Jane Fiona Catherine Stevenson (born 18 February 1971) 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 elected as 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 of ...

(MP) for

Wolverhampton North East Wolverhampton North East is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. It is currently represented b ...

at the 2019 general election.

Early life and music career

Stevenson was born and raised in Wolverhampton. Her father was from

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

and settled in Wolverhampton in the 1950s. He lived in

Bushbury Bushbury is a suburban village and ward in the City of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands, England. It lies two miles north-east of Wolverhampton city centre, divided between the Bushbury North and Bushbury South and Low Hill wards. Bushbury ...

for the last 30 years of his life. Her mother is from the Mattox family, whose roots in

Wednesfield Wednesfield is a town and historic village in the City of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England, It is east-northeast of Wolverhampton city centre and about from Birmingham and is part of the West Midlands conurbation. It was historically wi ...

go back to the 18th century. Before entering politics, Stevenson worked as a classical singer. Having performed with local orchestras while studying at Wolverhampton Girls' High School, she won an entrance scholarship to the

Guildhall School of Music The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz ...

in London. After completing post-graduate opera studies. Stevenson freelanced as a soprano soloist for many years. She has also taught singing. Her singing engagements included roles with

English Touring Opera English Touring Opera (ETO) is an opera company in the United Kingdom founded in 1979 under the name Opera 80 by the then-existing Arts Council of Great Britain. In 1992 the company changed to its present name. Today it is sponsored in part by Ar ...

and the

Early Opera Company The Early Opera Company is a British ensemble dedicated to the performance of baroque operas using period instruments. It was founded in 1994 by Christian Curnyn. Handel's operas feature prominently in its repertoire, and the Company has given no ...

. She also performed at concerts at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

and

Symphony Hall, Birmingham Symphony Hall is a 2,262 seat concert venue in Birmingham, England. It was officially opened by Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, Queen Elizabeth II on 12 June 1991, although it had been in use since 15 April 1991. It is home to the City of Bi ...

. International work included the

Harare International Festival of the Arts The Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA) is one of Africa's largest international arts festivals. Established in 1999 by Manuel Bagorro the festival takes place each year in late April or early May in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe. ...

(HIFA) in

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

and concerts in the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

and

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

. European cities she performed in included

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

and

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. She has also performed in

Subotica Subotica ( sr-cyrl, Суботица, ; hu, Szabadka) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the North Bačka District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. Formerly the largest city of Vojvodina region, ...

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

, one of Wolverhampton's twin towns.

Political career

Stevenson has been interested in politics since her teens. She first attended the

Conservative Party Conference The Conservative Party Conference (CPC) is a four-day national conference event held by the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom. It takes place every year around October during the British party conference season, when the House of Commons is ...

in the early 1990s with a group from Wolverhampton, which included then MP Nick Budgen, one of the original

Maastricht Rebels The Maastricht Rebels were British Members of Parliament (MPs) belonging to the then governing Conservative Party who refused to support the government of Prime Minister John Major in a series of votes in the House of Commons on the issue of t ...

. Having campaigned for

Vote Leave Vote Leave was a campaigning organisation that supported a "Leave" vote in the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum. On 13 April 2016 it was designated by the Electoral Commission as the official campaign in favour of leavi ...

in Wolverhampton, in 2016 Stevenson decided to get more involved in the Conservative Party. Before standing for Parliament in 2019, she served as Deputy Chairman (Political) for the Black Country Area and was elected as a city councillor for

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunian ...

in 2018. At the 2019 general election, she defeated the incumbent

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, Emma Reynolds, who had represented the constituency since the 2010 general election. As of March 2020 Stevenson is on the Consolidation, &c., Bills (Joint Committee). On 16 June 2021, Stevenson introduced a ban on

glue trap Animal trapping, or simply trapping or gin, is the use of a device to remotely catch an animal. Animals may be trapped for a variety of purposes, including food, the fur trade, hunting, pest control, and wildlife management. History Neolithic ...

s to Parliament, saying, "When pest control is needed, we have a responsibility to use the most humane methods in order to prevent unnecessary suffering. A rodent stuck in a glue trap will suffer a slow and painful death, which isn't acceptable when other pest control methods are available."

Personal life

Jane is a descendent of the well-known Mattox family in Wolverhampton. She is a passionate dog advocate and animal lover, owning two personally, and her favourite biscuit is the Garibaldi biscuit.https://whocanivotefor.co.uk/person/39909/jane-fiona-catherine-stevenson

References

External links

* 1971 births Living people UK MPs 2019–present Conservative Party (UK) councillors Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Councillors in Wolverhampton English operatic sopranos English people of Northern Ireland descent Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Musicians from Staffordshire Musicians from Wolverhampton Politicians from Staffordshire 20th-century British women opera singers 21st-century British women politicians 21st-century British women opera singers Women councillors in England {{UK-MP-2019-stub