Lynne Mary Jones (born 26 April 1951) is a British politician, who was the Labour Party Member of Parliament (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. In October 2023, Jones reportedly quit the Labour Party following comments Keir Starmer made on the

2023 Israel–Hamas war } The ongoing armed conflict between Hamas-led Palestinian militant groups and Israel military forces began on 7 October 2023, 50 years after the start of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Hamas's coordinated surprise offensive, codenamed "Al-Aqsa Fl ...

Early life

Jones was born in Birmingham, and attended the local Bartley Green Girls' Grammar School (now the comprehensive Hillcrest School) in Woodgate. She studie
Biochemistry
at the University of Birmingham, eventually gaining her Ph.D. in 1979. She also has a post-graduate Diploma in Housing Studies from Birmingham Polytechnic (now Birmingham City University). 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 representing Kings Norton ward from 1980–94.

Research interests

She first studied stimulus-response coupling in the rat parotid gland 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. 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 at the 1992 general election. She was a member of the Socialist Campaign Group and took part in almost all of the backbench rebellions against the Labour government. She was also Chair of the Parliamentary Forum on Transsexualism, 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. During the 2005–10 parliament she was a member of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee.

Leadership challenge

In February 2006, she announced her intention to stand against then Chancellor Gordon Brown in the Labour Party leadership contest expected to follow Prime Minister Tony Blair's resignation if nobody else did, so that Brown could not simply be "crowned". Subsequently, Socialist Campaign Group Chair John McDonnell 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 constituencies. However, in January 2007 Jones announced her intention to stand down at the 2010 general election. Jones refused to endorse Roger Godsiff 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 ran to be on Labour's National Executive Committee, challenging former Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones.

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 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 Politicians 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