Maria Eagle
Liverpool Garston (1997–2010) | |||||||||
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Assumed office 1 May 1997 | |||||||||
Preceded by | Eddie Loyden | ||||||||
Majority | 31,624 (59.3%) | ||||||||
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Personal details | |||||||||
Born | Bridlington, England | 17 February 1961||||||||
Political party | Labour | ||||||||
Relatives | Angela Eagle (sister) | ||||||||
Alma mater | |||||||||
Maria Eagle (born 17 February 1961) is a British politician who served in the
The twin sister of
Under Tony Blair, Eagle was a junior minister at the
She was re-elected in 2017 and 2019. She returned to the frontbench as Shadow Minister for Procurement in 2023.
Early life and career
Eagle was born in Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire,[1] the daughter of Shirley (née Kirk), a factory worker, and André Eagle, a print worker.[2][3] She was educated at St Peter's Church of England School in Formby, Merseyside and Formby High School before attending Pembroke College, Oxford, where she was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy, politics and economics in 1983.[4]
Eagle worked in the voluntary sector from 1983 to 1990, and then went to the College of Law, London, where she took her law finals in 1990, before she joined Brian Thompson & Partners in Liverpool as an articled clerk in 1990. In 1992 she became a solicitor with Goldsmith Williams in Liverpool, and later a Solicitor at Stephen Irving & Co also in Liverpool, where she remained until her election to Westminster.[4]
Political career
Early political career
After joining the Labour Party, Eagle was elected the secretary of the Crosby Constituency Labour Party (CLP) for two years in 1983,[5] and was also elected as the campaigns organiser with that CLP for three years in 1993.[5] She contested the Crosby seat at the 1992 general election[5] where she lost to the sitting Conservative MP Malcolm Thornton by 14,806 votes.[6] At that election, her sister Angela gained the nearby seat of Wallasey which she has held ever since.
Backbencher
Prior to the
Government minister
Eagle was promoted to the Tony Blair government following the 2001 general election as a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Work and Pensions. Following the 2005 general election, she was the Minister for Children at the Department for Education and Skills, until the May 2006 reshuffle moved her to Northern Ireland, where she was minister for Employment and Learning.
Eagle was moved to the Ministry of Justice when Gordon Brown became Prime Minister in June 2007. In September 2008, she was nominated for Stonewall Politician of the Year for her work to support equality for lesbian, gay and bisexual people.[11] As part of the government reshuffle in October 2008, she assumed additional responsibility for Equalities. In the June 2009 reshuffle, she was promoted to Minister of State.[5] In 2010, she was given a score of 93% in favour of lesbian, gay and bisexual equality by Stonewall.[12]
Expenses controversy
On 17 May 2009 The Daily Telegraph revealed that Eagle had claimed £3,500 for the refurbishment of the bathroom of her Liverpool home, then switched her second home designation to a different property four months later. Eagle voted in favour of legislation which would have kept MPs' expenses information secret.[13]
In opposition
Eagle was returned as MP for the new constituency of
Eagle was appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Defence in September 2015 by the newly elected Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.[18][19] Eagle said she was surprised by her appointment as she had disagreed with Corbyn's advocacy of unilateral nuclear disarmament and supported the renewal of the Trident nuclear weapons system.[20] Tasked with leading Labour's defence review, she said she would not rule out the possibility of it recommending unilateral disarmament.[20] However, she described Corbyn commenting he would not countenance using a nuclear deterrent as "unhelpful" to the policy process.[21]
In January 2016, Eagle was moved to the position of
Eagle was re-elected in the
In the 2023 British shadow cabinet reshuffle, she was appointed Shadow Minister for Procurement.[29]
Personal life
Following her initial election, Eagle joined her twin sister Angela in Parliament.[b] Maria describes herself as "the straight one", while Angela is a lesbian.[31]
Notes
- ^ Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State from 2007 to 2009
- ^ They are sometimes incorrectly described as the first set of twins to sit in the Commons at the same time;[20] in fact the first set of twins is believed to have been James and Richard Grenville, who sat together for Buckingham between 1774 and 1780.[30]
References
- ^ "The Biography of Angela Eagle". Angela Eagle. 2008. Archived from the original on 14 May 2011. Retrieved 17 October 2010.
- ^ "Biography". Archived from the original on 2 July 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
- ISBN 9781448130498. Archivedfrom the original on 3 July 2019. Retrieved 26 August 2016 – via Google Books.
- ^ ISBN 9780905702513.
- ^ a b c d e f g Biography – Maria Eagle UK Parliament
- ^ "UK General election results April 9th 1992 [Archive]". www.politicsresources.net. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
- ^ "Research Paper 01/75" (PDF). 22 October 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 November 2006. Retrieved 4 February 2009.
- ^ Rentoul, John; Ward, Stephen; MacIntyre, Donald (9 January 1996). "Labour blow as all-women lists outlawed". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
- ^ Hansard Debates for 17 June 1997 Archived 27 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine UK Parliament
- ^ "Maria Eagle: Political Profile". BBC. 21 October 2002. Archived from the original on 23 February 2009. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
- ^ Shaw, Milly (23 September 2008). "Stonewall Awards shortlist announced". Lesbilicious. Archived from the original on 20 April 2013. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
- ^ "Stonewall MP Voting Records 2010 (Voting on key gay equality issues in Parliament, 2005 to date" (PDF). p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 September 2010. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
- ^ Sawer, Patrick (17 May 2009). "Maria Eagle: bathroom renovated on expenses before flat was 'flipped'". Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 29 May 2010. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
- ^ Thornberry among new Labour front benchers Archived 9 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine ePolitix.com, 28 May 2010
- ^ Opposition Front Bench Archived 5 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine Labour Party
- ^ Cooper tops shadow cabinet vote Archived 7 October 2010 at the Wayback Machine BBC News, 7 October 2010
- ^ "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 05 Feb 2013 (pt 0004)". 5 Feb 2013 : Column 231. Archived from the original on 15 November 2014. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
- ^ "Jeremy Corbyn announces new Shadow Cabinet appointments". Labour Press. Archived from the original on 11 June 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
- Independent.co.uk. 14 September 2015. 14 Sept. Archivedfrom the original on 15 September 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
- ^ a b c Eaton, George (14 October 2015). "Maria Eagle on nuclear disarmament: "I'm not ruling it out"". New Statesman. Archived from the original on 21 November 2015. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
- ^ Dathan, Matt (30 September 2015). "Jeremy Corbyn's ability to become Prime Minister questioned by shadow defence secretary". Independent. Archived from the original on 3 November 2015. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
- ^ Mason, Rowena; Perraudin, Frances (6 January 2016). "Labour reshuffle: Thornberry replaces Eagle for defence, McFadden sacked and Benn stays". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 14 June 2016. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
- ^ Syal, Rajeev; Perraudin, Frances (27 June 2016). "Shadow cabinet resignations: who has gone and who is staying". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 22 July 2016. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
- ^ "Full list of MPs and MEPs backing challenger Owen Smith". LabourList. 21 July 2016. Archived from the original on 15 July 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
- ^ "Election results for Garston & Halewood Constituency, 8 June 2017". Liverpool City Council. 8 June 2017. Archived from the original on 25 July 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
- ^ "Garston & Halewood parliamentary constituency". BBC News. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
- ^ "Orders Approved and Business Transacted at the Privy Council held by the King at Buckingham Palace" (PDF). Privy Council of the United Kingdom. 15 February 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 February 2023. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
- ^ "LFI Supporters In Parliament". Labour Friends of Israel. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
- ^ "Meet our Shadow Cabinet". The Labour Party. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
- ^ Farrell, Stephen. "Twins in Parliament: the Grenvilles and Buckingham Borough, 1774". The History of Parliament Online. Archived from the original on 9 June 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
- ^ "Interview: Maria Eagle defends homophobic incitement law". 26 November 2007. Archived from the original on 26 March 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
Publications
- High Time or High Tide for Labour Women? by Maria Eagle and Joni Lovenduski, 1998, Fabian Society Books, OCLC 39267019
External links
- Maria Eagle MP official website
- Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
- Contributions in Parliament at Hansard
- Contributions in Parliament at Hansard 1803–2005
- Voting record at Public Whip
- Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou