Jennifer Watson

CBE 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 o ...

(born 25 January 1964), better known as Jenny Watson, is the former chairperson of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Electoral Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

. She is Chair of the House of St Barnabas, of GAMSTOP and of Mossbourne Parkside Academy, a Hackney primary school, part of the Mossbourne Federation. She is also Chair of the Independent Complaints Panel at the Portman Group, the UK alcohol regulator, overseeing complaints into the naming, packaging, promotion and sponsorship of alcoholic drinks in the UK. She is a non-executive director at the Financial Reporting Council, the Financial Ombudsman Service, and the Reclaim Fund. Watson was the last chair of the Equal Opportunities Commission before the creation of the

Commission for Equality and Human Rights The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is a non-departmental public body in Great Britain, established by the Equality Act 2006 with effect from 1 October 2007. The Commission has responsibility for the promotion and enforcement of eq ...

, having been first appointed as a commissioner in 1999, and deputy chair from 2000. She was deputy chairman of the

Banking Code Standards Board A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

, and of the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management. A long term campaigner for

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

, she had a 20+ year career in the

not for profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

sector. She started out at

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

, and then political campaigners

Charter88 Charter 88 was a British pressure group that advocated constitutional and electoral reform and owes its origins to the lack of a written constitution. It began as a special edition of the ''New Statesman'' magazine in 1988 and it took its name ...

, before moving to

Victim Support Victim Support is an independent charity in England and Wales that provides specialist practical and emotional support to victims and witnesses of crime. Activities ;Support for victims of crime: Trained volunteers and employees offer free and c ...

. She is a former Chair of the

Fawcett Society The Fawcett Society is a membership charity in the United Kingdom which campaigns for women's rights. The organisation dates back to 1866, when Millicent Garrett Fawcett dedicated her life to the peaceful campaign for women's suffrage. Originall ...

, a not-for-profit organisation campaigning for equality between women and men. Watson was appointed the second chair of the Electoral Commission in January 2009. She was paid £100,000 for a role which required her to work three days a week. Watson remained chair of the electoral commission amidst criticism of her management of the

2010 United Kingdom general election The 2010 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 6 May 2010, with 45,597,461 registered voters entitled to vote to elect members to the House of Commons. The election took place in 650 constituencies across the United Kingdom unde ...

, when she defended herself on the grounds that the Electoral Commission had few powers over

returning officer In various parliamentary systems, a returning officer is responsible for overseeing elections in one or more constituencies. Australia In Australia a returning officer is an employee of the Australian Electoral Commission or a state electoral c ...

s. Since then, the

Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 The Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 (c. 1) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that made provision for the holding of a referendum on whether to introduce the Alternative Vote system in all future general ele ...

has increased the commission's authority with regard to

referendums A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

. She formally announced the results of the

Welsh devolution Welsh devolution (Welsh: ''Datganoli i Gymru'') is the transfer of legislative power for self-governance to Wales by the Government of the United Kingdom. Wales was conquered by England during the 13th century; the 1284 Statute of Rhuddlan caused ...

referendum "in both

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

with perfect pronunciation". Just two months later, she acted as Chief Counting Officer (CCO) in the 2011 AV Referendum and also acted in the same capacity in 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 ...

. In doing so, she became the first person to oversee two UK-wide referendums as Chief Counting Officer. Watson 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

2017 Birthday Honours The 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours 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 as pa ...

for services to electoral democracy.

Publications

*''Human Rights in Britain since the Human Rights Act 1998: A Critical Review'' co-authored with Alice Donald (Global Partners & Associates) and the Human Rights & Social Justice Research Unit of London Metropolitan University.

References

External links

Bio at the Electoral Commission
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Jenny British civil servants Living people 1964 births Commanders of the Order of the British Empire