Margaret Lucy Sharp, Baroness Sharp of Guildford (born 21 November 1938) is a former member of 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 ...

of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. She sat as a Liberal Democrat.

Early life

She is the daughter of Osmund and Sydney Hailstone. She was educated at

Tonbridge Grammar School Tonbridge Grammar School is a state school, state Grammar school, grammar school in Tonbridge, Kent, United Kingdom. The school was established in 1905 at the Technical Institute in Avebury Avenue Tonbridge, having only 19 enrolled students. Th ...

and

Newnham College, Cambridge Newnham College is a women's constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1871 by a group organising Lectures for Ladies, members of which included philosopher Henry Sidgwick and suffragist campaigner Millicen ...

where she gained a BA in 1960.

Career

She had a successful career as an

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

before entering the House of Lords. Sharp's work encompassed both academic and public service, starting in the

civil service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

, followed by a long spell at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

(LSE), a short spell back in public service with the National Economic Development Office in the late 1970s and, since the early 1980s, with the

Science Policy Research Unit The Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) is a research centre based at the University of Sussex in Falmer, near Brighton, United Kingdom. Its research focuses on science policy and innovation. SPRU offers MSc courses and PhD research degrees. ...

(

SPRU The Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) is a research centre based at the University of Sussex in Falmer, near Brighton, United Kingdom. Its research focuses on science policy and innovation. SPRU offers MSc courses and PhD research degrees. ...

) at the

University of Sussex The University of Sussex is a public university, public research university, research university located in Falmer, East Sussex, England. It lies mostly within the city boundaries of Brighton and Hove. Its large campus site is surrounded by the ...

. She retired from the University of Sussex in 1999 but retains a visiting fellowship. Sharp's political career began in the early 1980s when she joined the newly formed

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

(SDP) and was selected to stand in

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, England, around south-west of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The nam ...

in the 1983 general election. She fought three further elections in Guildford for the SDP and then the Liberal Democrats, gradually squeezing a 20,000 majority down to 4,500 and preparing the way for Liberal Democrat Sue Doughty's victory in the 2001 election. On the national scene she has played an active part in policy making, chairing a number of policy working groups and for several years being vice-chair to

Paddy Ashdown Jeremy John Durham Ashdown, Baron Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon (27 February 194122 December 2018), better known as Paddy Ashdown, was a British politician and diplomat who served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 1988 to 1999. Internation ...

on the Party's main policy committee. As leader of higher and further education policy group, who produced the paper 'Quality, Diversity and Choice' which is now party policy, Sharp was widely attributed as masterminding the Liberal Democrat's rejection of

top-up fees Tuition fees were first introduced across the entire United Kingdom in September 1998 under the Labour government of Tony Blair to help fund tuition for undergraduate and postgraduate certificate students at universities; students were required ...

, which contributed to the party's success in taking a number of university seats at the 2005 general election. She is a member of the Advisory Council for the

Campaign for Science and Engineering The Campaign for Science and Engineering (CaSE) is a non-profit organisation that is the UK's leading independent advocate for science and engineering. It focuses on arguing for more research funding, promoting a high-tech and knowledge-based e ...

House of Lords

She was created a

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 ...

as Baroness Sharp of Guildford, of

in the

County of Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the west. The largest settlement is Woking. The cou ...

on 1 August 1998, and spoke for her party on issues of education, science, and technology in the House of Lords. She retired from the House on 31 July 2016.Baroness Sharp of Guildford – UK Parliament
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Personal life

She married Thomas Sharp CBE in 1962. He has been a Lib Dem councillor on

Surrey County Council Surrey County Council is the county council for the non-metropolitan county of Surrey, England. The council is composed of 81 elected councillors, and in all but one election since 1974 the Conservative Party has held the majority. The leader ...

and Guildford Borough Council.

References

External links

Baroness Sharp of Guildford
profile at the site of Liberal Democrats

House of Lords minutes of proceedings, 19 October 1998 {{DEFAULTSORT:Sharp of Guildford, Margaret Sharp, Baroness 1938 births Living people Alumni of Newnham College, Cambridge Academics of the London School of Economics Academics of the University of Sussex Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II Life peers created by Elizabeth II Liberal Democrats (UK) life peers People from Tonbridge People educated at Tonbridge Grammar School Liberal Democrats (UK) parliamentary candidates Liberal Democrats (UK) councillors Members of Surrey County Council Politics of Guildford Women councillors in England Peers retired under the House of Lords Reform Act 2014