Angela Lavinia Bray, Baroness Bray of Coln (born 13 October 1953) is a British Conservative Party politician who was the Member of the

London Assembly The London Assembly is a 25-member elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds supermajority, to amend the Mayor's annual budget and to reject t ...

for West Central from 2000 to 2008, and Member of Parliament (MP) for Ealing Central and Acton from

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

Early life and career

Bray was born in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

to Benedict Eustace Charles Tevery Bray and Patricia Measures who were residents of the Isle of Man. She was privately educated at

Downe House School Downe House School is a private girls' boarding and day school in Cold Ash near Newbury, Berkshire, for girls aged 11–18. Entrance is selective, and the school has an enrollment of 559. The '' Good Schools Guide'' described Downe House ...

Thatcham Thatcham is a market town and civil parish in West Berkshire, England. It is situated in the valley of the River Kennet east of Newbury, Berkshire, Newbury, west of Reading, Berkshire, Reading and west of London. The town has a long history d ...

, and later attended the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

, where she studied

medieval history In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

. In 1979 she joined the

British Forces Broadcasting Service The British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) provides radio and television programmes for His Majesty's Armed Forces, and their dependents worldwide. Editorial control is independent of the Ministry of Defence and the armed forces themsel ...

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

; a year later she joined LBC Radio as a presenter, producer and reporter.

Political career

She was employed as head of broadcasting 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 ...

from 1989. She was a press officer for

John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British retired politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997. Following his defeat to Ton ...

's 1990 leadership campaign. During the 1992 general election campaign she served as press secretary to

Chris Patten Christopher Francis Patten, Baron Patten of Barnes (; born 12 May 1944), is a British politician who was the Chairman of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1992, and the 28th and last Governor of Hong Kong from 1992 to 1997. He was made a lif ...

, the

Chairman of the Conservative Party The chairman of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom is responsible for party administration and overseeing the Conservative Campaign Headquarters, formerly Conservative Central Office. When the Conservative Party (UK), Conservatives are ...

. She assisted the party's press office again in the 2005 election campaign, after which she worked as a public affairs consultant. Bray unsuccessfully contested

East Ham East Ham is a district of the London Borough of Newham, England, 8 miles (12.8 km) east of Charing Cross. Within the boundaries of the Historic counties of England, historic county of Essex, East Ham is identified in the London Plan as a ...

at the 1997 general election, finishing second behind

Stephen Timms Sir Stephen Creswell Timms (born 29 July 1955) is a British Labour Party politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for East Ham, formerly Newham North East, since 1994. He has served as Minister of State for Social Security and Disabi ...

. She was a member of the

for West Central London from 2000 until she stood down in 2008, acting as

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

leader in the Assembly from 2006. She was placed on the '

A-List An A-list actor is a major movie star, or one of the most bankable actors in a film industry. The A-list is part of a larger guide called ''The Hot List'', which ranks the bankability of 1,400 movie actors worldwide, and has become an industry ...

' of Conservative Party candidates for the 2010 general election. She was elected in the

constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

of Ealing Central and Acton defeating Labour candidate Bassam Mahfouz with a majority of 3,716 votes. She made her

maiden speech A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament. Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country. In many Westminster system governments, there is a convention th ...

in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...

on 27 May 2010 during a debate on Energy and Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Following Bray's election to Parliament, she was appointed Parliamentary private secretary to the

Cabinet Office Minister The Minister for the Cabinet Office is a position in the Cabinet Office of the United Kingdom. The minister is responsible for the work and policies of the Cabinet Office, and since February 2022, reports to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lanca ...

Francis Maude Francis Anthony Aylmer Maude, Baron Maude of Horsham, (born 4 July 1953) is a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician who served as Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General from 2010 to 2015. He also served ...

. She was sacked as Parliamentary Private Secretary in July 2012, after she voted against a coalition government Bill on reforming the House of Lords. She lost her seat in the 2015 general election.

House of Lords

It was announced on 14 October 2022, that as part of

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...

's 2022 Political Honours, Bray would be appointed a life peer. On 8 November 2022, she was created Baroness Bray of Coln, ''of Coln Saint Aldwyns in the County of Gloucestershire''. She made her maiden speech in the

house of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

on 6 February 2023 during the debate on the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill.

References

External links

Angie Bray's website

Profile
at Conservative Party
Biography from the London Assembly

Ealing Acton & Shepherds Bush Conservatives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bray of Coln, Angie Bray, Baroness 1953 births Living people Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 2010–2015 Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Conservative Members of the London Assembly Alumni of the University of St Andrews British radio journalists British women journalists 21st-century British women politicians British women radio presenters 21st-century English women politicians 21st-century English politicians Women councillors in England Conservative Party (UK) life peers Life peers created by Charles III Life peeresses created by Charles III UK MPs who were granted peerages London AMs 2000–2004 London AMs 2004–2008