Broxtowe Conservatives

I was born on December 7th 1956, in Lincoln County Hospital where my mother worked as a radiographer. My dad had a garage at Ranby and until I was 8 we lived at Dunham-on Trent. I went to the village school, but when we moved to Clumber Park, I attended Lorne House in Retford.

Education

I passed the 11 plus and went to the Hartland in Worksop which went Comprehensive two years later. My two younger brothers also went to the Hartland. A trip to “Friends United” gives a reasonably accurate account of life at the Hartland and there certainly used to be a photograph of me at 18 in the hockey team on the web page. I should add that while I really enjoyed the Hartland my youngest brother has a very different view of his experiences there!

Having done my A levels, I read Law at Birmingham University and then went on to train as a barrister.

I was interested in politics from an early age and remember well discussions at the dinner table with my parents who were life long Tories. At 17 (it was in the run up to the Autumn ’74 General Election), I helped the local Liberal Parliamentary candidate which didn’t do much for my relationship with my parents; my mother was particularly traumatised when I insisted a Liberal poster should go up in the garden..
Anyway, a couple of years later I recognised what I really am and joined the Conservative Party at University.

At Birmingham I got heavily involved in student politics and after my Bar Finals was elected as the first woman Tory to the National Union of Students Executive. I was the only Tory on the Exec., which was rather challenging, but I enjoyed my year especially given who I worked with.

Trevor Phillips was President (now head of the Equality Commission) and he is someone whom I admire greatly (even if we don’t share the same politics). Trevor was a man of courage and vision and hasn’t changed in either respect. David Aaronovitch was Secretary (now a broadcaster and commentator). David had an intellect the size of a planet and I remain a total fan.

Work

It’s a long story but I was elected as Honorary President (Rector) of Stirling University which caused a stir as Stirling was notoriously left wing in the early eighties and I was elected as an English Tory. The role meant I had to be in Stirling, which wasn’t a problem as it’s a beautiful University with a cracking social life. The problem was that I didn’t have a job. Luckily I found one as a trainee reporter on a newspaper in Alloa.
After almost a year I applied and to my amazement, got a job at Grampian TV in Aberdeen - as a reporter and presenter on North Tonight.
I am told that you can watch clips of North Tonight from the Internet, my daughters have certainly found clips of me reading the news on Central TV which they find hilarious. All I can say is – it was the eighties and shoulder pads and “big hair” were fashionable.

Anyway after a couple of years at Grampian I “came home” to Nottingham, joining Central TV as a reporter on Central News East
It was a new programme and it was a great time. We were all young and keen; we had some very exciting and important news stories to cover. I will never forget the year long Miners Strike of 1984 and the Kegworth air crash for example. During my time at Central I was the shop steward (mother of the chapel to give it its formal name) of the National Union of Journalists.

At Central I worked on a number of programmes – notably Central Weekend Live and Heart of the Country (a programme I really enjoyed working for).
Towards the end of my time in television I worked on “This Morning” with Richard and Judy and programmes for Channel 4 and BBC 1.

In the mid nineties I left TV and returned to the Bar. I spent two years studying, which was tough – I hadn’t read a text book for years and after ten minutes of my first effort I fell asleep!

I began working as a criminal barrister in 1995 and in answer to a question I am frequently asked, yes I do prefer it to working in television.

Politics

I left the Conservative Party just before I joined Grampian TV. I re-joined in 2002; for a long time I had been be-moaning the state of Britain. I knew from my work and general experience of life that so much of modern Britain is just plain wrong. In particular I despaired at the lack of family life, the way kids were being raised or rather not raised; through my work I was deeply troubled that so many of my clients were drug addicts with little or any hope for a drug free future. I was frustrated at how things were going and corny as it sounds wanted to do something about it – to make a difference and get involved.
In 2003 I stood for Nottingham City Council. In 2005 I stood for Parliament in Gedling. In 2006 I was selected as the Conservative parliamentary candidate for Broxtowe.

Family

I live with my two teenage daughters in Nottingham. My oldest is at Trent College doing her A levels and her sister is doing her AS levels at Bilborough College.

I have stopped drinking wine. I drink beer, gin and champagne. I have been known to drink all three of an evening.

A typical weekday

Wake up to the Today programme on Radio 4. Drive to Nottingham Crown Court listening to Chris Moyles (big fan). No day is the same but typically (unless I am involved in a trial) I am out of Court by early afternoon. I then do constituency and political work until about 5. I usually hook up with my youngest, get my work for the next day from Chambers and come home. I cook supper and there is then a dispute over the washing up. I listen to The Archers and then Zane Lowe. Most evenings I juggle meetings in Broxtowe and work. I almost always watch the 10 0’clock news. I usually go to bed too late.