Siobhan Benita (' Pook; born 11 October 1971) is a British former
civil servant. She was an
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
candidate in the
2012 London mayoral election
The 2012 London mayoral election was an election held on Thursday 3 May 2012, to elect the Mayor of London. It was held on the same day as the London Assembly election, and used a supplementary vote system.
The election was won by the incumbe ...
. She was then 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 in the
London mayoral election originally planned for 2020, but after the election was delayed to 2021, she withdrew as the candidate.
Early life and education
Benita was born Siobhan Pook on 11 October 1971 in
Wimbledon,
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, and grew up in the borough of
Merton.
[Ross, Mat]
Interview: Siobhan Benita
", Civil Service World interview, 27 January 2012. Retrieved 2012-03-13. Her
Anglo-Indian
Anglo-Indian people fall into two different groups: those with mixed Indian and British ancestry, and people of British descent born or residing in India. The latter sense is now mainly historical, but confusions can arise. The '' Oxford English ...
mother came to London in 1959, and worked as a home help and auxiliary nurse.
[About Siobhan Benita]
, Official Siobhan Benita website for the 2012 London Mayoral election, Retrieved 2012-03-13. Benita's father is
Cornish; he moved to London, working there as a local
primary school
A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...
teacher, after graduating from
Loughborough University.
Both of her parents now live in
Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
.
Benita studied at the
University of Warwick
, mottoeng = Mind moves matter
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £7.0 million (2021)
, budget = £698.2 million (2020â ...
.
Before joining the
Liberal Democrats, Benita said she 'voted
Labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
in the past, and that's where my heart lies'.
Career
Benita joined the
Department of Transport
The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The d ...
in 1996, having entered the
Civil Service on the Fast Stream graduate programme.
In 2006, after 10 years as a policy adviser on transport, local government and environment issues, she moved to the
Cabinet Office where she worked with the then new
Cabinet Secretary,
Gus O'Donnell
Augustine Thomas O'Donnell, Baron O'Donnell, (born 1 October 1952) is a former British senior civil servant and economist, who between 2005 and 2011 (under three Prime Ministers) served as the Cabinet Secretary, the highest official in the Bri ...
, to improve civil service governance, strategy and communications.
[Eden, Richar]
Civil Service chief Sir Gus O'Donnell goes on the run with glamorous colleague
, The Telegraph, 10 July 2011. Retrieved 2012-03-14. During her time in the Cabinet Office she established
Civil Service Live
Civil Service Live is a series of events in the United Kingdom designed to share best practice, promote innovation and drive collaboration across all government departments and agencies across the Civil Service.
Overview
It was launched by the ...
, in partnership with Civil Service World publisher
Dods.
[Marsh, Aru]
Leading Questions: Siobhan Benita, London mayoral candidate
, ''The Guardian'', 4 January 2012. Retrieved 2012-03-14. She worked on the Civil Service Awards and "Tabelle", a network for women who work in, or with, the public sector.
In 2009 she joined the
Department of Health
A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their ow ...
as head of corporate management.
She resigned from the department in October 2011, in part to protest against NHS reforms.
This allowed her to stand as an
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
candidate in the
2012 London mayoral election
The 2012 London mayoral election was an election held on Thursday 3 May 2012, to elect the Mayor of London. It was held on the same day as the London Assembly election, and used a supplementary vote system.
The election was won by the incumbe ...
.
In 2013 she joined the economics department at the
University of Warwick
, mottoeng = Mind moves matter
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £7.0 million (2021)
, budget = £698.2 million (2020â ...
and set up the Warwick Policy Lab. Then, in 2014, Benita became the economics department's chief policy and strategy officer. She stepped down from that role in August 2016 to become the chief strategy officer of the unit set up by the university in 2016 to develop its presence and activity in London.
[Warwick in London]
In politics
Benita stood as an independent candidate in the
2012 London mayoral election
The 2012 London mayoral election was an election held on Thursday 3 May 2012, to elect the Mayor of London. It was held on the same day as the London Assembly election, and used a supplementary vote system.
The election was won by the incumbe ...
. She came fifth with 3.8% of the vote, within 8,000 votes of fourth-placed Liberal-Democrat candidate
Brian Paddick
Brian Leonard Paddick, Baron Paddick (born 24 April 1958), is a British politician and retired police officer, currently sitting in the House of Lords as a life peer. He was the Liberal Democrat candidate for the London mayoral elections of 2 ...
. She indicated at the time that she intended to stay in politics and hoped to run again in the
2016 London mayoral elections, although she eventually decided not to.
[BBC News,]
London election 2012: Siobhan Benita's 'massive result'
In 2016 she joined the
Liberal Democrats, shortly after the
2016 European Union referendum claiming it was the "only true pro-remain party".
In November 2018, she was selected as the Liberal Democrat candidate for the
2020 London mayoral election
The 2021 London mayoral election was held on 6 May 2021 to elect the mayor of London. It was held simultaneously with elections for the London Assembly, other local elections across England and Wales, and devolved elections in Scotland a ...
.
In November 2019, Benita said that money from unused
Oyster card
The Oyster card is a payment method for public transport in London (and certain areas around it) in England, United Kingdom. A standard Oyster card is a blue credit-card-sized stored-value contactless smart card. It is promoted by Transport ...
s should be used to help fight
homelessness.
Benita launched her campaign for the
2020 London mayoral election
The 2021 London mayoral election was held on 6 May 2021 to elect the mayor of London. It was held simultaneously with elections for the London Assembly, other local elections across England and Wales, and devolved elections in Scotland a ...
on 13 February 2020. She said she wanted to
legalise cannabis
''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: '' Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternative ...
in London in a bid to tackle rising levels of knife crime. She stated she would like to see pilots for legal regulated cannabis across London in order to remove power and money from gangs, free up police time to tackle serious crimes, and raise millions of pounds in tax, which could be invested in youth services and support those addicted to harder drugs. She has also pledged to cut violent crime, cut air pollution, declared an aim to reach zero-carbon by 2030, and reopen closed police stations.
On 27 July 2020, Benita announced her withdrawal from the Lib Dem mayoral candidacy, saying she was unable to commit to another year of campaigning following the election's postponement to 2021 given the unpaid nature of the role.
In August 2020, Benita left the Liberal Democrats, saying she did not wish to be "associated with current events in the London
ayoralcampaign," after one of the two shortlisted candidates to replace Benita, Geeta Sidhu-Robb, was revealed to have made an antisemitic statement about Labour MP
Jack Straw
John Whitaker Straw (born 3 August 1946) is a British politician who served in the Cabinet from 1997 to 2010 under the Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. He held two of the traditional Great Offices of State, as Home Secretary ...
while standing against Straw in the
1997 general election as a
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 ...
. She subsequently announced her support for the
Rejoin EU
Pro-Europeanism, sometimes called European Unionism, is a political position that favours European integration and membership of the European Union (EU).Krisztina Arató, Petr Kaniok (editors). ''Euroscepticism and European Integration''. Politi ...
candidate, Richard Hewison.
Personal life
Benita married Vincent Benita in 1997, and has two daughters.
[Dominiczak, Pete]
Civil servant runs for Mayor to prove that 'women can do this sort of thing'
, Civil servant runs for Mayor, 29 November 2011. Retrieved 2012-03-13.
References
External links
Siobhan Benita's official websiteArticles by Siobhan Benitafor
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
''Guardian'' coverage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benita, Siobhan
1971 births
Living people
Alumni of the University of Warwick
British people of Anglo-Indian descent
Civil servants in the Cabinet Office
Civil servants in the Ministry of Health (United Kingdom)
Civil servants in the Ministry of Transport (United Kingdom)
English civil servants
British politicians of Indian descent
English people of Indian descent
English women in politics
Independent politicians in England
Liberal Democrats (UK) politicians
People from New Malden
People from Wimbledon, London
Politicians from London
The Independent people