Janet Anderson: Difference between revisions
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In 1998, she was promoted as the [[Parliamentary Under Secretary of State]] at The [[Department for Culture, Media and Sport]] where she was the Minister for Tourism, Film and Broadcasting and was responsible for bringing in the popular free [[Television licence#United Kingdom|TV licences]] for the over-75s. She left government following the [[United Kingdom general election, 2001|2001 general election]]. |
In 1998, she was promoted as the [[Parliamentary Under Secretary of State]] at The [[Department for Culture, Media and Sport]] where she was the Minister for Tourism, Film and Broadcasting and was responsible for bringing in the popular free [[Television licence#United Kingdom|TV licences]] for the over-75s. She left government following the [[United Kingdom general election, 2001|2001 general election]]. |
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In February 2007, when MP's travel expenses were unearthed, she had the highest mileage of all MPs, claiming £16,612 for 60,118 miles to her Lancashire constituency; an average of 1156 miles per week at 28 pence a mile. This was £4,500 more than the next highest, the MP for [[Tewkesbury (UK Parliament constituency)|Tewkesbury]]. Assuming a car will give thirty miles per gallon, this is around £8.30 per gallon, or £1.82 per litre (4.55 litres to a gallon). According to the [[The Automobile Association|AA]], the distance from Darwen to Westminster is 225 miles: she averaged this distance five times a week (costing £124 each round trip - £60 [[APTIS|saver return]] on the train). |
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She lives in [[London]] with her partner, English MP [[Jim Dowd (politician)|Jim Dowd]]. As well as speaking fluent [[French language|French]], she plays the [[piano]] and is very keen on [[opera]]. |
She lives in [[London]] with her partner, English MP [[Jim Dowd (politician)|Jim Dowd]]. As well as speaking fluent [[French language|French]], she plays the [[piano]] and is very keen on [[opera]]. |
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Revision as of 13:17, 1 February 2008
Janet Anderson | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament for Rossendale and Darwen | |
| Assumed office 9 April 1992 | |
| Preceded by | Sir David Trippier |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 6 December 1949 Newcastle upon Tyne |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Labour |
| Alma mater | University of Westminster |
Janet Anderson (born 6 December, 1949) is a British politician. She is the British Member of Parliament for Rossendale and Darwen. She is a member of the Labour Party. She lives in Darwen.
Early life and career
She was born in 1949 in Newcastle upon Tyne and educated in the south west at the Trowbridge Girls' High School (now John of Gaunt School) and the Kingswood Grammar School (now Kingsfield School) in Kingswood, South Gloucestershire. She attended the Polytechnic of Central London and the Université de Nantes.
In 1971, she joined the offices of the The Scotsman and The Sunday Times as a secretary. In 1974 she became the personal assistant to the MP for Blackburn, Barbara Castle and to her successor Jack Straw until 1987 when she fought the marginal seat of Rossendale and Darwen. She ran her own public relations company, with clients such as the Royal College of Nursing and Safeway plc.
Entry into politics
At the 1987 general election, she was unsuccessful and the seat was won by David Trippier by a clear 5,000 votes. She became a campaigns organiser for the Parliamentary Labour Party. Anderson then became the northern regional organiser for the Shopping Hours Reform Council campaigning to extending the Sunday trading laws.
Janet Anderson fought Rossendale and Darwen again at the 1992 General Election, and this time she was successful, albeit very narrowly. She ousted Trippier by just 120 votes. She is a member of the GMB Union. She was a secretary of the Tribune Group. In 1996, she was the Shadow Minister for Women. She was notorious for having done an interview with Petronella Wyatt, claiming that women would become more promiscuous under a Labour government.
Political career
Almost immediately she became the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Margaret Beckett, which she held for a year. Following the 1997 general election she was given a job in Tony Blair's new government as the Vice-Chamberlain of the Household, a grand title for a junior whip.
In 1998, she was promoted as the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at The Department for Culture, Media and Sport where she was the Minister for Tourism, Film and Broadcasting and was responsible for bringing in the popular free TV licences for the over-75s. She left government following the 2001 general election.
She lives in London with her partner, English MP Jim Dowd. As well as speaking fluent French, she plays the piano and is very keen on opera.