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Anne Margaret Main (born 17 May 1957) is a
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 formerly served as the Member of Parliament for St Albans in Hertfordshire. She was elected at the general election of 2005, and was re-elected in 2010, 2015 and
2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...
. She lost her seat to
Daisy Cooper Daisy Cooper (born 29 October 1981) is a British Liberal Democrat politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for St Albans since 2019. She has served as the deputy leader of the Liberal Democrat parliamentary party since 2020 ...
, a
Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology. Active parties Former parties See also *Liberal democracy *Lib ...
, at the 2019 general election.


Early life

Main was born in
Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
,
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
in 1957. She was state-educated at the Bishop of Llandaff Church in Wales High School in Rookwood Close in
Llandaff Llandaff (; cy, Llandaf ; from 'church' and ''River Taff, Taf'') is a district, Community (Wales), community and coterminous electoral ward in the north of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It was incorporated into the city in 1922. It is the seat of ...
, Cardiff. She read English at
Swansea University Swansea University ( cy, Prifysgol Abertawe) is a public university, public research university located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. It was chartered as University College of Swansea in 1920, as the fourth college of the University of Wales. ...
obtaining a BA Hons, where she met her first husband, Stephen. She then obtained a PGCE from the
University of Sheffield , mottoeng = To discover the causes of things , established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions: – Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield , type = Pu ...
. She moved to the London area, and taught English and drama at an inner London comprehensive school.


Political career

Main's political career began in 1999, when she was elected as a town councillor in Beaconsfield in Buckinghamshire. She served as councillor for Beaconsfield South Ward on
South Bucks District Council South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...
from 2001 to 2005. At the 2005 general election, she was elected as the Member of Parliament for St Albans, defeating the sitting
Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...
MP Kerry Pollard, achieving a 6.6% swing. In November 2005, Main endorsed David Cameron in the Conservative Party leadership election, after originally supporting his rival David Davis. At the general election of 2010 she retained her seat with an increased majority, despite a 3.75% swing to the Liberal Democrats. She then increased her majority in 2015 to 12,732 votes, picking up some votes from the Liberal Democrats as part of the collapse of that party's support nationwide. At the snap general election of
2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...
, Main received 43% of the vote, Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat) received 32%, Kerry Pollard (Labour) received 23% and Jack Easton (
Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...
) received 2%.
UKIP The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of Parliament and was the largest p ...
declined to stand a candidate in recognition of Main's eurosceptic views. She became Chair of the
All-Party Parliamentary Group An all-party parliamentary group (APPG) is a grouping in the Parliament of the United Kingdom that is composed of members of parliament from all political parties, but have no official status within Parliament. Description and functions All-party ...
(APPG) on
Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
, and served on a number of Select Committees; in addition she became a member of the Panel of Chairs. At the
2016 EU Referendum The United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, commonly referred to as the EU referendum or the Brexit referendum, took place on 23 June 2016 in the United Kingdom (UK) and Gibraltar to ask the electorate whether the country shoul ...
, Main campaigned for a "Leave" vote. Main largely voted in accordance with her party, but opposed high-speed rail and
same-sex marriage in the United Kingdom Same-sex marriage is legal in all parts of the United Kingdom. As marriage is a devolved legislative matter, different parts of the UK legalised at different times; it has been recognised and performed in England and Wales since March 2014, in ...
. Against the national swing, she lost her seat to the
Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology. Active parties Former parties See also *Liberal democracy *Lib ...
candidate
Daisy Cooper Daisy Cooper (born 29 October 1981) is a British Liberal Democrat politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for St Albans since 2019. She has served as the deputy leader of the Liberal Democrat parliamentary party since 2020 ...
at the 2019 general election. Main was appointed
Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...
(CBE) in the
2020 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours for 2020 are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded ...
for public and parliamentary service.


Career as an author

Main commenced a career as an author after the end of her political career, and by the end of 2021 had published five novels about life in Cardiff in the mid twentieth century.


Expenses

Main was investigated by ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...
'' in May 2009 for claiming a second home allowance and a council tax discount for an apartment for a constituency home, which was also lived in full-time and rent-free by her daughter. On 26 June 2009, it was reported that she would face a Parliamentary inquiry into these allegations under John Lyon, the
Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards is an officer of the British House of Commons. The work of the officer is overseen by the Commons Select Committee on Standards. The current commissioner is Kathryn Stone. Duties The commissioner i ...
, following a formal complaint thought to be from a constituent. In February 2010, Lyon concluded that the public should not have been expected to meet living costs for Main's daughter, and Main was ordered to repay £7,100 (being £2,100 wrongly claimed for food, along with an additional £5,000 to reflect the daughter's use of the flat), and to provide a written apology to the committee. Main had argued the Fees Office had told her it was permissible for her daughter to share the second home. Main claimed £22,000 a year for a second home, despite being able to commute both from her taxpayer-funded flat in St Albans, 26 miles from
Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...
, or from her family house in Beaconsfield, 31 miles from Westminster. Concerns raised in connection with her parliamentary expenses resulted in an attempt by the local St Albans Conservative Association to deselect her, with a local party vote led by the association's chairwoman,
Seema Kennedy Seema Louise Ghiassi Kennedy (' Ghiassi, fa, سیما غیاثی; born 6 October 1974) is a British Conservative Party politician who served as a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at both the Department of Health and Social Care and the ...
, a future Member of Parliament who served as the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Immigration under
Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...
. On 13 August 2009, the local association voted by a large margin (140 to 20 according to some sources) to retain Main as its candidate for the forthcoming general election, which had to be held before 3 June 2010.


Personal life

Main lives with her family in Bourne End. She married her first husband Stephen Tonks in 1978, and they had a son and two daughters. Stephen Tonks died of cancer aged 34. In 1995 she married Andrew Main, a company director, with whom she had a fourth child.


References


External links


Anne Main official website
*
Conservative Women

Meet the MP
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Main, Anne 1957 births 21st-century English women politicians Alumni of Swansea University Alumni of the University of Sheffield Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Councillors in Buckinghamshire Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Living people People educated at Bishop of Llandaff Church in Wales High School People from St Albans UK MPs 2005–2010 UK MPs 2010–2015 UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs 2017–2019 Women councillors in England