Winifred Ann Taylor, Baroness Taylor of Bolton, (born 2 July 1947) is a British politician and

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

who served in the

Cabinet of the United Kingdom The Cabinet of the United Kingdom is the senior decision-making body of the Government of the United Kingdom. A committee of the Privy Council (United Kingdom), Privy Council, it is chaired by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Prime M ...

from 1997 to 2001. A member of the Labour Party, she was Member of Parliament (MP) for Bolton West from 1974 to 1983, and

Dewsbury Dewsbury is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Calder, West Yorkshire, River Calder and on an arm of the Calder and Hebble Navigation waterway. It is to the west of Wakefield, ...

from 1987 to 2005.

Early life and education

Winifred Ann Taylor (nee Walker) was born on 2 July 1947 in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Her mother, Doreen Bowling, was born in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

and her father and grandfather hailed from

Motherwell Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. Her father was a Post Office engineer and Labour Party councillor in Bolton, and her grandfather served as chairman of Motherwell Labour Party. Taylor was educated at Bolton School, where she was head girl. She studied at the

University of Bradford The University of Bradford is a public research university located in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. A plate glass university, it received its royal charter in 1966, making it the 40th university to be created in Britain, but ...

, where she graduated with a BSc in Politics and History in 1969.Ann Taylor at Bradford.ac
. Retrieved 27 July 2016

Political career

Taylor contested the marginal Bolton West constituency at the February 1974 general election, but lost to incumbent

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 ...

Robert Redmond by a majority of 603 votes. However, she was elected to represent the same constituency in October 1974, defeating Redmond with a majority of 903. During her first term in Parliament, she served in the Callaghan government as an assistant

whip A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

from 1977 to 1979. Notably the first female whip in the

UK Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...

, she was later depicted in the 2012 play '' This House''. Re-elected at the 1979 general election with a reduced majority of 600 votes, she unsuccessfully contested the new Bolton North East seat in

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

, defeated by Conservative Peter Thurnham. Taylor returned to Parliament upon her election to the

constituency at the 1987 general election, representing the seat until her retirement in

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

. When she returned to 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 ...

in 1987, Taylor became a shadow minister under Labour leader

Neil Kinnock Neil Gordon Kinnock, Baron Kinnock (born 28 March 1942) is a Welsh politician who was Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1983 Labour Party le ...

; covering education and science from 1979 to 1981 and the environment from 1981 to 1992. She then served in the Shadow Cabinets of John Smith and

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...

Shadow Secretary of State for Education The shadow secretary of state for education, also called the shadow education secretary, is an office in the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (United Kingdom), Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet responsible for Official Opposition (United King ...

from 1992 to 1994,

Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster The shadow chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is a position in the British Shadow Cabinet, appointed by the leader of the Opposition. The post involves holding to account the chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, who has control over the esta ...

from 1994 to 1995 and Shadow Leader of the House of Commons from 1994 to 1997. In the

first Blair ministry The first Blair ministry lasted from May 1997 to June 2001. Following eighteen years in opposition, Labour Party (UK), Labour ousted the Conservative Party (UK), Conservatives at the 1997 United Kingdom general election, May 1997 election wi ...

, Taylor became the first woman to serve as

Leader of the House of Commons The Leader of the House of Commons is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom whose main role is organising government business in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons. The Leader is always a memb ...

and Lord President of the Privy Council in 1997. After a 1998 cabinet reshuffle, she went on to become the first woman to serve as Government Chief Whip (

Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury The Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury is the official title of the most senior whip of the governing party in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Today, any official links between the Treasury and this office are nominal and the title ...

). As a backbencher, Taylor served as chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee from 2001 to 2005. Her appointment to this post was criticised by opposition Liberal Democrats. She also sponsored a Private Member's Bill, the 'Succession to the Crown (no 2)' Bill, which sought to eliminate gender and religious discrimination in the royal succession. On 13 May 2005 it was announced that Taylor was to be given a

life peerage In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

, and she was created Baroness Taylor of Bolton, ''of

Bolton Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...

in the County of

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...

'', on 13 June 2005. She was made Minister for Defence Procurement on 7 November 2007, following Lord Drayson's decision to resign to compete in the

American Le Mans Series The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada. It consisted of a series of Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le M ...

; unlike her predecessor, she was paid. Following the Brown reshuffle of October 2008, she was moved to a new post at both the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

and the

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is the ministry of foreign affairs and a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. The office was created on 2 ...

Minister for International Defence and Security The Minister for International Security Strategy was a British government position. The last holder of the post was Andrew Murrison, Conservative Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), Ministry of Def ...

. In September 2022 she became a member of the House of Lords Appointments Commission, filling the quota for the Labour Party. In January 2024 she became Chair of the Industry and Regulators Committee, where she had been a member since 2022.

References

External links

Guardian Politics Ask Aristotle – Ann Taylor
*
They Work For You – Ann Taylor
, - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor of Bolton, Ann Taylor, Baroness 1947 births Living people Alumni of the University of Bradford English people of Scottish descent Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Female members of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Labour Party (UK) life peers Leaders of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II Life peers created by Elizabeth II Lord Presidents of the Council Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People educated at Bolton School UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1992–1997 UK MPs 1997–2001 UK MPs 2001–2005 20th-century British women politicians 21st-century British women politicians Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Bolton West 20th-century English women 20th-century English people 21st-century English women 21st-century English politicians New Labour