Mary Robinson (British politician)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other people named Mary Robinson, see Mary Robinson (disambiguation).

Mary Robinson
MP
Mary Robinson MP.jpg
Member of Parliament
for Cheadle
Assumed office
7 May 2015
Preceded byMark Hunter
Majority2,336 (4.2%)
Personal details
Born (1955-08-23) 23 August 1955 (age 66)
Political partyConservative
WebsiteOfficial website

Mary Josephine Robinson[1] (born 23 August 1955) is a British Conservative Party politician. She was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Cheadle at the 2015 general election.[2]

Early life[]

Mary was born on 23 August 1955. She went on to study law and worked as a chartered accountant.[3] She ran an accountancy practice in Preston called Robinson Rose Ltd with her husband Stephen, but this went into administration and was acquired by the Champion Group in September 2008.[4][5] In November 2012 she founded the fashion design business Mary Felicity Design Ltd with her daughter Felicity; although the company is dormant, she remains a Director in 2018.[6][7][8]

She unsuccessfully stood as the Conservative candidate in the Howick & Priory ward of South Ribble Borough Council in Preston in 2003,[9] but was subsequently elected in the same ward in 2007; her husband Stephen was also elected as a councillor on the same Council at this time.[10]

Parliamentary career[]

Robinson was selected as the Conservative candidate for Cheadle in February 2013 and stood down as a councillor on South Ribble Borough Council in March 2013. Her husband also stood down as a councillor and in the local election that followed on the 7 May 2015, the Liberal Democrats won one of the vacant seats left by the couple.[11] She was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Cheadle at the 2015 general election, achieving a swing of 12.2% against the incumbent Liberal Democrat MP Mark Hunter.[12]

In May 2016, it emerged that Robinson was one of a number of Conservative MPs being investigated by police in the United Kingdom general election, 2015 party spending investigation, for allegedly spending more than the legal limit on constituency election campaign expenses; the police passed her file to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).[13] However, in May 2017, the CPS decided that no criminal charges would be brought.[14]

She was opposed to Brexit prior to the 2016 referendum.[15]

Robinson held her seat at the 2017 General Election and 2019 election with a slightly reduced majority. Despite increasing her share of the vote each time since 2015, her majority has been reduced due to a higher increase by the Liberal Democrats.[citation needed]

In Parliament, Robinson currently serves on the Administration Committee and Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee.[16]

In 2020 Robinson became Chair and Registered Contact for the All Party Parliamentary Group on Whistleblowing.[17] The group has been working to promote an Office of the Whistleblower which was introduced in a private members bill from her APPG colleague, Baroness Kramer.[18]

Personal life[]

She is married to Stephen Robinson and they have four grown up children.[19] In May 2016, her husband Stephen stood as the Conservative candidate for the Cheadle Hulme South ward on Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council, but lost to Mark Hunter, the former local MP whom Mary Robinson had defeated in 2015.[20]

References[]

  1. ^ "No. 61230". The London Gazette. 18 May 2015. p. 9117.
  2. ^ "BBC Election 2015: Cheadle". BBC News. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  3. ^ "About Mary Robinson". Mary Robinson MP. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
  4. ^ "Register of Interests 2007". South Ribble Borough Council. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  5. ^ "Champion PLC Results 2008". Companies House. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  6. ^ "Councillor selected to run for Parliament".
  7. ^ "Register of Interests 2012". South Ribble Borough Council. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  8. ^ "Mary Felicity Design Ltd". Companies House. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  9. ^ "Election Results" (PDF). South Ribble Borough Council. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  10. ^ "Election Results" (PDF). South Ribble Borough Council. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  11. ^ "Councillor selected to run for Parliament".
  12. ^ "BBC Election 2015: Cheadle". BBC News. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  13. ^ "Probe into 2015 election expenses involves three Greater Manchester MPs". Manchester Evening News. 17 March 2017.
  14. ^ "No charges to be brought against three MPs over election expenses". Manchester Evening News. 10 May 2017.
  15. ^ Goodenough, Tom (16 February 2016). "Which Tory MPs back Brexit, who doesn't and who is still on the fence?". The Spectator. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  16. ^ "Mary Robinson MP". GOV.UK. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  17. ^ "Meet the team". APPG Whistleblowing. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  18. ^ "APPG Report on the Office of the Whistleblower". APPG Whistleblowing. Retrieved 21 September 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  19. ^ "Councillor selected to run for Parliament".
  20. ^ "Election Results". Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council. 5 May 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2018.

External links[]

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for Cheadle
2015–present 		Incumbent
Retrieved from ""