NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Sandra Gidley

Sandra Julia Gidley (born March 26, 1957) is a British politician, is the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Romsey. Image courtesy Liberal Democrats. ... March 26 is the 85th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (86th in leap years). ... 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Liberal Democrats, often shortened to Lib Dems, are a liberal political party based in the United Kingdom. ... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters of an electoral district to a parliament; in the Westminster system, specifically to the lower house. ... Romsey is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ...

Biography

Born Sandra Julia Rawson in Rosset, Denbighshire in Wales, she was educated widely at the Eggars Grammar School, Alton, Hampshire; the Afcent International School in Brunssum, Netherlands; and the Windsor School, Hamm, Germany. She finished her education at the University of Bath where she was awarded a Bachelor of Pharmacy degree in 1978. Denbighshire (Welsh: Sir Ddinbych) is a county in North Wales. ... Motto: (Welsh for Wales forever) Anthem: Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau Capital Cardiff Largest city Cardiff Official language(s) English, Welsh Government Constitutional monarchy - Queen Queen Elizabeth II - Prime Minister Tony Blair MP - First Minister Rhodri Morgan AM Unification - by Gruffudd ap Llywelyn 1056 Area - Total 20,779 kmÂ² (3rd in... Grammar school can refer to various types of schools in different English-speaking countries. ... Statistics Population: 16,584 Ordnance Survey OS grid reference: SU716394 Administration District: East Hampshire Shire county: Hampshire Region: South East England Constituent country: England Sovereign state: United Kingdom Other Ceremonial county: Hampshire Historic county: Hampshire Services Police force: Hampshire Constabulary Fire and rescue: {{{Fire}}} Ambulance: South Central Post office and... Brunssum is a municipality and a town in the southeastern Netherlands. ... Map of Germany showing Hamm Hamm is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. ... The University of Bath is a campus university located near Bath, England at . ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ...

In 1979 she joined Badham Chemists as a pharmacist in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, until she was appointed as a pharmacy manager with GK Chemists in Gloucester in 1980. She became a locum pharmacist in 1982 before joining Safeway as a supermarket pharmacy manager in 1992, and joined Tesco in the same position in 1999 where she remained until her election to Westminster. The mortar and pestle is an international symbol of pharmacists and pharmacies. ... Cheltenham (or Cheltenham Spa) is a spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, England, near Gloucester and Cirencester. ... Gloucestershire (pronounced ; GLOSS-ter-sher) is a county in South West England. ... Gloucester (pronounced ) is a city and district in south-west England, close to the Welsh border. ... Safeway was a chain of 479 supermarkets and convenience stores in the UK that is now part of Wm Morrison Supermarkets. ... Exterior of typical European supermarket (a Tesco Extra) Exterior of typical North American supermarket (a Safeway) A typical supermarket in Hong Kong. ... Tesco plc is a United Kingdom-based international supermarket chain. ... The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, in London, England is where the two Houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (the House of Lords and the House of Commons) meet to conduct their business. ...

She joined the Liberal Democrats in 1994, was elected as a counillor to the Test Valley Borough Council in 1995, and in 1997 became the youngest ever female Mayor of Romsey. She was elected to the House of Commons at the 2000 Romsey by-election caused by the death of the Conservative MP Michael Colvin in a house fire at his Tangley home on February 24, 2000.[1] She won the by-election, on May 4, with a majority of 3,311 votes and has remained the MP there since, although in 2005 her majority was dramatically reduced to only 125 votes. She made her maiden speech on May 16, 2000. [2] Test Valley is a local government district and borough in Hampshire, England. ... now. ... Romsey is a small market town, in the county of Hampshire, England. ... The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... Conservative Member of Parliament Michael Colvin was killed in a house fire at his home on February 24, 2000. ... The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative & Unionist Party) is currently the second largest political party in the United Kingdom in terms of sitting Members of Parliament (MPs), and the largest in terms of public membership. ... Michael Keith Beale Colvin (1932–2000) was a politician in the United Kingdom. ... St Thomas Church, Tangley Tangley is a village in the English county of Hampshire. ... February 24 is the 55th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... May 4 is the 124th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (125th in leap years). ... A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected representative in such bodies as the House of Commons or the United States House of Representatives. ... May 16 is the 136th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (137th in leap years). ... This article is about the year 2000. ...

She was appointed to the frontbench by Charles Kennedy after the 2001 General Election as a spokeswoman on health. She was also the party's spokeswoman on women's issues and older people from 2001, with a seat in the Lib Dem shadow cabinet. After her significant role in the campaign to remove Charles Kennedy from the Lib Dem leadership she was dropped from the shadow cabinet by new leader Sir Menzies Campbell in March 2006, but remained a frontbencher, speaking on health matters. In September 2006 she resigned her role as chair of the Gender Balance Taskforce, publicly citing her wafer thin 125 majority and her need to retain her seat at the next election as the reason behind her resignation. She also criticised the lack of funding available to the project, yet the following day it was announced there was to be £200,000 of funding for female candidates at the next General Election. In many parliaments and other similar assemblies, seating is typically arranged in banks or rows, with each political party or caucus grouped together. ... Rt. ... Tony Blair William Hague Charles Kennedy The UK general election, 2001 was held on 7 June 2001 and was dubbed the quiet landslide by the media. ... The Shadow Cabinet (also called the Shadow Front Bench) is a senior group of opposition spokespeople in the Westminster system of government who together under the leadership of the Leader of the Opposition (or the leader of other smaller opposition parties) form an alternative cabinet to the governments, whose... Sir Walter Menzies Campbell, CBE, QC (born 22 May 1941, Glasgow), also known as Ming Campbell, is a British politician. ...

She has been married to Bill Gidley since 1979 and they have a son and a daughter and live in Romsey. She enjoys a tough game of badminton, and lists reading, cookery, and the theatre amongst her hobbies, and is a supporter of Macmillan Cancer Relief. The Danish Olympic badminton player Peter Gade Badminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players (singles) or two opposing pairs (doubles). ... Macmillan Cancer Relief is one of the largest British charities and provides free care and support to sufferers of cancer. ...

Biography

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Biography