Anne Winterton
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Jane Ann, Lady Winterton (''née'' Hodgson; born 6 March 1941 in
Sutton Coldfield Sutton Coldfield or the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield, known locally as Sutton ( ), is a town and civil parish in the City of Birmingham, West Midlands, England. The town lies around 8 miles northeast of Birmingham city centre, 9 miles south ...
) is a retired
British Conservative Party The Conservative Party, officially the Conservative and Unionist Party and also known colloquially as the Tories, is one of the two main political parties in the United Kingdom, along with the Labour Party. It is the current governing party, ...
politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for
Congleton Congleton is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. The town is by the River Dane, south of Manchester and north of Stoke on Trent. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 26,482. Top ...
from 1983 to 2010. She is married to
Sir Nicholas Winterton Sir Nicholas Raymond Winterton (born 31 March 1938) is a retired British Conservative Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Macclesfield from 1971 until he retired from the House of Commons at the 2010 general election. ...
, also a former Conservative MP.


Parliamentary career

Winterton was educated at Erdington Grammar School for Girls. Following her election to represent Congleton in 1983, she was a member of several select committees, including Agriculture (1987–1997), the chairman's panel (1992–1998) and the National Drug Strategy (1998–2001), Social Security (2000–2001) and the Unopposed Bills Panel since 1997. She is a representative of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, and a patron of Cheshire National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. She is also president of the Congleton Pantomime Society.


Racism

Winterton became Shadow Minister for Agriculture in 2001, and was later sacked from that position after she told the following joke at a dinner at Congleton rugby on 3 May 2002: :An Englishman, a
Cuban Cuban may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean * Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent ** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof * Cuban citizen, a perso ...
, a Japanese man and a Pakistani were all on a train. :The Cuban threw a fine Havana cigar out the window. When he was asked why, he replied: "They are ten a
penny A penny is a coin ( pennies) or a unit of currency (pl. pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. Presently, it is t ...
in my country." :The Japanese man threw an expensive Nikon camera out of the carriage, adding: "These are ten a penny in my country." :The Englishman then picked up the Pakistani and threw him out of the train window. :When the other travellers asked him to account for his actions, he said: "They are ten a penny in my country."' In February 2004 she had the Conservative whip removed for telling the following joke (which alluded to the recent death of twenty-three illegal immigrant Chinese cockle-pickers in Morecambe Bay) at a Whitehall private dinner party to improve
Denmark–United Kingdom relations British–Danish relations are foreign relations between the United Kingdom and Denmark. The United Kingdom has an embassy in Copenhagen and Denmark has an embassy in London. Both countries are full members of Council of Europe and NATO. Hist ...
and declining to apologise: :One shark turned to the other to say he was fed up chasing tuna and the other said, "Why don't we go to Morecambe Bay and get some Chinese?" A month later, Winterton apologised for the joke, and had the whip restored.
Lord Taylor of Warwick John David Beckett Taylor, Baron Taylor of Warwick (born 21 September 1952) is a member of the House of Lords in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. His full title is "The Lord Taylor of Warwick". In 1996, at the age of 44, he became one of th ...
, the only black Conservative peer in the House of Lords, criticised the decision to restore the whip and said she was not fit to be an MP. Nick Palmer, then
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 ...
MP for Broxtowe, who was at the dinner, criticised the joke and told BBC Radio 4's ''Today'', "People were a bit stunned really. It was a very low-key friendly dinner. I was very sorry for the host – it was just a group of people discussing Danish issues."
Michael Howard Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne (born Michael Hecht; 7 July 1941) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005. He previously held cabinet posi ...
, leader of the Conservatives, said, "Ann Winterton's remarks about the tragic deaths in Morecambe Bay were completely unacceptable. Such sentiments have no place in the Conservative Party. I deplore them and I apologise for them on behalf of my party." In September 2005 (following the May general election), Winterton said she felt that Britain is a country where: :"Crime is out of control ... and where thousands of illegal immigrants are waved in with no checks on whether they are criminals or potential terrorists. ..We live in times of tremendous change, but the United Kingdom is still, thankfully, a predominantly white, Christian country. ..Some might say we are now paying the price for the so-called 'benefits' of the multicultural society, the product of almost uncontrolled immigration and the abuse of asylum." Along with her husband, she managed to ask questions at Tony Blair's last Prime Minister's Questions in 2007.


MPs' misuse of expenses

Together with Nicholas Winterton, Ann Winterton was investigated by the
Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards is an officer of the British House of Commons. The work of the officer is overseen by the Commons Select Committee on Standards. The current commissioner is Kathryn Stone. Duties The commissioner is i ...
, who concluded that they had misused their MPs' expenses to pay rent for a flat that they had already bought outright. The Wintertons transferred the ownership of the flat into a family trust to avoid the
inheritance tax An inheritance tax is a tax paid by a person who inherits money or property of a person who has died, whereas an estate tax is a levy on the estate (money and property) of a person who has died. International tax law distinguishes between an es ...
threshold. Since 2002, they had paid the rent for living in the flat from their MPs' expenditure. The Wintertons had declared their intentions to the Commons' Fees Office. On 25 May 2009, it was announced that both the Wintertons would stand down as MPs at the following general election. Winterton was one of 98 MPs who voted in favour of legislation which would have kept MPs' expense details secret.


Awards

*Cheshire life Woman of the year


Bibliography

*


References


External links


Profiles


ePolitix – Ann Winterton
official site

* ttps://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/ann_winterton/congleton TheyWorkForYou.com – Ann Winterton MPbr>Ann Winterton: A 'family values' Tory
BBC profile {{DEFAULTSORT:Winterton, Ann 1941 births Living people Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1992–1997 UK MPs 1997–2001 UK MPs 2001–2005 UK MPs 2005–2010 People from Sutton Coldfield 20th-century British women politicians 21st-century British women politicians National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children people Wives of knights 20th-century English women 20th-century English people 21st-century English women 21st-century English people British Eurosceptics