, CBE (born 27 April 1947) is a British Labour Party politician. She has previously been a local councillor for St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council in Merseyside,England,and has served as Labour leader of the council three times between 1978 and 2014. She has recently been the Member of Parliament (MP) for St Helens South and Whiston since 2015. [1]
Born in 1947,Rimmer grew up in St Helens. After she left school,she worked at the Pilkington Glass manufacturing plant,first as a comptometer operator,and later as a buyer for the engineering division. [2]
Rimmer first became a Labour local councillor for St Helens in 1978. [2] In 1985,Rimmer became Labour leader of the council. [3] In 1986,Rimmer debated against the unfriendly take-over bid from BTR Industries,arguing that the loss of local control of the company would greatly harm St Helens. [4] BTR withdrew its offer the same year. [5] In 1993,Rimmer stepped down as Labour leader of the council and returned to Pilkington Glass as a health and safety advisor, [2] until retiring from the position following the 1999 St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council election,where she became Labour leader of the council for the second time. [6]
In the 2004 St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council election,Rimmer held her seat in West Park after 3 recounts,however the Labour council lost its majority and lost overall control of the council to no overall control. [7] In the same year,Rimmer was a board member of the Northwest Development Agency (NWDA),a regional development agency for the North West England. [8] In July,Rimmer and the St Helens Council backed the plans for the construction for a new stadium for St Helens R.F.C. as part of a £100m leisure complex. [9] She was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2005 Birthday Honours for services to local government. [10]
In 2006,police investigated Rimmer for allegations that she had spent £1,000 more than what was allowed in her ward during May's local elections,breaking rules governing election campaign expenses. [11] The original complaints originated from a member of the now defunct Community Action Party,Eric Guest,who was hit back by the Labour Party who called the allegations 'spurious and malicious.' [12]
Rimmer became leader of the council for a third time following the 2010 St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council election. [13] She criticised the then outgoing administration,led by Liberal Democrats leader Brian Spencer,for driving people away from the town centre after their implementation of car parking charges in some areas of St Helens. [14] In 2011,Rimmer opposed plans to introduce the Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region,stating that "St Helens has a long and proud tradition of helping to support the sub region economy by working closely with our colleagues. I do not believe that investing power in one individual is the right thing to do." [15]
Her leadership ended following the 2014 St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council election where despite winning a large Labour majority,Rimmer was replaced by her deputy,Barrie Grunewald,in May 2013 after a 22 to 18 vote of the Labour group on the council. [16]
In 2014,Rimmer was picked from an all-women shortlist as Labour's candidate in the 2015 general election to succeed Shaun Woodward as MP for St Helens South and Whiston. [17] Thirteen years prior,she was blocked from being shortlisted for the same seat ahead of the 2001 general election by Labour's national executive committee,amidst accusations of a "stitch-up" to parachute Woodward into the seat,as he was unlikely to win his Witney seat which he had won in 1997 as a Conservative. [18] Labour officials refused to disclose reasons why Rimmer was excluded from the shortlist,and despite being noted as a local favourite,Rimmer insisted that,despite her exclusion,she was not angry and that she "...did not come into politics to be angry." [19] She was elected as MP for St Helens South and Whiston in the 2015 general election with a majority of 21,243. [20]
On the day of the Scottish independence referendum in 2014,an incident at a polling station in Shettleston,Glasgow,led to her arrest and being charged with assault. [21] [22] Rimmer's case was later found not proven at Glasgow Sheriff Court in November 2016. [23]
Initially supporting Yvette Cooper,she supported Owen Smith in the 2016 Labour leadership election. [24] In the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum,Rimmer voted remain. [25] Following the murder of Jo Cox,Rimmer was among 20 MP's,and musicians including Ricky Wilson,MP4,and Royal Opera House Thurrock Community Chorus,to record a charity single covering The Rolling Stones' You Can't Always Get What You Want. [26]
In the 2017 general election,Rimmer held her seat and increased her majority to 24,343. [27] This was reduced to 19,122 at the 2019 general election. [28]
Rimmer was appointed Shadow Minister for Disabled People on 1 February 2017 [29] but decided to step down from the role in October the same year. [30] On 14 April 2020,she was appointed as an opposition whip, a position she held until 4 December 2021. [31]
Rimmer endorsed Keir Starmer in the 2020 Labour Party leadership election. [32]
Rimmer has a sister,Marlene Mary Quinn,who also ran as councillor in St Helens as recently as 2019. [33]
The Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley is a metropolitan borough in Merseyside,North West England. It covers several towns and villages,including Kirkby,Prescot,Huyton,Whiston,Halewood,Cronton and Stockbridge Village;Kirkby,Huyton,and Prescot being the major commercial centres. It takes its name from the village of Knowsley,though its headquarters are in Huyton. It forms part of the wider Liverpool City Region.
The Metropolitan Borough of St Helens is a local government district with borough status in Merseyside,North West England. The borough is named after its largest settlement,St Helens,but also includes neighbouring towns and villages such as Earlestown,Rainhill,Eccleston,Clock Face,Haydock,Billinge,Rainford and Newton-le-Willows.
St. Helens North is a constituency created in 1983 represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by the Labour Party's Conor McGinn,Shadow Minister without Portfolio from 4 December 2021. Between 1997 and 2015 the MP was Labour's David Watts.
Conor Patrick McGinn is a British politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for St Helens North since 2015. He was the Labour Party Deputy National Campaign Coordinator from June 2021 and Shadow Minister without Portfolio from December 2021 until September 2022.
St. Helens South and Whiston is a constituency created in 2010 represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Marie Rimmer of the Labour Party.
Knowsley is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since its 2010 creation by George Howarth of the Labour Party.
Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council elections are generally held three years out of every four,with a third of the council being elected each time. Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council,generally known as Knowsley Council,is the local authority for the metropolitan borough of Knowsley in Merseyside,England. Since the last boundary changes in 2016,45 councillors have been elected from 15 wards.
St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council elections are held every four years. St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council,which styles itself St Helens Borough Council,is the local authority for the metropolitan borough of St Helens in Merseyside,England. Since the last boundary changes in 2022,48 councillors have been elected from 18 wards. Prior to the 2022 boundary changes,elections were held three years out of every four,with a third of the council being elected each time.
The 1999 St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 6 May 1999 to elect members of St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council in Merseyside,England. One third of the council was up for election and the Labour Party stayed in overall control of the council.
The 2002 St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 2 May 2002 to elect members of St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council in Merseyside,England. One third of the council was up for election and the Labour Party stayed in overall control of the council.
The 2004 St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 10 June 2004 to elect members of St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council in Merseyside,England. The whole council was up for election with boundary changes since the last election in 2003 reducing the number of seats by six. The Labour Party lost overall control of the council to no overall control.
The 2006 St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 4 May 2006 to elect members of St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council in Merseyside,England. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control.
The 2007 St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 3 May 2007 to elect members of St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council in Merseyside,England. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control.
St Helens Council,also known as St Helens Borough Council and St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council,is the local authority of the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens in Merseyside,England. It is a metropolitan district council,one of five in Merseyside and one of 36 in the metropolitan counties of England,and provides the majority of local government services in St Helens. It is a constituent council of Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.
The 2010 St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 6 May 2010 to elect members of St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council in Merseyside,England. One third of the council was up for election and the Labour Party gained overall control of the council from no overall control.
The 2011 St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 5 May 2011 to elect members of St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council in Merseyside,England. One third of the council was up for election and the Labour Party stayed in overall control of the council.
The 2012 St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 3 May 2012 to elect members of St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council in Merseyside,England. One third of the council was up for election and the LabourPparty stayed in overall control of the council.
The 2014 St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 22 May 2014 to elect members of St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council in Merseyside,England. One third of the council was up for election and the Labour Party stayed in overall control of the council.
The 2018 Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 3 May 2018 to elect members of Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council in England. This election was held on the same day as other local elections.
The 2019 Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 2 May 2019 to elect members of Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council in England. This election was held on the same day as other local elections.
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