Dari Jean Taylor (''née'' Jones; born 13 December 1944) is a British
Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for
Stockton South between the
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...
and
2010 general elections.
Biography
Taylor was born into a staunch Labour Party-supporting family in
Rhondda
Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley ( cy, Cwm Rhondda ), is a former coal mining, coalmining area in South Wales, historically in the county of Glamorgan. It takes its name from the River Rhondda, and embraces two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fa ...
, South Wales, in December 1944. She attended Ynyshir Girls' School before moving to Burnley Municipal College when her father,
Daniel Jones, was elected to Parliament as the Labour MP for
Burnley
Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...
in 1959. He remained the MP for Burnley until 1983. She graduated with a BA from the
University of Nottingham
, mottoeng = A city is built on wisdom
, established = 1798 – teacher training college1881 – University College Nottingham1948 – university status
, type = Public
, chancellor ...
and an MA from the
University of Durham
Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charte ...
, then lectured at a number of colleges of Further Education.
Taylor was active in the
Trade Union movement
The labour movement or labor movement consists of two main wings: the trade union movement (British English) or labor union movement (American English) on the one hand, and the political labour movement on the other.
* The trade union movement ...
from 1990 until her election to Parliament in 1997. She initially worked as a researcher and in 1993 became the Regional Educational Officer for the
GMB Union
The GMB is a general trade union in the United Kingdom which has more than 460,000 members. Its members work in nearly all industrial sectors, in retail, security, schools, distribution, the utilities, social care, the National Health Service (N ...
in the Northern Region. She was also an elected member of
Sunderland Metropolitan Council between 1986 and the time of her election to Parliament.
She describes her interests as issues relating to women, health, the economy, industry, defence, international development, disabilities, drugs and crime and all aspects of child welfare, especially adoption.
Parliamentary career
Taylor was selected to stand for election for Labour through an
all-women shortlist. Taylor was elected as Member of Parliament for Stockton South in 1997, until losing the seat at the 2010 general election.
Taylor served as
Parliamentary Private Secretary to
Lewis Moonie
Lewis George Moonie, Baron Moonie (born 25 February 1947) is a British politician. He was the Labour Co-operative Member of Parliament (MP) for Kirkcaldy from 1987 to 2005.
Early life
He attended the Grove Academy in Dundee. He studied medi ...
and
Lord Bach (Ministry of Defence) from 2001 to 2003 and then as Parliamentary Private Secretary to
Hazel Blears
Hazel Anne Blears (born 14 May 1956) is a former British Labour Party politician, who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Salford and Eccles, previously Salford, from 1997 to 2015.
One of 101 female Labour MPs elected at the 1997 g ...
,
Home Office minister between 2003 and 2005. Her latest such position was again as a Parliamentary Private Secretary, to
Phil Hope
Philip Ian Hope (born 19 April 1955) is a former British Labour and Co-operative politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Corby from 1997 until 2010, when he lost his seat to the Conservatives. He held several ministerial roles d ...
at the
Department of Health
A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their ow ...
in 2008–09.
She was the chairman of the
North East Regional Select Committee and a member of the
Intelligence and Security Committee
The Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament (ISC) is a statutory joint committee of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, appointed to oversee the work of the UK intelligence community.
The committee was established in 1994 by the ...
. Taylor was secretary of Labour Friends of
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, Vice-chair of the
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...
Group and the treasurer for the Opera Group.
Whilst in Parliament, Taylor was Chair of the Adoption and Fostering Group, Secretary for the Cardiac Risk in the Young Group and Vice-chair of the Children Group.
Controversies
Misuses of stationery
In early November 2008 Taylor was found guilty of misusing
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...
stationery for political purposes, with four complaints about her upheld.
Of particular note was that this was the second occasion Taylor had committed such offences, having already been forced to repay for misused stationery and postage in April 2007.
A House of Commons
Committee on Standards and Privileges
The Standards and Privileges Committee is a former committee of the United Kingdom House of Commons that existed from 1995 to 2013. The committee was established in 1995 to replace the earlier Committee of Privileges. It consisted of 10 Members of ...
stated:
"We strongly deprecate the continued misuse by Ms Taylor of House stationery for political purposes...we are surprised that an experienced Member has repeated previous breaches of the rules and has failed to act in accordance with advice given by the House authorities. We particularly regret the fact that Ms Taylor has continued to dispute parts of the Commissioner's findings and we are very disappointed that she has offered no apology. We conclude that Ms Taylor should pay the House authorities the sum of £500 and submit an unequivocal written apology. "
Taylor suggested that the rules were too "confusing" and that she had "tried her best" to stick to them. She complied with the orders of the committee.
Expenses
In 2006, on the subject of not being top of north east MP expenses, Taylor said she was disappointed not to be higher in the list. Referring to her position behind Dr Kumar and Sharon Hodgson, Taylor said: "I want to know what Ashok and Sharon are doing better than me."
In 2007, Taylor was the second costliest MP in the North East region (Stockton South), claiming £159,178, and putting her in 24th place in the Westminster league table.
In May 2009, Taylor attracted some criticism for her expenses claims, in particular for claiming £18,100 over four years for food – the maximum possible claim. She also claimed £54,329 for mortgage interest payments over four years on her two-bedroomed London apartment, £40 per month for a cleaner to perform housekeeping duties and £310 for tiling a bathroom. She was one of the 98 MPs who voted to keep MPs' expenses secret. She was one of the few MPs to publish their expenses independently, but had blacked out the parts that revealed staffers' personal details.
Voting record
Taylor strongly supported the
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...
. She supports a fully elected House of Lords and bills which favoured a partially elected alternative. She is in favour of nuclear power and the replacement of
Trident
A trident is a three- pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and historically as a polearm.
The trident is the weapon of Poseidon, or Neptune, the God of the Sea in classical mythology. The trident may occasionally be held by other mari ...
.
She is described as a "Labour loyalist".
Personal life
She married David Taylor in July 1970 and they have one daughter. She enjoys classical music, walking and travelling.
References
External links
Guardian Unlimited Politics – Ask Aristotle: Dari Taylor MPTheyWorkForYou.com – Dari Taylor MPBBC Politics page
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Dari
1944 births
Living people
Alumni of the University of Nottingham
Alumni of Durham University
Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
Labour Friends of Israel
People from Rhondda
Councillors in North East England
Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies
UK MPs 1997–2001
UK MPs 2001–2005
UK MPs 2005–2010
Welsh politicians
20th-century British women politicians
21st-century British women politicians
20th-century English women
20th-century English people
21st-century English women
21st-century English people
Women councillors in England