Lorna Fitzsimons (born 6 August 1967, Littleborough,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

) is a British business and public sector executive. She was the Labour Party

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

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

from 1997 to 2005.

Early life

Fitzsimons attended St James CE Primary School in Wardle and Wardle High School. She then studied at Rochdale College of Art and Design, followed by Loughborough College of Art and Design where she studied for a BA in Textile Design. Fitzsimons was the President of the National Union of Students (NUS) from 1992 to 1994, having previously held the position of NUS Vice-President (Education). She was a Director of NUS Services from 1990–4, and of

Endsleigh Insurance Endsleigh Insurance is a Cheltenham-based UK insurance intermediary specialising in the student, education, graduate and sport markets. It is the preferred insurer for several unions and professional associations. Endsleigh was established in ...

from 1992–4.

Parliamentary career

In 1997, Fitzsimons was elected as the Member of Parliament for

, a position she held until her defeat at the 2005 election by the

Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology. Active parties Former parties See also *Liberal democracy *Lib ...

candidate

Paul Rowen Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity * Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

. She was one of the youngest MPs elected in 1997. During her time in Parliament she held various positions, including Chair of the

APPG An all-party parliamentary group (APPG) is a grouping in the Parliament of the United Kingdom that is composed of members of parliament from all political parties, but have no official status within Parliament. Description and functions All-party ...

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

and Secretary of the APPG on

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. She was the Chair of the

Parliamentary Labour Party In UK politics, the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) is the parliamentary group of the Labour Party in Parliament, i.e. Labour MPs as a collective body. Commentators on the British Constitution sometimes draw a distinction between the Labour P ...

Women's Committee, with 101 women MPs, from 1997 to 2001, and then Vice-Chair from 2001 to 2005. Fitzsimons was PPS to

Robin Cook Robert Finlayson "Robin" Cook (28 February 19466 August 2005) was a British Labour politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1974 until his death in 2005 and served in the Cabinet as Foreign Secretary from 1997 until 2001 whe ...

from 2001 until his resignation. She was involved in working to modernise the procedures and practices of 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. ...

in her role as a member of both the Procedures and Modernisation Select Committees.

Career

Fitzsimons runs her own company, Lorna Fitzsimons Consulting Ltd. She was CEO of

Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre The Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre (BICOM) is a UK-based organisation which acts to promote awareness of Israel and the Middle East in the United Kingdom. BICOM publishes materials such as briefings and a journal, ''Fathom'', ...

from 2006 to 2012. Before entering Parliament in 1997, Fitzsimons worked at the Saatchi subsidiary Rowland Sallingbury Casey holding various positions including Associate Director. Her clients included BT, Manweb, P&G, UKAEA and Brown and Root. Whilst at Rowland's Fitzsimons, won the first IPR Young Communicator of the year award in 1995. She was part of the two person team that ran the 'Soap Wars' campaign for P&G. She has held many elected and appointed positions for national organisations, as well as being a member of governing bodies for such institutions as

Sheffield Hallam University Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) is a public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The university is based on two sites; the City Campus is located in the city centre near Sheffield railway station, while the Collegiate Cr ...

Personal life

Fitzsimons married Stephen Benedict Cooney on 8 April 2000 in Rochdale. She has a step-daughter and step-son, and a son (born in September 2002).

References

* ''

Times Guide to the House of Commons ''The Times Guide to the House of Commons'' is a political reference guide book published by Times Newspapers giving coverage of general elections in the United Kingdom. Following most general elections since 1880, the book has been published. Th ...

'', 1997, 2001 and 2005 editions

External links

*
Losing her seat

They Work For You

BBC page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzsimons, Lorna 1967 births Living people Alumni of Loughborough University Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Presidents of the National Union of Students (United Kingdom) People from Littleborough, Greater Manchester Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Rochdale UK MPs 1997–2001 UK MPs 2001–2005 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