Lynne Mary Jones (born 26 April 1951) is a 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 of ...

(MP) for Birmingham Selly Oak from

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

until the dissolution of parliament in April 2010.

Early life

Jones was born in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, and attended the local

Bartley Green Bartley Green is a residential suburban area and electoral ward in Birmingham, England, south west of the city centre. The ward is part of the Birmingham Edgbaston constituency and is represented in parliament by Labour Co-operative MP Preet Gil ...

Girls' Grammar School (now the comprehensive Hillcrest School) in Woodgate. She studie
Biochemistry
at the

University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

, eventually gaining her

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

in 1979. She also has a post-graduate Diploma in Housing Studies from Birmingham Polytechnic (now

Birmingham City University Birmingham City University (abbrev. BCU) is a university in Birmingham, England. Initially established as the Birmingham College of Art with roots dating back to 1843, it was designated as a polytechnic (United Kingdom), polytechnic in 1971 and gai ...

). She worked in research at the University of Birmingham from 1972–86. She was a housing association manager from 1987–92. She joined the Labour Party in 1974. She has worked in both science and housing, and was a Councillor on

Birmingham City Council Birmingham City Council is the local government body responsible for the governance of the City of Birmingham in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974. It is the most populated local council area in the United Kingdom (e ...

representing

Kings Norton Kings Norton, alternatively King's Norton, is an area of Birmingham, England. Historically in Worcestershire, it was also a Birmingham City Council ward within the Government of Birmingham, England. The district lies 6.5 miles south-southwes ...

ward from 1980–94.

Research interests

She first studied stimulus-response coupling in the rat

parotid gland The parotid gland is a major salivary gland in many animals. In humans, the two parotid glands are present on either side of the mouth and in front of both ears. They are the largest of the salivary glands. Each parotid is wrapped around the man ...

and at

alpha adrenergic receptor The adrenergic receptors or adrenoceptors are a class of G protein-coupled receptors that are targets of many catecholamines like norepinephrine (noradrenaline) and epinephrine (adrenaline) produced by the body, but also many medications like beta ...

s. This led to a discovery that there are

cell-surface receptors The cell membrane (also known as the plasma membrane (PM) or cytoplasmic membrane, and historically referred to as the plasmalemma) is a biological membrane that separates and protects the interior of all cells from the outside environment ( ...

that are stimulated by hormones and

neurotransmitter A neurotransmitter is a signaling molecule secreted by a neuron to affect another cell across a synapse. The cell receiving the signal, any main body part or target cell, may be another neuron, but could also be a gland or muscle cell. Neuro ...

s controlled by changes of intracellular calcium ion levels. It also involves the conversion of inositol phospholipids in the

cell membrane The cell membrane (also known as the plasma membrane (PM) or cytoplasmic membrane, and historically referred to as the plasmalemma) is a biological membrane that separates and protects the interior of all cells from the outside environment ( ...

. She also worked on the process of agonist-stimulated incorporation of radioactive phosphate into inositol

phospholipid Phospholipids, are a class of lipids whose molecule has a hydrophilic "head" containing a phosphate group and two hydrophobic "tails" derived from fatty acids, joined by an alcohol residue (usually a glycerol molecule). Marine phospholipids typ ...

Parliamentary career

Jones was first elected to the

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. ...

at the 1992 general election. She was a member of the

Socialist Campaign Group The Socialist Campaign Group, officially the Socialist Campaign Group of Labour MPs and also known as the Campaign Group, is a left-wing, democratic socialist grouping of the Labour Party's Members of Parliament in the House of Commons of the ...

and took part in almost all of the backbench rebellions against the Labour government. She was also Chair of the Parliamentary Forum on

Transsexualism Transsexual people experience a gender identity that is inconsistent with their assigned sex, and desire to permanently transition to the sex or gender with which they identify, usually seeking medical assistance (including sex reassignment ...

, and is a patron of

Press for Change Press for Change (PFC) is a UK-based campaign group focusing on the rights and treatment of trans people. Its stated aim is "seeking respect and equality for all trans people in the UK". The group led the campaign for full legal recognition for ...

. From 1993–2001 she was on the

Science and Technology Select Committee The Science and Technology Select Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The original Science and Technology Committee was abolished upon the creation of the Innovation, Universities, Sci ...

. During the 2005–10 parliament she was a member of the

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the Committee is to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Department ...

Leadership challenge

In February 2006, she announced her intention to stand against then Chancellor

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 (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chance ...

in the Labour Party leadership contest expected to follow

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 is not ...

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 resignation if nobody else did, so that Brown could not simply be "crowned". Subsequently, Socialist Campaign Group Chair

John McDonnell John Martin McDonnell (born 8 September 1951) is a British politician who served as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2015 to 2020. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Hayes and Harlington since 1997. ...

attempted to stand instead, but failed to gain enough nominations from MPs and Brown was unopposed.

Retirement

Following boundary changes in Birmingham, which reduced its parliamentary representation from eleven to ten seats, Jones was expected to apply for selection for the redrawn Selly Oak constituency which contained wards from the former Selly Oak and

Hall Green Hall Green is an area in southeast Birmingham, England, synonymous with the B28 postcode. It is also a council constituency, managed by its own district committee. Historically it lay within the county of Worcestershire. Politics Hall Green is ...

constituencies. However, in January 2007 Jones announced her intention to stand down at the 2010 general election. Jones refused to endorse

Roger Godsiff Roger Duncan Godsiff (born 28 June 1946) is a British former politician who served as the Labour Member of Parliament (MP) from 1992 to 2019, for the seats of Birmingham Small Heath, Birmingham Sparkbrook and Small Heath, and Birmingham Hall ...

in Hall Green, instead supporting the

Respect Respect, also called esteem, is a positive feeling or action shown towards someone or something considered important or held in high esteem or regard. It conveys a sense of admiration for good or valuable qualities. It is also the process of ...

candidate

Salma Yaqoob Salma Yaqoob (formally Jacob) (born 15 August 1971) is a British political activist and psychotherapist who served as the Leader of the Respect Party from 2005 until 2012, representing the party on Birmingham City Council. She led the Birming ...

, who came second.

National Executive Committee

Jones is running to be on Labour's

National Executive Committee National Executive Committee is the name of a leadership body in several organizations, mostly political parties: * National Executive Committee of the African National Congress, in South Africa * Australian Labor Party National Executive * Nationa ...

, challenging former Welsh First Minister

Carwyn Jones Carwyn Howell Jones (born 21 March 1967) is a Welsh politician who served as First Minister of Wales and Leader of Welsh Labour from 2009 to 2018. He served as Counsel General for Wales from 2007 to 2009. Jones served as the Member of the S ...

Personal life

She is married, and has two sons (including one born in January 1990). She married Chris Kirk in April 1994 in

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area expe ...

. He is Chief Executive of the

Biochemical Society The Biochemical Society is a learned society in the United Kingdom in the field of biochemistry, including all the cellular and molecular biosciences. Structure It currently has around 7000 members, two-thirds in the UK. It is affiliated with th ...

. She is a keen cyclist. In November 2009, she announced she was having treatment for

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...

after a tumour was discovered at an early stage.

References

News items

Cancer diagnosis in November 2009

''Politics Show'' May 2006

Kilroy Silk in January 2004

Clare Short in May 2003

Clare Short's future in April 2003

Page 3 Girls in January 2003

Housing policy in April 2002

Budget in March 2001

Pensions in May 2009
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Lynne 1951 births Living people Alumni of Birmingham City University Alumni of the University of Birmingham English biochemists British republicans European democratic socialists Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies People from Birmingham, West Midlands UK MPs 1992–1997 UK MPs 1997–2001 UK MPs 2001–2005 UK MPs 2005–2010 Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Councillors in Birmingham, West Midlands Women biochemists 20th-century British women scientists 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