Val Shawcross

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Valerie Shawcross
CBE
Valerie Shawcross CBE.jpg
Shawcross in 2020
Deputy Mayor of London for Transport
In office
9 May 2016 – 21 May 2018
MayorSadiq Khan
Preceded byIsabel Dedring
Succeeded byHeidi Alexander
Member of the London Assembly
for Lambeth and Southwark
In office
4 May 2000 – 5 May 2016
Preceded byConstituency Created
Succeeded byFlorence Eshalomi
Majority52,702
Personal details
BornMiddleton, Lancashire, UK
NationalityBritish
Political partyLabour Co-operative
Spouse(s)Michael Anteney
Websitehttp://www.valforcroydon.uk

Valerie Shawcross CBE is a Labour Co-operative politician who served as deputy mayor of London for Transport from 2016 to 2018 and as a Member of the London Assembly for Lambeth and Southwark from 2000 to 2016. She was a councillor on Croydon London Borough Council from 1994 to 2000 and led the council from 1997 to 2000. Following a vote held in December 2021 she was selected as Croydon Labour's prospective candidate for the newly created position of Mayor of Croydon.[1]

Early life and education[]

Born on Langley Council Estate in Middleton,[2] a township of Rochdale, Shawcross attended local state schools before gaining a 2:1 degree in Political Theory and Institutions from the University of Liverpool.[3] She joined the Labour Party aged 19.[4] Elected as the Deputy President of the Guild of Undergraduates in 1980, she moved to London in 1981 to take up a post at the UK Council for Students Affairs - UKCOSA (Charity).[5] She gained an MA in Human Rights and Education at the London Institute in 1986.

Political career[]

Croydon Council[]

She served as a councillor for New Addington in Croydon from 1994 to 2000, serving as chair of education and later as leader of Croydon London Borough Council from 1997 to 2000.[6]

London Assembly[]

She was first elected to the London Assembly in 2000, and retained her seat in subsequent elections. In 2000, the mayor of London Ken Livingstone appointed her as the chair of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA).[7] She accepted the appointment on the condition that she would "consider herself bound by Labour's policies and not the mayor's", with Livingstone at the time being an independent politician.[8] In his memoir, Livingstone wrote that she "spent the next eight years transforming the London Fire Brigade, leading to a dramatic reduction in loss of life from fires, cutting waste and, later, organising emergency response procedures after 9/11".[9] At the same time, she served as the Labour group's spokesperson for transport and as chair of the London Assembly Transport Committee. She also served on the Assembly Budget Scrutiny Committee, and chaired the audit committee immediately following her election.[10]

On 7 December 2010, it was announced that Shawcross would be Livingstone's running-mate in the 2012 London mayoral election, Ken Livingstone.[11] Shawcross unsuccessfully sought selection as the Labour candidate for the 2012 Croydon North by-election, with Steve Reed becoming the candidate and winning the seat.[12] In 2015, she announced that she would not seek re-election to the London Assembly at the 2016 elections.

Deputy mayor of London[]

In May 2016, Sadiq Khan appointed her as deputy mayor of London for transport and deputy chair of Transport for London.[13] In May 2018, she announced her intention to retire.[14]

Mayor of Croydon[]

In October 2021 Shawcross announced her return to frontline politics by declaring her intention to run for the newly created position of Mayor of Croydon.[15] In November 2021 she was one of two candidates shortlisted for the position, and in December 2021 Shawcross won the support of 76.5% of Croydon Labour members (844 votes to 259), becoming the Croydon Labour Party's Prospective Mayoral Candidate (PMC) for the 2022 London local elections.

Personal life[]

Shawcross is married to Michael Anteney and has lived in the London Borough of Croydon since 1985, where she was made an Honorary Alderwoman in 2019.[16] She is a Freewoman of the City of London[17] and has been given awards for her work in Transport in London by the Business Group ‘London First’,[18] The ‘London Cycling Campaign',[19] and The Disability Group ‘Transport for All’.[20] Since her retirement from full-time public life in 2018 she has worked as the Independent Chair of the Heathrow Area Transport Forum,[21] promoting sustainable Transport to Heathrow, and assumed roles in two Charities, The Thames Festival Trust[22] and the Crystal Palace Park Trust.[23]

She was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2002 for her services to local government.

Footnotes[]

  1. ^ "Croydon Council leader rules out running for mayor but this is who could stand". MyLondon. MyLondon. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  2. ^ "From Langley to London: Val eyes top political post". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  3. ^ "Val Shawcross, CBE (past staff)". london.gov.uk. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  4. ^ "Daily Politico: Valerie Shawcross". TotalPolitics.com. 1 August 2008. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  5. ^ "Campaigning for inclusiveness, 1980-88". WUS. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  6. ^ O'Connor, Tara (28 October 2021). "Croydon Council leader rules out running for mayor but this is who could stand". MyLondon. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  7. ^ Pimlott, Ben (2002). Governing London. Internet Archive. New York : Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-924492-8.
  8. ^ Pimlott, Ben (2002). Governing London. Internet Archive. New York : Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-924492-8.
  9. ^ Livingstone, Ken (2012). You can't say that : memoirs. Internet Archive. London : Faber And Faber. ISBN 978-0-571-28041-4.
  10. ^ Pilkington, Colin (2002). Devolution in Britain today. Internet Archive. Manchester ; New York : Manchester University Press ; New York : Distributed exclusively in the USA by Palgrave. ISBN 978-0-7190-6075-5.
  11. ^ Crerar, Pippa (7 December 2010). "Ken Livingstone's running mate Val Shawcross aims to win back women voters". London Evening Standard.
  12. ^ "Breaking: Steve Reed selected as Labour candidate for Croydon North by-election". Croydon Advertiser. London. 3 November 2012. Archived from the original on 14 January 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  13. ^ "Mayor Sadiq Khan announces key appointments". London City Hall. 24 May 2016.
  14. ^ "Val Shawcross to retire as London's Deputy Mayor for Transport". Press Releases. Mayor of London. 8 May 2018. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  15. ^ "Croydon Council leader rules out running for mayor but this is who could stand". MyLondon. MyLondon. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  16. ^ "Admission of Honorary Aldermen and Alderwomen". croydon.gov.uk. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  17. ^ "106 women offered Freedom of the City in historic move". citymatters.london. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  18. ^ "Major infrastructure achievements celebrated at inaugural London Infrastructure Awards". London First. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  19. ^ "London Cycling Awards 2015". Look Mum No Hands. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  20. ^ "TfA meets new Deputy Mayor for Transport Valerie Shawcross". Transport for all. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  21. ^ "The Heathrow Area Transport Forum". The Heathrow Area Transport Forum. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  22. ^ "The Thames Festival Trust, Financial Statements". Charity Commission. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  23. ^ "The Crystal Palace Park Trust". The Crystal Palace Park Trust. Retrieved 21 November 2021.

External links[]

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