Mary Josephine Robinson (born 23 August 1955) is a British

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

politician. She was elected as 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 Cheadle at the 2015 general election.

Early life

Robinson was born on 23 August 1955. She studied law and worked as a chartered accountant. She ran an accountancy practice in Preston called Robinson Rose Ltd with her husband, Stephen, but this went into administration and was acquired by the Champion Group in 2008. In 2012, she founded a fashion design business, Mary Felicity Design Ltd, with her daughter Felicity. She unsuccessfully stood as the Conservative candidate in the Howick & Priory ward of

South Ribble South Ribble is a borough in the county of Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Leyland. The population, at the 2011 Census, was 109,057. Notable towns and villages include Walton le Dale, Bamber Bridge, Leyland and Penwortham. It ...

Borough Council in Preston in 2003, but was subsequently elected in the same ward in 2007, when her husband Stephen was also elected as a councillor on the same Council.

Parliamentary career

Robinson was selected as the Conservative candidate for Cheadle in 2013 and stood down as a councillor on

Borough Council. Her husband also stood down as a councillor and, in the local election that followed, the Liberal Democrats won one of the vacant seats left by the couple. She was elected as the

(MP) for Cheadle at the 2015 general election, achieving a swing of 12.2% against the incumbent Liberal Democrat MP Mark Hunter. In 2016, Robinson was one of a number of Conservative MPs investigated by police, for allegedly spending more than the legal limit on constituency election campaign expenses; the police passed her file to the

Crown Prosecution Service The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is the principal public agency for conducting criminal prosecutions in England and Wales. It is headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions. The main responsibilities of the CPS are to provide legal advi ...

(CPS), who decided that no criminal charges would be brought. She was opposed to Brexit before the 2016 referendum. Robinson held her seat at the 2017 General Election and 2019 election with a slightly reduced majority. Despite increasing her share of the vote each time since 2015, her majority has been reduced due to a higher increase by the Liberal Democrats. In Parliament, Robinson currently serves on the

European Statutory Instruments Committee The European Statutory Instruments Committee is a Select committee (United Kingdom), select committee of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It has a remit to consider proposed in ...

and

Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee The Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee (formerly the Housing, Communities and Local Government 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 ...

. She previously served on the

Administration Committee The Administration Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It has a remit "to consider the services provided for and by the House of Commons". Membership As of July 2022, the members of t ...

in 2017. In 2020, Robinson became Chair and Registered Contact for the All Party Parliamentary Group on Whistleblowing. The group has been working to promote an Office of the Whistleblower which was introduced in a

private members bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in whi ...

from her APPG colleague, Baroness Kramer.

Personal life

She is married to Stephen Robinson and they have four grown up children. In 2016, her husband Stephen stood as the Conservative candidate for the Cheadle Hulme South ward on Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council, but lost to Mark Hunter, the former local MP whom Mary Robinson had defeated in 2015.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Mary 1955 births Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Living people UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs 2017–2019 UK MPs 2019–present 21st-century British women politicians Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Cheadle 21st-century English women 21st-century English people