Angela Theodora Billingham, Baroness Billingham (born 31 July 1939) is a British

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 ...

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 ...

Early life

Born Angela Theodora Case in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, she was educated at Aylesbury Grammar School, the Institute of Education and the Department of Education,

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. She became a teacher, working in education for thirty five years until 1995.

Political career

Baroness Billingham was a councillor for many years. From 1970 until 1974, she served on Banbury Borough Council, then from 1974 to 1984 on

Cherwell District Cherwell ( ) is a local government district in northern Oxfordshire, England. The district takes its name from the River Cherwell, which drains south through the region to flow into the River Thames at Oxford. Towns in Cherwell include Banbu ...

Council. She was Mayor of Banbury in 1976. She was an

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

county council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irela ...

lor 1993–94. She stood for Parliament in 1992 for Banbury, without success. Billingham was elected to the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

for Northamptonshire and Blaby in 1994. In 1999 she unsuccessfully stood for the European Parliament in the new

East Midlands The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Li ...

Region. She was made a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

as Baroness Billingham, of Banbury in the County of Oxfordshire on 2 May 2000 and sits on the Labour benches.

Interests

She has promoted sports for people with disabilities and is a regular on Sky News where she previews the following morning's newspapers. Angela also campaigns for reform of the current Daylight Saving system, arguing that lighter evenings could end the national scourge of

childhood obesity Childhood obesity is a condition where excess body fat negatively affects a child's health or well-being. As methods to determine body fat directly are difficult, the diagnosis of obesity is often based on BMI. Due to the rising prevalence of ...

by allowing children to do an extra hour of

physical activity Physical activity is defined as any voluntary bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that requires energy expenditure.Global Recommendations on Physical Activity for Health, 2009. World Health Organization. Geneva, Switzerland. Accessed 13/ ...

a day. She also cites economic, environmental and safety concerns as important reasons for reform of the current system. She is also a keen tennis player, and is Chair/Captain of the Commons and Lords Tennis Club and the Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Tennis Group.

Personal life

She married Peter Billingham in 1962 and they had two daughters, Zoë and Caroline. Peter died in 1992. Zoë is married to Dennis Skinner, son of Dennis Skinner, the long-serving former Labour MP for Bolsover.

Parliamentary expenses

Subsistence Allowances are designed to help peers who live in the country to attend late-night votes and debates in Parliament, Billingham, who has a flat in Hampstead and a country house in Suffolk claimed £26,983 in 2006–07 in overnight allowances, prompting calls for an inquiry.Peers face demand for expenses probe
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References

External links

Baroness Billingham page on theyworkforyou.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Billingham, Angela 1939 births Living people Alumni of the UCL Institute of Education Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II Labour Party (UK) life peers Mayors of places in Oxfordshire 20th-century women MEPs for England Labour Party (UK) MEPs MEPs for England 1994–1999 People educated at Aylesbury Grammar School Women mayors of places in England