Angela Lavinia Bray, Baroness Bray of Coln (born 13 October 1953) is a British

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

politician who was the Member of the

London Assembly The London Assembly is a 25-member elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds super-majority, to amend the Mayor's annual budget and to reject ...

for West Central from 2000 to 2008, and

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) for

Ealing Central and Acton Ealing Central and Acton is a constituency created in 2010 represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Rupa Huq, who was elected as a Labour MP but was suspended from the party in September 2022 following alleged ra ...

from

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

Early life and career

Bray was born in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

to Benedict Eustace Charles Tevery Bray and Patricia Measures who were residents of the Isle of Man. She was educated at

Downe House School Downe House School is a selective independent girls' day and boarding school in Cold Ash, a village near Newbury, Berkshire, for girls aged 11–18. The ''Good Schools Guide'' described Downe House as an "Archetypal traditional girls' full bo ...

Thatcham Thatcham is an historic market town and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire, centred 3 miles (5 km) east of Newbury, 14 miles (24 km) west of Reading and 54 miles (87 km) west of London. Geography Thatcham straddles t ...

, and later attended the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

, where she studied

medieval history In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

. In 1979 she joined the

British Forces Broadcasting Service The British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) provides radio and television programmes for His Majesty's Armed Forces, and their dependents worldwide. Editorial control is independent of the Ministry of Defence and the armed forces themselv ...

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

; a year later she joined

LBC Radio LBC (originally the London Broadcasting Company) is a British phone-in and talk radio station owned and operated by Global and based in its headquarters in London. It was the UK's first licensed commercial radio station, and began to broadcast ...

as a presenter, producer and reporter.

Political career

She was employed as head of broadcasting at

Conservative Central Office The Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ), formerly known as Conservative Central Office (CCO), is the headquarters of the British Conservative Party, housing its central staff and committee members, including campaign coordinators and manag ...

from 1989. She was a press officer for

John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament ...

's 1990 leadership campaign. During the 1992 general election campaign she served as press secretary to

Chris Patten Christopher Francis Patten, Baron Patten of Barnes, (; born 12 May 1944) is a British politician who was the 28th and last Governor of Hong Kong from 1992 to 1997 and Chairman of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1992. He was made a life pe ...

, the

Chairman of the Conservative Party The chairman of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom is responsible for party administration and overseeing the Conservative Campaign Headquarters, formerly Conservative Central Office. When the Conservatives are in government, the offic ...

. She assisted the party's press office again in the 2005 election campaign, after which she worked as a public affairs consultant. Bray unsuccessfully contested

East Ham East Ham is a district of the London Borough of Newham, England, 8 miles (12.8 km) east of Charing Cross. East Ham is identified in the London Plan as a Major Centre. The population is 76,186. It was originally part of the Becontree Hun ...

at the 1997 general election, finishing second behind

Stephen Timms Sir Stephen Creswell Timms (born 29 July 1955) is a British politician who served as Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 2006 to 2007. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for East Ham, formerly Newham North Eas ...

. She was a member of the

for West Central London from 2000 until she stood down in 2008, acting as

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

leader in the Assembly from 2006. She was placed on the '

A-List An A-list actor is a major movie star, or one of the most bankable actors in a film industry. The A-list is part of a larger guide called ''The Hot List'', which ranks the bankability of 1,400 movie actors worldwide, and has become an industry ...

' of Conservative Party candidates for the 2010 general election. She won in the constituency of

. After Bray's election to Parliament, she was appointed

Parliamentary Private Secretary A Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) is a Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom who acts as an unpaid assistant to a minister or shadow minister. They are selected from backbench MPs as the 'eyes and ears' of the minister in the H ...

to the Cabinet Office Minister,

Francis Maude Francis Anthony Aylmer Maude, Baron Maude of Horsham, (born 4 July 1953) is a British Conservative Party politician and life peer who served as Minister of State for Trade and Investment from 2015 to 2016, having previously served as Minister ...

. She was sacked as Parliamentary Private Secretary in July 2012, after she voted against a coalition government Bill on reforming the House of Lords. She lost her seat in the 2015 general election. It was announced on 14 October 2022, that as part of Boris Johnson's 2022 Political Honours, Bray would be appointed a life peer. On 8 November 2022, she was created Baroness Bray of Coln, ''of Coln St. Aldwyns in the County of Gloucestershire''.

References

External links

Angie Bray's website

Profile
at Conservative Party
Biography from the London Assembly

Ealing Acton & Shepherds Bush Conservatives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bray, Angie 1953 births Living people Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 2010–2015 Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Conservative Members of the London Assembly Alumni of the University of St Andrews British radio journalists British women journalists 21st-century British women politicians British women radio presenters 21st-century English women 21st-century English people Women councillors in England Conservative Party (UK) life peers Life peeresses created by Charles III UK MPs who were granted peerages