Dame Shirley Porter (born November 29, 1930) is a controversial British former local government leader. November 29 is the 333rd (in leap years the 334th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1930 is a common year starting on Wednesday. ...

She was born Shirley Cohen, in Clapton, London, the daughter and heir of Jack Cohen, the founder of Tesco supermarkets. She married Leslie Porter in 1949. In 1974 she was elected to Westminster City Council as a Conservative councillor for Hyde Park Ward. In the early 1980s she chaired the Environment Committee, calling for strict enforcement of litter laws. In 1983 she was elected as Leader of the Council. The Clock Tower of the Palace of Westminster which contains Big Ben Tower Bridge at night A red double-decker bus crosses Piccadilly Circus. ... Sir John Cohen, commonly known as Jack Cohen (1898-1979) was a British businessman who founded the Tesco supermarket chain. ... Tesco logo Historic Tesco store in St Albans Tesco PLC is a United Kingdom based international supermarket chain. ... Marriage is a relationship that plays a key role in the definition of many families. ... 1949 - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... 1974 is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ... The City of Westminster is a London borough and a city in its own right, situated to the west of the City of London and north of the River Thames. ... The Conservative Party is the largest political party on the centre-right in the United Kingdom. ... 1983 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The Conservatives were narrowly re-elected in Westminster in the 1986 elections. Fearing that they would lose control unless there was a change in the social composition of the city, she instituted a secret policy known as "Building Stable Communities". An important part of this policy was the designation of much of the city's council housing for sale rather than re-letting if the flats become vacant. The designated housing was concentrated in wards which were the most likely to change hands in the elections. 1986 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The council house is a form of public housing found in the United Kingdom. ...

Labour councillors and members of the public referred this policy to the District Auditor to check on its legality. In 1989 the policy was halted, but in 1990 the Conservatives were re-elected in Westminster in a landslide election victory in which they won all but one of the wards targeted by "Building Stable Communities". The Labour Party is a a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom (see British politics), and one of the United Kingdoms three main political parties. ... 1989 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1990 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Conservative Party is the largest political party on the centre-right in the United Kingdom. ...

Shirley Porter, who had been made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1991, stood down as Leader of the Council that year, and served as Lord Mayor of Westminster in 1991-92. In the early 1990s she was chairman of Chelverton Investments, which owned London radio station LBC. In 1993 the station was unsuccessful in renewing its licences and Chelverton Investments went bankrupt in 1994. She resigned from the council in 1993 and retired to live in Israel. Commanders Badge of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions, in order of seniority: Knight or Dame Grand Cross... 1991 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... In the United Kingdom, the office of Mayor or Lord Mayor had long been a ceremonial post, with little or no duties attached to it. ... 1991 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1992 is a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Events and trends The 1990s are generally classified as having moved slightly away from the more conservative 1980s, but keeping the same mind-set. ... LBC LBC (originally the London Broadcasting Company) is Britains first commercial independent local radio station, providing a service of news and information to London. ... 1993 is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... 1994 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ... 1993 is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ...

In 1996 the District Auditor concluded that the "Building Stable Communities" policy had been illegal and ordered Dame Shirley and five others to pay the cost of the illegal policy, which he calculated as £27,000,000. This judgement was upheld by the High Court in 1997 with liability reduced to Dame Shirley and the Deputy Leader, David Weeks. The Court of Appeal overturned the judgement in 1999, but the House of Lords reinstated it in 2001. 1996 is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... 1997 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Court of Appeals is the title of certain appellate courts in various jurisdictions. ... 1999 is a common year starting on Friday of the Common Era, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... This article is about the British House of Lords. ... 2001 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Dame Shirley transferred all substantial parts of her wealth to other members of her family and into secret trusts in an effort to avoid the charge, and claimed assets of only £300,000. On April 24, 2004, Westminster City Council and the Audit Commission announced that an agreement had been reached for a payment of £12.3 million in settlement of the debt. The Council declared that the cost of legal action for greater recovery would be greater than the amount to be recovered, while Dame Shirley maintained her innocence. The decision has since been appealed against by Labour members on the Council and the District Auditor is revisiting the issue. April 24 is the 114th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (115th in leap years). ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...