Linda Arkley is a British

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 i ...

politician who served as the elected

Mayor of North Tyneside The Mayor of North Tyneside is the executive mayor of the borough of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, England. The incumbent since 2013 is Norma Redfearn. A Mayoral Referendum was held on 5 May 2016 to determine if residents wished to retain th ...

from 2003 to 2005 and from 2009 to 2013.

Early life

Arkley attended The Bede School in

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

, and studied at both

Sunderland University , mottoeng = Sweetly absorbing knowledge , established = 1901 - Sunderland Technical College1969 - Sunderland Polytechnic1992 - University of Sunderland (gained university status) , staff = , chancellor = Emeli ...

and

Northumbria University , mottoeng = A lifetime of learning , established = 1877 - Rutherford College of Technology1969 - Newcastle Polytechnic1992 - gained university status , type = Public , budget = � ...

. For most of Arkley's professional career she worked as a nurse and health visitor.

Political career

Arkley was first elected as a councillor for Tynemouth ward in 1991, a seat she held until 1995 before regaining it in 1996. During this time she served as deputy leader of the Conservative group on

North Tyneside council North Tyneside Council is the local authority of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a metropolitan district council, one of five in Tyne and Wear and one of 36 in the metropolitan counties of England, and provides the majority of lo ...

and in cabinet under Conservative Mayor, Chris Morgan. The Conservative Mayor of North Tyneside, Chris Morgan, resigned in 2003 due to a scandal involving child pornography. Arkley stood in the subsequent by-election, and won in the second round defeating then MEP

Gordon Adam Gordon Johnston Adam (born 28 March 1934) is a British mining engineer and Labour Party politician. With one brief interruption, he served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for 25 years. Training and career Adam went to Carlisle Gr ...

. She was defeated in 2005 by

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 ...

candidate

John Harrison John Harrison ( – 24 March 1776) was a self-educated English Carpentry, carpenter and clockmaker who invented the marine chronometer, a long-sought-after device for solving the History of longitude, problem of calculating longitude while at s ...

. Later that year she stood in a council by-election in

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

, and was elected to represent Preston ward. Arkley regained the mayoralty of North Tyneside in 2009, when she defeated Harrison. Towards the end of Arkley's second term she was expelled from a meeting of North Tyneside Council after she “berated” Labour councillor Sandra Graham after she asked questions about workers’ rights and the safeguarding of external funding. In May 2013 she was defeated by the Labour candidate

Norma Redfearn Dame Norma Redfearn is a Labour politician serving as the directly-elected Mayor of North Tyneside. Early life Redfearn was born in Wallsend. The daughter of a shipyard worker, she graduated with a BPhil from Newcastle University. Teaching ...

. Arkley stood as the Conservative candidate for Tynemouth ward in 2014, when she was defeated by the Labour incumbent, Sarah Day. In the 2015 local elections, Linda Arkley again unsuccessfully attempted to return to North Tyneside Council by standing in Benton ward where she lost to Labour's Janet Hunter. In March 2019, Linda Arkley announced her intention to seek the Conservative nomination in the inaugural North of Tyne Mayoral election, noting that she was the only declared female candidate for the office. Having chosen the

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is a global holiday celebrated annually on March 8 as a focal point in the women's rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against wom ...

to announce her decision, she has told ''ChronicleLife'' that her candidacy has been inspired by "making sure this isn't a male dominated race." Arkley would go on to lose the nomination to local businessman Charlie Hoult. Arkley made her return to North Tyneside Council in 2021, taking the seat of Cullercoats ward from the Labour Party in that years

local elections In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct vary ...

Honours

Arkley was made an

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 ...

in 2018 for political service.

References

External links

Councillor Linda Arkley
page at

North Tyneside North Tyneside is a metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, England. It forms part of the greater Tyneside conurbation. North Tyneside Council is headquartered at Cobalt Park, Wallsend. North Tyneside is bordered b ...

Council. {{DEFAULTSORT:Arkley, Linda Mayors of the Metropolitan Borough of North Tyneside Conservative Party (UK) politicians Women mayors of places in England Living people Officers of the Order of the British Empire Year of birth missing (living people) Conservative Party (UK) mayors 21st-century British politicians 21st-century British women politicians 21st-century English women politicians 21st-century English people