Mary Macleod

Mary Macleod
Member of Parliament
for Brentford and Isleworth
In office
6 May 2010 – 8 May 2015
Preceded by Ann Keen
Succeeded by Ruth Cadbury
Personal details
Born (1969-01-04) 4 January 1969[1][2]
London, England
Nationality British
Political party Conservative
Residence Chiswick
Alma mater University of Glasgow
Occupation Business Consultant
Profession Politician
Website MaryMacleod.com

Mary Macleod (born 4 January 1969) is a British Conservative Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Brentford and Isleworth from the 2010 general election until the 2015 general election, when she was defeated by Ruth Cadbury of the Labour Party. After a career in business consulting, she was a policy advisor to Queen Elizabeth II.[3][4]

Early life

Born in London to Scottish parents, she has lived for many years in Chiswick and continues to reside there.[3] She graduated from the University of Glasgow.[4] in Ancient Greek together with Business Studies.[5]

Career

On graduation, she joined Andersen Consulting and then Accenture, as a business consulting .[3][4] She was Chief of Staff and Chief Operating Officer for Group Operations at ABN AMRO, and then Group Communications Head of Transition at Royal Bank of Scotland.[3][4]

Before her election, she was an ambassador for ActionAid, a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and served as a policy advisor to HM The Queen and the Royal Household at Buckingham Palace, advising on public relations, communications and "strategic change within the monarchy."[3][4]

Political career

Having unsuccessfully contested Ross, Skye and Inverness West at the 1997 general election, Macleod was elected as the Member of Parliament for Brentford & Isleworth on 7 May 2010.[3][4]

From May 2010, she served on the Home Affairs Select Committee. In September 2010 she was appointed as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Rt Hon. Nick Herbert MP, Minister of State for Policing and Criminal Justice. She set up the All Party Parliamentary Group for Women in Parliament, and joined the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme as a Squadron Leader in the Royal Air Force. In September 2013, Macleod was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the new Culture Secretary, Maria Miller.[3][4]

She is the primary supporter in the House of Commons for the Equality (Titles) Bill, dubbed the "Downton Abbey Law", which seeks to abolish male-only primogeniture in the Peerages.

In April 2014 Macleod accused the media of a "witch hunt" against her boss, Maria Miller, who was the subject of criticism for over-claiming expenses and failing to cooperate with the enquiry.[6] However, the next day Miller resigned.[7]

In July 2014 she said there was a "bullying culture" in the House of Commons and the behaviour of many male MPs was "off-putting to most women".[8] Speaking in advance of the publishing of a report into female representation in Parliament, she suggested that reprimands from the Speaker for misbehaving MPs were "counter-effective", with some of them enjoying the attention.

Macleod was defeated in the 2015 general election by Ruth Cadbury of Labour by less than 500 votes. After the election, Macleod was appointed to a position advising the Secretary of State for Scotland, David Mundell.[9]

In the 2017 snap general election, Macleod ran again as the Conservative candidate for Brentford and Isleworth, but lost by more than 12,000 votes, 20% of the vote.

References

  1. ↑ "MacLeod Consulting Group Limited". Dellam Corporate Information. 21 March 2011. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
  2. ↑ "Register of Members' Financial Interests as at 6th September 2010: Part 1: MacLeod, Mary (Brentford and Isleworth)". House of Commons. 20 October 2010. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Biography". Mary MacLeod MP. Retrieved 7 February 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Mary MacLeod ?MP". Brentford and Isleworth Conservatives. Archived from the original on 16 April 2013. Retrieved 7 February 2013.
  5. ↑ "Westminster Parliamentary Record".
  6. ↑ "Maria Miller aide condemns media 'witch-hunt'". 8 April 2014 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  7. ↑ "Maria Miller quits as culture secretary after expenses row". 9 April 2014 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  8. ↑ Sanghani, Radhika (14 July 2014). "Bullying MPs enjoy being 'named and shamed' in Parliament, says woman MP". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  9. ↑ https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/486829/List_of_Special_Advisers_in_post_at_17_December_2015.pdf
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Ann Keen		 Member of Parliament for Brentford and Isleworth
2010–2015		 Succeeded by
Ruth Cadbury
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