Sarah Teather
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Sarah Teather (born 1 June 1974) is the British Member of Parliament for Brent East. She was first elected on 18 September 2003 in the Brent East by-election and re-elected on 5 May 2005 in the 2005 general election.
Biography
Educated at St John's College, Cambridge University, she gained a degree in Natural Sciences and Pharmacology. It was while at Cambridge she became interested in politics and joined the Liberal Democrats and became involved with LDYS in 1993, later becoming a councillor in the London Borough of Islington. She went on to work for a number of prominent groups including the Royal Society and the charity Macmillan Cancer Relief.
She first contested an election in 2001 in the seat of Finchley and Golders Green. The 2003 Brent East by-election, caused by the death of the Labour MP Paul Daisley, was set against the unpopular Iraq War, which was especially unpopular with the large Muslim electorate. The LibDems, who often fare well in by-elections, came from third place behind Labour and the Tories, with a 8,158 votes, 39.12% share of the total and 1,118 more than Labour's Robert Evans. She thus became the youngest member of the house, informally known as the "Baby of the House".
Many expected Teather to lose her seat at the last general election, earning her the nicknames "One-term Teather" and "Two-years Teather". At the 2005 general election, Labour fielded an Asian female candidate Yasmin Qureshi who also took an anti-war stance. However, Teather retained her seat with 14,764 votes, 47.5% share of the total and 2,712 more than Quereshi. Her informal title as "Baby of the House" was taken by newly-elected LibDem MP Jo Swinson.
Before the 2005 her party's spokesperson on London. After the 2005 General Election, she was promoted to serve as the Liberal Democrat Shadow Communities and Local Government Secretary.
See also
External links
- Sarah Teather MP (http://www.sarahteather.org.uk/) official site
- Brent Liberal Democrats (http://www.brentlibdems.org.uk/)
- Sarah Teather Is My MP (http://sarah-teather-mp.blogspot.com) unofficial blog
- Guardian Politics Ask Aristotle - Sarah Teather (http://politics.guardian.co.uk/person/0,9290,-6690,00.html)
- TheyWorkForYou.com - Sarah Teather MP (http://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/sarah_teather/brent_east)
- The Public Whip - Sarah Teather MP (http://www.publicwhip.org.uk/mp.php?mpn=Sarah_Teather&mpc=Brent+East)
- BBC News - Sarah Teather (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/2055546.stm) profile 21 October, 2002