Dame Angela Claire Rosemary Rumbold (née Jones; 11 August 1932 – 19 June 2010) 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 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 o ...

from a 1982 by-election until the 1997 general election.

Education

She was educated at the Perse School for Girls, Cambridge,

Notting Hill & Ealing High School Notting Hill and Ealing High School is an independent school for girls aged 4 – 18 in Ealing, London. Founded in 1873, it is one of the 26 schools that make up the Girls' Day School Trust. It has a Junior Department of 310 girls (ages 4–11) ...

and

King's College, London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King G ...

. She qualified as a barrister after earning her LLB, but never practised. She travelled across the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

with her father, a

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

who was Pro-Rector of the Imperial College until his death.

Marriage and early career

She married John Rumbold, a solicitor, by whom she had two sons and a daughter and, , seven grandchildren. She returned to a working life after raising her children and worked as the

Chief Executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

for a

charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * C ...

, The National Association for the Welfare of Children in Hospital. Following that post, as she had become a local

councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

, she worked at the Greater London Council as a researcher, transferring across to work on the

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 ...

desk at

Conservative Central Office The Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ), formerly known as Conservative Central Office (CCO), is the headquarters of the British Conservative Party, housing its central staff and committee members, including campaign coordinators and man ...

. She served on many national committees including the Doctors’ and Dentists’ Review Body and was Chairman of the Teachers’ Negotiating Committee until it was closed down by

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...

Politician

Rumbold served as a councillor in the

Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames is a borough in southwest London. The main town is Kingston upon Thames and it includes Surbiton, Chessington, Malden Rushett, New Malden and Tolworth. It is the oldest of the four royal boroughs in Eng ...

between 1974 and 1983. In 1982, Bruce Douglas-Mann, the MP for Mitcham and Morden, left the Labour Party to join the Social Democratic Party (SDP). He decided to resign as an MP and seek re-election under the SDP banner. The resulting by-election was held during the Falklands War and was won by Rumbold. She held the seat for the Conservatives in the landslide 1983 general election and for a further 14 years, usually with robust majorities. Rumbold was known for her pro-nuclear views: she was a co-founder of

Women For the Bomb A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardle ...

and vice-chairwoman of the

Women and Families for Defence Women and Families for Defence was a Conservative-aligned pressure group originally founded in March 1983 as Women for Defence. It was founded in opposition to the Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, and a ...

. Angela Rumbold served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Transport, Under Secretary at the

Department of Environment An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment, ...

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 ...

for Education and Minister of State at the Home Office. In 1992 she became the Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party. At the 1997 general election she lost her seat to Labour's

Siobhain McDonagh Siobhain Ann McDonagh (born 20 February 1960) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Mitcham and Morden since the 1997 general election. She served as an Assistant Whip in the Labour Government, ...

on a swing of 11.6%, similar to the national average.

School governor

After leaving 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. T ...

in 1997 she returned to many of her voluntary activities. She was Chair of the

Governing Body A governing body is a group of people that has the authority to exercise governance over an organization or political entity. The most formal is a government, a body whose sole responsibility and authority is to make binding decisions in a taken ...

of both Danes Hill School in

Oxshott Oxshott is a suburban village in the borough of Elmbridge in Surrey, England. Oxshott includes hilly acidic heath which is partly wooded (see Esher Commons and Prince's Coverts) and occupies the land between the large towns of Esher and Leatherhead ...

and Surbiton High School in the

, as well as Vice Chair of the Governing Body of Tolworth Girls’ School, a large

secondary modern school A secondary modern school is a type of secondary school that existed throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland from 1944 until the 1970s under the Tripartite System. Schools of this type continue in Northern Ireland, where they are usuall ...

also in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames. She was Chair of Governors of Wimbledon High School and a Governor of More House Girls’ School in

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 ...

. She was Chair of the Court of Governors of Mill Hill School for nine years and set up its Pre-prep School Grimsdells. She also chaired the Minerva Fund for replacement of bursaries in Girls' Day School Trust schools after the closure of the

Assisted Places Scheme The Assisted Places Scheme was established in the UK by the Conservative government in 1980. Children who were eligible were provided with free or subsidised places to fee-charging independent schools - based on the child's results in the school ...

. She was co-chair of the Association of Governing Bodies of Independent Schools, and Chair of the Finance and General Purposes Committee of the

Independent Schools Council The Independent Schools Council (ISC) is a non-profit lobby group that represents over 1,300 schools in the United Kingdom's independent education sector. The organisation comprises seven independent school associations and promotes the bus ...

. She was a member of the Trust and Governing Council of the United Church Schools Trust, and Chair of the

United Learning Trust United Learning is a group of state-funded schools and fee-paying independent schools operating in England. United Learning is the trading name for United Church Schools Trust (UCST) and United Learning Trust (ULT). It is one of the largest 10 ch ...

References

RUMBOLD, Rt Hon. Dame Angela (Claire Rosemary)
''Who Was Who'', A & C Black, 1920–2015; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014 * *"Times Guide to the House of Commons", Times Newspapers Limited, 1983 and 1997 editions

Centre for Advancement of Women in Politics

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rumbold, Angela 1932 births 2010 deaths Alumni of King's College London British educational theorists Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Councillors in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People educated at Notting Hill & Ealing High School People educated at the Perse School for Girls UK MPs 1979–1983 School governors UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1992–1997 English barristers 20th-century British women politicians 20th-century English lawyers 20th-century English women 20th-century English people Women councillors in England