Dame Marion Audrey Roe DBE (born 15 July 1936 in London) is a

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

politician in 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 ...

, and former MP.

Early life and career

She went to the independent Bromley High School for Girls in

Bickley Bickley is a district and a local government electoral ward in South East London, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is located 10.4 miles (16.7 km) south east of Charing Cross, bordering Elmstead, London, Elmstead to the north, Chis ...

, then the independent

Croydon High School Croydon High School is an Independent school (UK), independent day school for girls located near Croydon, London, England. It is one of the original schools founded by the Girls' Day School Trust. History The school was founded in 1874 in Welles ...

. She studied at the English School of Languages in

Vevey Vevey (; frp, Vevê; german: label=former German, Vivis) is a town in Switzerland in the canton of Vaud, on the north shore of Lake Geneva, near Lausanne. The German name Vivis is no longer commonly used. It was the seat of the district of ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. Roe served on the

Greater London Council The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...

Parliamentary career

She unsuccessfully contested the Barking constituency at the 1979 general election, achieving a 14% swing. Roe became

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 ...

for

Broxbourne Broxbourne is a town and former civil parish, now in the unparished area of Hoddesdon, in the Broxbourne district, in Hertfordshire, England, north of London, with a population of 15,303 at the 2011 Census.Broxbourne Town population 2011 It is ...

from

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

until 2005. She was a junior environment minister in the 1980s and chaired

select committees Select or SELECT may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Select'' (album), an album by Kim Wilde * ''Select'' (magazine), a British music magazine * ''MTV Select'', a television program * ''Select Live'', New Zealand's C4 music program ...

in the 1990s. A

eurosceptic Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies, and seek reform ...

, she was on the council of the right-wing

Conservative Way Forward Conservative Way Forward (CWF) is a British pressure and campaigning group, which is Thatcherite in its outlook and agenda. Margaret Thatcher was its founding President. Conservative Way Forward was founded in 1991 to "defend and build upon th ...

group. She stepped down at the 2005 general election.

Later life

Following her retirement, Roe established the Dame Marion Roe Young Citizen of the Year award, part of the annual Broxbourne Youth Awards celebrating the achievements of young people from the borough of Broxbourne. In 2010 she became chair of the trustees of the

National Benevolent Fund for the Aged The National Benevolent Fund for the Aged was registered as a charity in 1957 and became NBFA Assisting the Elderly in 2012. Working across the United Kingdom it provided support for isolated, marginalised and lonely older people on low incomes un ...

, after the death of

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

(grandson of the former prime minister). She was interviewed in 2013 as part of

The History of Parliament The History of Parliament is a project to write a complete history of the United Kingdom Parliament and its predecessors, the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of England. The history will principally consist of a prosopography, in w ...

's oral history project.

Personal life

She married James Kenneth Roe in 1958. They have a son and two daughters - one of whom,

Philippa Roe, Baroness Couttie Philippa Marion Roe, Baroness Couttie (25 September 1962 – 12 December 2022) was a British Conservative politician, who served as Leader of Westminster City Council from 2012 to 2017. Before entering public life she was an investment banker wit ...

, was the Leader of

Westminster City Council Westminster City Council is the local authority for the City of Westminster in Greater London, England. The city is divided into 20 wards, each electing three councillors. The council is currently composed of 31 Labour Party members and 23 Cons ...

and was a member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

as a Conservative from 2016 until her death in 2022.

References

External links

They Work For You

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roe, Marion 1936 births Living people Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Members of the Greater London Council Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1992–1997 UK MPs 1997–2001 UK MPs 2001–2005 People educated at Bromley High School People educated at Croydon High School 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