Philippa Marion Roe, Baroness Couttie (25 September 1962 – 12 December 2022) was 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 in ...

politician, who served as

Leader Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets vi ...

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 ...

from 2012 to 2017. Before entering public life she was an

investment banker Investment banking pertains to certain activities of a financial services company or a corporate division that consist in advisory-based financial transactions on behalf of individuals, corporations, and governments. Traditionally associated with ...

with Citigroup.

Early life and education

Born in Hampstead and educated at the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

, Roe was a director of Citigroup before entering politics in 2006. The daughter of James Roe and former

MP Dame Marion Roe, Philippa had a younger sister and younger brother. In 1982, she became the first student in 572 years to be elected to the University of St Andrews Senate, the institution's governing body.

Career

After leaving university, Roe began her career in the public relations industry, joining Burson Marsteller. In the 1990s, she served on a panel of experts from the private sector consulted by the Conservative government in establishing the private finance initiative, and in 2004 Roe was the joint author of a report called "Reforming the Private Finance Initiative", published by the

Centre for Policy Studies The Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) is a think tank and pressure group in the United Kingdom. Its goal is to promote coherent and practical policies based on its founding principles of: free markets, "small state," low tax, national independ ...

. Roe gave up her job at Citigroup when she became the mother of twins. In 2006, soon after this, Roe was elected to

, representing the three-member

Knightsbridge Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End. Toponymy Knightsbridge is an ancien ...

and

Belgravia Belgravia () is a district in Central London, covering parts of the areas of both the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Belgravia was known as the 'Five Fields' during the Tudor Period, and became a dang ...

ward, a safe seat for her party. At that time, she had recently recovered from cancer. She was appointed a governor of

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

and in 2008 became the member of Westminster's cabinet for Housing. In

May 2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull, Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A ...

, Roe was re-elected as a councillor, and in June that year, she stated her support for the new coalition government's decision to cap housing benefit at £400 a week. In 2011, she took on the cabinet portfolio of Strategic Finance. The next year she succeeded Colin Barrow as Leader of the council, beating

Edward Argar Edward John Comport Argar (born 9 December 1977) is a British politician serving as Minister of State for Victims and Sentencing since October 2022. He briefly served as Chief Secretary to the Treasury in October 2022. A member of the Conserva ...

for the nomination, and quickly distanced herself from a comparison with a predecessor, Dame Shirley Porter. The same year, she took over the role of chairman of the statutory Health and Wellbeing Board for Westminster. She also sat on the London Enterprise Panel. In 2013, she was quoted as saying that "local people know best" and that "The funding challenge is an opportunity to break free of orthodoxy and review all the services provided and how they can be delivered more efficiently." She was re-elected as a councillor in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

and topped the poll, with the Conservative ward candidates taking 79.6 per cent of the vote. She did not stand as a councillor at the 2018 election. In July 2015, Roe announced that she was seeking her party's nomination to stand as

Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom. The current m ...

at the May 2016 election. However, she was not shortlisted by the Conservatives. Roe was nominated for a life peerage in David Cameron's Resignation Honours and was created Baroness Couttie, of Downe in the County of Kent, on 5 September 2016. Couttie was the surname of her husband Stephen.

Personal life and death

Roe married Stephen Couttie, a partner in the private equity firm Collabrium Capital, in September 2002. After fertility treatment in the United States, she gave birth to twins, Angus and Genevieve, in August 2005. Baroness Couttie died of cancer on 12 December 2022, at the age of 60. Several of her former council colleagues paid tribute to her.

References

External links

The Leader and the Cabinet
at westminster.gov.uk (official site)

at Westminster Conservatives (party site) * Philippa Roe

at

ConservativeHome ConservativeHome is a British right-wing blog which supports, but is independent of, the Conservative Party. It was first established by Tim Montgomerie in 2005 with the aim of arguing for a broad conservative spectrum, which is serious about bo ...

* Pippa Crerar
Tory mayoral hopeful: I would give more power to London's town halls
dated 25 July 2015 in ''

London Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'' online {{DEFAULTSORT:Couttie, Philippa Roe, Baroness 1962 births 2022 deaths 20th-century British businesswomen 21st-century British businesswomen Businesspeople from London Conservative Party (UK) life peers Conservative Party (UK) councillors Politicians from London Alumni of the University of St Andrews Councillors in the City of Westminster Leaders of local authorities of England Women councillors in England Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II Place of death missing Deaths from cancer People from Hampstead