Maria Geraldine Smith (born 29 August 1961) is a former British Labour Party politician who was the

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 o ...

for Morecambe and Lunesdale from

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 ...

to 2010.

Early life

She was educated at Morecambe High School and

Lancaster and Morecambe College Lancaster and Morecambe College is a further education College situated on Torrisholme Road, between Lancaster and Morecambe, Lancashire, England. The college has been providing the local area with access to further and higher education since ...

, where she gained a Diploma in Business Studies. Her first campaign was supported by the Communication Workers Union, for which she was formerly an officer. Prior to becoming taking office, she worked for the Royal Mail from 1980 to 1997, and was a member of Lancaster City Council.

Parliamentary career

After the Labour Party's poor showing in the local government elections of 4 May 2006 she was linked to a campaign on a timetable for

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

's departure as Prime Minister and also expressed a preference for

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in Tony B ...

to succeed him. She also found "outrageous" the survival of

John Prescott John Leslie Prescott, Baron Prescott (born 31 May 1938) is a British politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and as First Secretary of State from 2001 to 2007. A member of the Labour Party, he w ...

as a government minister following the reshuffle. She said that she believed

William Hague William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

would be the next

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 in ...

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

, rather than David Cameron. In August 2009, she criticised the

Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 (c 22) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act constitutes a major review and update of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990. According to the Department of Health th ...

which conferred legal parenthood on a biological mother's female partner, saying "To have a birth certificate with two mothers and no father is just madness." Smith was a member of the All-Party Parliamentary Flag Group. On Wednesday 17 September 2008, Smith was interviewed by

Tony Livesey Anthony Livesey (born 11 January 1964, Burnley, Lancashire) is a British journalist and broadcaster who presents 'Drive' for BBC Radio 5 Live. Early life Livesey was born in Burnley, Lancashire, and lived in nearby Nelson during the early part ...

BBC Radio Lancashire BBC Radio Lancashire is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Lancashire. It broadcasts on FM, AM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios on Darwen Street in Blackburn. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly aud ...

's Breakfast Show; she attacked the so-called "Lancashire Mafia" for their plot against Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and accused those behind the scenes of being cowards. Smith narrowly lost her seat to the Conservative David Morris in the general election in May 2010.

Personal life

Geraldine Smith is the Patron of the Morecambe Bay

National Osteoporosis Society The Royal Osteoporosis Society (ROS), formerly the National Osteoporosis Society, established in 1986, is the only UK-wide charity dedicated to improving the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis. It is based in Camerton, Somerse ...

Support Group. Geraldine Smith was the President of 455 (Morecambe and Heysham) Squadron Air Training Corps until 2010 when she regretfully to its members stood down after a number of years as an ambassador to youth development in the area. The Air Training Corps is a youth organisation sponsored by the Royal Air Force for local youth between the ages of 13 and 18 giving them opportunities to learn new skills and support their local community.

References

External links

The Labour Party – Geraldine Smith MP
official biography

* ttps://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/geraldine_smith/morecambe_and_lunesdale TheyWorkForYou.com – Geraldine Smith MP
BBC Politics page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Geraldine 1961 births Living people Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Councillors in Lancashire Labour Party (UK) councillors Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for constituencies in Lancashire People from Morecambe Politicians from Belfast Royal Mail people UK MPs 1997–2001 UK MPs 2001–2005 UK MPs 2005–2010 20th-century British women politicians 21st-century British women politicians 20th-century women politicians from Northern Ireland 20th-century politicians from Northern Ireland 21st-century women politicians from Northern Ireland 21st-century politicians from Northern Ireland Women councillors in England