Official portrait of Baroness Murphy crop 2, 2022

Elaine Murphy, Baroness Murphy (born 16 January 1947) is a British

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 ...

politician and a member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

Biography

After qualifying as a doctor and then as a psychiatrist she later became an academic in the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

for 25 years. She spent a period as a Health Service general manager between 1984 and 1990 which included the post of District General Manager for Lewisham and North Southwark Health Authority. She was the first Professor of Psychiatry of Old Age in the UK, held at the University of London at

Guy's Hospital Guy's Hospital is an NHS hospital in the borough of Southwark in central London. It is part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and one of the institutions that comprise the King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre. ...

. She took on non-executive roles after retirement and was Chair of North East London Strategic Health Authority until 30 June 2006. She was a Visiting Professor at Queen Mary University of London, Vice-President of the Alzheimer's Society and Chair of Council at

St George's, University of London St George's, University of London (legally St George's Hospital Medical School, informally St George's or SGUL), is a University located in Tooting in South London and is a constituent college of the University of London. St George's has its o ...

between 2009 and 2012, and was a non-executive member of Monitor (Independent Monitor of NHS Hospitals). On 17 June 2004, she was made a life peer as Baroness Murphy, of

Aldgate Aldgate () was a gate in the former defensive wall around the City of London. It gives its name to Aldgate High Street, the first stretch of the A11 road, which included the site of the former gate. The area of Aldgate, the most common use of ...

in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

, taking an interest in mental health and ageing issues in the House of Lords where she sits as a Crossbencher. She was first married 1969–2000 to John Murphy, the branding 'guru' and brewer and then second, from 2001, to Professor Michael A Robb FRS, a theoretical chemist. She lives in Norfolk and has homes in London and

Lucca Lucca ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its province has a population of 383,957. Lucca is known as one ...

, where she grows

olives The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' 'M ...

.Radio 4 – The Today Programme – Reports
/ref> In January 2009, it was revealed that she was the author of a hoax letter about " cello scrotum" that was printed in the '' British Medical Journal'' in 1974. Baroness Murphy also has a PhD in Social History and has published in the field of 18th and 19th century workhouses, madhouses and local history. Her recent publications include "The Moated Grange: A History of South Norfolk Through the Story of one Home, 1300-2000", about the village of

Brockdish Brockdish is a village and civil parish in the South Norfolk district of Norfolk, England. The village is situated on the River Waveney (south of which is Suffolk), and is about 3 miles (5 km) south-west of Harleston. History Brockdish's ...

South Norfolk South Norfolk is a local government district in Norfolk, England. Its council is based in Long Stratton. The population of the Local Authority District was 124,012 as taken at the 2011 Census. History The district was formed on 1 April 19 ...

. She is also an honorary associate of the

National Secular Society The National Secular Society (NSS) is a British campaigning organisation that promotes secularism and the separation of church and state. It holds that no one should gain advantage or disadvantage because of their religion or lack of it. It was ...

References

External links

Bio at SGUL
People's peers Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II 1947 births Living people Alumni of the University of Manchester Crossbench life peers People from Chilwell {{Life-peer-stub