Virginia Ann Crosbie (born 8 December 1966)[1] is a British former politician and nuclear industry advocate. Crosbie is the Managing Director of NEMO an international NGO organization focused on advancing safe,secure,and sustainable nuclear technology in the maritime sector. She served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ynys Môn from 2019 until 2024. Crosbie is chair of Supporters of Nuclear Energy (SONE),and founder and partner at Nuclear Capital LLP.[2] Crosbie is a Board Director of the Nuclear Institute,chairs key events ( Foresight) and contributes to energy and policy reports and articles (Winning hearts and minds in nuclear).
Crosbie contested the Rhondda constituency as the Conservative candidate in the 2017 general election. She finished third behind the Labour Party and Plaid Cymru candidates.[10] She then became the deputy chair of the Kensington,Chelsea and Fulham Conservatives Association,and the director of Women2Win,an organisation which campaigns for more female Conservative parliamentarians.[11][12] She also worked as a senior parliamentary researcher for Basingstoke MP Maria Miller.[6][7]
She was selected as the Conservative candidate for Ynys Môn on 14 November 2019 (the day when nominations closed).[13] Crosbie was chosen after the former Brecon and Radnorshire MP Chris Davies,the previously selected candidate,withdrew the day before due to opposition by the local association,and other Welsh Conservatives.[14] She was elected as MP for Ynys Môn at the 2019 general election with a majority of 1,968 (5.4%).[15] The constituency had been represented by a Labour Party MP since the 2001 general election.[16] She was the first Conservative MP to represent this three-way marginal seat since 1987.[17]
Crosbie was a member of the Welsh Affairs Select Committee throughout much of her time as an MP and sat on the Women and Equalities Committee between March and September 2020.[21][22] In July 2020,Crosbie apologised for errors on her Welsh language website,stating that the machine translation was "not 100% perfect". She said she was learning the Welsh language and working on a fully bilingual website.[23] Her bilingual website was put in place in 2023. She carried out her first Welsh interview with Guto Bebb for S4C in 2022.[24]
In 2020 she successfully campaigned to give Ynys Môn protected status in the UK Boundary Changes review. An amendment put forward by Maria Miller MP brought Anglesey in line with other UK islands including the Isle of Wight and Orkney ensuring that it would not become a joint constituency with part of mainland Wales.[25]
In 2023 Crosbie was instrumental in the UK Government's announcement that £20m funding would be granted to the Welsh Government for the refurbishment of Holyhead Breakwater.[41] She sponsored Anglesey County Council's bid for the Community Renewal Fund[42] which resulted in £2.7m being granted to Anglesey from the Fund for projects including promotion of the Welsh language in 2022.[43]
Since beginning her career as an MP,Crosbie has made the case for building new nuclear power stations in the UK. In December 2020 she founded and chaired the Nuclear Delivery Group with fellow Conservative MP Trudy Harrison,[46] was Secretary to the APPG for Nuclear Energy and set up and Chaired the APPG for Small Modular Reactors.[47] She was very vocal in her support of setting up a new nuclear plant on the site of Wylfa on Anglesey.[48][49]
She became synonymous with nuclear and Wylfa in the House of Commons earning the nickname of the Atomic Kitten.[50] She sat on the Nuclear Energy (Financing) Bill Committee and was instrumental in the inclusion of new nuclear in the green taxonomy [51] announced in the Chancellor's 2023 budget. In September 2023 the then Prime Minister,Rishi Sunak,hinted that Wylfa could be a preferred nuclear site.[52] In the March 2024 budget the then Chancellor of the ExchequerJeremy Hunt said of Crosbie "Ynys Môn has a vital role in delivering our nuclear ambitions and no one should take more credit for today’s announcement than my tireless,tenacious,turbo-charged hon friend for Ynys Môn" when he announced that the UK Government through Great British Nuclear would be purchasing the Wylfa site from Hitachi.[53] In May 2024 the Government announced that Wylfa would be the site for its next gigawatt nuclear power plant.[54]
Crosbie expressed her concerns about plans to develop large scale solar farms on land across Anglesey. She launched a survey [62] of local people and contributed to a Westminster Hall debate on large scale solar farms.[63] In the Post Office scandal Crosbie spoke on behalf of constituents affected in and secured a meeting [64] with the Post Office Minister for an Anglesey former sub-postmaster in January 2024. She had previously spoken on behalf of those affected on Anglesey in 2021.[65][66]
In January 2023,Crosbie said that she wears a stab vest when meeting constituents. She commented that she took this precaution following the murder of Conservative MP Sir David Amess in 2021.[70] Crosbie had previously reported around 30 threats,abusive emails and social media posts to the police since being elected as an MP which included violent threats.[71][72]
In 2020 Crosbie took part in the Parliamentary Armed Forces Scheme and she supported developments [82][83] in RAF Valley on her island constituency.
Crosbie has also led Parliamentary debates on communities served by the West Coast Mainline franchise,[84] the closure of the Menai Suspension Bridge[85] and Freeports in Wales.[86] She subsequently expressed her disappointment that Avanti West Coast was reawarded the West Coast Mainline contract[87] and that the Menai Bridge repairs would not be complete until 2026.[88]
Following the Welsh Government's announcement in 2023 that it was axing plans for a third bridge across the Menai Strait,[89] Crosbie started a campaign for a third Menai Crossing[90] citing Welsh Government evidence that not going ahead with the crossing would give "detrimental effects on the economy of the Isle of Anglesey and north west Wales".[91]
Crosbie also campaigned for better digital connectivity across Anglesey.[92]
She stated that one of her aims was to bring jobs and investment to Ynys Môn,and welcomed a £175m investment at RAF Valley[94] and a new HMRC Inland Border Facility in Holyhead.[95] In 2023 she set up her Local Jobs for Local People campaign to support Anglesey locals being prioritised for new local jobs. Local,national and international companies signed up to commit to her campaign.[96]
In 2023,following a question asked by Crosbie in Business Questions,the Leader of the House,Penny Mordaunt MP,declared the Welsh Government's "blanket" 20mph speed limit "absolutely insane". Crosbie had stated that "In many places - outside schools,outside hospitals - 20mph is appropriate".[97]
Crosbie launched a number of local campaigns whilst MP for Ynys Môn including her campaign to bring Aldi supermarkets to Amlwch - which led Penny Mordaunt to announced that she would use her ceremonial sword to open the new supermarket in Business questions.[98] She worked with local residents in Brynsiencyn to oppose the introduction of double yellow lines through the village.[99] She also campaigned for a new health centre in Holyhead[100]
She sat on the Seafarers Wages Bill,British Sign Language Bill,Shark Fin Bill,Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill,Health and Care Bill and the Women and Equalities Committee.[101]
Whilst MP for Ynys Môn she hosted more than thirty Ministerial visits to the island - including visits from two sitting Prime Ministers[102][103] and raised more than £40,000 for local charities.[104][105][106][107] She also nominated and welcomed several local people to local champion receptions[108][109][110][111][112][113] at 10 Downing Street. In 2020 - two months after her election - she offered a lift to a constituent caught out in Storm Dennis. The person she rescued turned out to be one of her online trolls.[114]
Crosbie contested the Ynys Môn seat as the Conservative Party candidate,but was defeated by the Plaid Cymru candidate Llinos Medi,coming second by just 637 votes.[115]
Post-parliamentary career
Following her defeat at the 2024 general election,Crosbie was appointed as a Partner at Nuclear Capital.[116] She is managing director of the Nuclear Energy Maritime Organization (NEMO),a membership-led body promoting the safe,secure and sustainable use of nuclear technologies in the maritime sector. She also remains active in the sector as a board director of the Nuclear Institute and chair of Supporters of Nuclear Energy (SONE).
Personal life
Crosbie is married and has three children.[4][5] Her brother Simon died by suicide in 2018 at the age of 52.[117]
After her election in December 2019,she committed to learning the Welsh language and passed her entry-level speaking examination in July 2021.[118]
References
↑Brunskill, Ian (19 March 2020). The Times guide to the House of Commons 2019: the definitive record of Britain's historic 2019 General Election. HarperCollins Publishers Limited. p.398. ISBN978-0-00-839258-1. OCLC1129682574.
↑"Tory Chris Davies withdraws from seat after criticism". Election 2019. BBC News. BBC. 13 November 2019. Retrieved 18 December 2019. A former MP who lost his seat following a conviction for a false expenses claim has quit the general election after briefly becoming the Conservative candidate for Ynys Mon. Chris Davies pulled out after other Welsh Tories criticised his selection.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
