Mary Macleod (born 4 January 1969) is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

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 A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

, 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 Brentford and Isleworth from the 2010 general election until the 2015 general election, when she was defeated by Ruth Cadbury of the Labour Party. After a career in business consulting, Macleod was a policy advisor to

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

Early life

Born in London to Scottish parents, she has lived for many years in

Chiswick Chiswick ( ) is a district of west London, England. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist William Hogarth; Chiswick House, a neo-Palladian villa regarded as one of the finest in England; and Full ...

and continues to reside there. She graduated from the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

with a degree in

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

, together with

Business Studies Business studies, often simply called business, is a field of study that deals with the principles of business, management, and economics. It combines elements of accountancy, finance, marketing, organizational studies, human resource management, a ...

Career

On graduation, she joined

Andersen Consulting Accenture plc is an Irish-American professional services company based in Dublin, specializing in information technology (IT) services and consulting. A ''Fortune'' Global 500 company, it reported revenues of $61.6 billion in 2022. Accentur ...

and then

Accenture Accenture plc is an Irish-American professional services company based in Dublin, specializing in information technology (IT) services and consulting. A ''Fortune'' Global 500 company, it reported revenues of $61.6 billion in 2022. Accentur ...

, as a

business consultant A business consultant (from Latin ''consultare'', "to discuss") is a professional who provides professional or expert advice or service in a particular area such as security (electronic or physical), management, accountancy, law, human resources, ma ...

. She was Chief of Staff and Chief Operating Officer for Group Operations at

ABN AMRO ABN or abn may refer to: Companies * ABN AMRO Group, a Dutch bank group * ABN AMRO, sometimes referred to as "ABN" in shorthand, is a Dutch state-owned bank * Algemene Bank Nederland, a now-defunct Dutch bank Radio, news and television organizat ...

, and then Group Communications Head of Transition at

Royal Bank of Scotland The Royal Bank of Scotland plc (RBS; gd, Banca Rìoghail na h-Alba) is a major retail and commercial bank in Scotland. It is one of the retail banking subsidiaries of NatWest Group, together with NatWest (in England and Wales) and Ulster Bank ...

. Before her election, she was an ambassador for

ActionAid ActionAid is an international non-governmental organization whose stated primary aim is to work against poverty and injustice worldwide. ActionAid is a federation of 45 country offices that works with communities, often via local partner organis ...

, a fellow of the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

, and served as a policy advisor to The Queen and the Royal Household at

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

, advising on public relations, communications and "strategic change within the monarchy." On 1 January 2023, Macleod became the Chief Executive of

Business in the Community Business in the Community (BITC) is a British business-community outreach charity promoting responsible business, CSR, corporate responsibility, and is one of the Prince's Charities of King Charles III (formerly the Prince of Wales). BITC work ...

Political career

Having unsuccessfully contested Ross, Skye and Inverness West at the 1997 general election, Macleod was elected as the

for the

marginal seat A marginal seat or swing seat is a constituency held with a small majority in a legislative election, generally one conducted under a single-winner voting system. In Canada, they may be known as target ridings. The opposite is a safe seat. The ...

of Brentford & Isleworth on 7 May 2010. From May 2010, she served on the

Home Affairs Select Committee The Home Affairs Select Committee is a Departmental Committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Remit The Home Affairs Committee is one of the House of Commons Select committees related to government departments: its ...

. In September that year, she was appointed as

Parliamentary Private Secretary A Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) is a Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom who acts as an unpaid assistant to a minister or shadow minister. They are selected from backbench MPs as the 'eyes and ears' of the minister in the H ...

to the Rt Hon.

Nick Herbert Nicholas Le Quesne Herbert, Baron Herbert of South Downs, (born 7 April 1963) is a British Conservative Party politician and was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Arundel and South Downs from 2005 to 2019. He was Minister of State for Police ...

MP,

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In o ...

for Policing and Criminal Justice. She set up the All Party Parliamentary Group for Women in Parliament, and joined the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme as a Squadron Leader in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

. In September 2013, Macleod was appointed

to the new

Culture Secretary The secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport, also referred to as the culture secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for strategy and policy across the Department f ...

Maria Miller Dame Maria Frances Miller'MILLER, Rt Hon. Maria (Frances Lewis)', Who's Who 2013, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2013; online edn, Oxford University Press, December 2012; online edn, November 2012 ...

. She was the primary supporter in 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. ...

for the

Equality (Titles) Bill The Equality (Titles) Bill, known colloquially as the "Downton Law" and "Downton Abbey Law", was a Bill of the Parliament of the United Kingdom introduced in 2013 that would have ended a measure of gender discrimination and allowed for equal su ...

, dubbed the "''

Downton Abbey ''Downton Abbey'' is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. The series first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United States on P ...

'' Law", which seeks to abolish male-only primogeniture in the

Peerages A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Belgia ...

. The Bill was ultimately unsuccessful. In April 2014, Macleod accused the media of a "witch hunt" against her boss,

, who was the subject of criticism for over-claiming expenses and failing to cooperate with the enquiry. However, the next day Miller resigned. In July that year, she said there was a "bullying culture" in the

, and the behaviour of many male MPs was "off-putting to most women". Speaking in advance of the publishing of a report into female representation in Parliament, she suggested that reprimands from the Speaker for misbehaving MPs were "counter-effective", with some of them enjoying the attention. Macleod was defeated in the 2015 general election by Ruth Cadbury of Labour by less than 500 votes. After the election, Macleod was appointed to a position advising the

Secretary of State for Scotland The secretary of state for Scotland ( gd, Rùnaire Stàite na h-Alba; sco, Secretar o State fir Scotland), also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the Unit ...

David Mundell David Gordon Mundell, (born 27 May 1962) is a Scottish politician and solicitor who served as Secretary of State for Scotland from 2015 to 2019. A member of the Scottish Conservative Party, he has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Du ...

. In the snap

2017 general election This national electoral calendar for 2017 lists the national/federal elections held in 2017 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *5 November ...

, Macleod ran again as the Conservative candidate for Brentford and Isleworth, but lost by more than 12,000 votes, 20% of the vote.

References

External links

Mary Macleod
''official website''
Mary Macleod MP
Conservative Party profile
Brentford and Isleworth Conservatives
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Macleod, Mary 1969 births Living people People from Chiswick English people of Scottish descent Alumni of the University of Glasgow Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Scottish Conservative Party parliamentary candidates UK MPs 2010–2015 21st-century British women politicians 21st-century English women 21st-century English people