Barbara Roche

Barbara Maureen Roche (née Margolis; born 13 April 1954) is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hornsey and Wood Green from 1992 until 2005, when she lost the seat, despite having previously enjoyed a majority of over 20,000.[1]

The Right Honourable

Barbara Roche
Minister for Social Exclusion
In office
29 May 2002 – 13 June 2003
Prime MinisterTony Blair
Preceded byOffice Created
Succeeded byPhil Woolas
Minister of State for Asylum and Immigration
In office
29 July 1999 – 11 June 2001
Prime MinisterTony Blair
Preceded byOffice Created
Succeeded byThe Lord Rooker
Financial Secretary to the Treasury
In office
4 January 1999 – 29 July 1999
Prime MinisterTony Blair
Preceded byDawn Primarolo
Succeeded byStephen Timms
Member of Parliament
for Hornsey and Wood Green
In office
9 April 1992 – 11 April 2005
Preceded byHugh Rossi
Succeeded byLynne Featherstone
Personal details
Born (1954-04-13) 13 April 1954
NationalityBritish
Political partyLabour
Alma materLady Margaret Hall, Oxford

Family and education

The daughter of Barnet and Hanna Margolis,[2] Roche was educated at the Jews Free School, Camden Town and Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford where she read Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE).[3] She trained to be a barrister and was called to the bar at the Middle Temple in 1977.

Political career

She first stood for Parliament in the 1984 Surrey South-West by-election, before standing in Hornsey and Wood Green in 1987.

First elected to Parliament in 1992, she saw her majority soar to 20,500 in 1997 (including polling 26,000 votes more than the Liberal Democrats' candidate, Lynne Featherstone, who eventually unseated her). However, by 2001 her majority had almost halved to 10,500, and in 2005 she unexpectedly lost her seat on a large 14.6% swing.

Her association with the crucial 26 March 2003 vote on the war on Iraq was cited as a factor in her defeat.[4]

Roche has subsequently been linked to the Blair government's "mass immigration" policy.[5][6] A local newspaper described her in 2005 as "a fiercely loyal Labour MP, who has only rebelled against the Government in four out of 1,570 votes."[7]

During her time in Government, she held several ministerial offices; Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Trade and Industry, 1997–1998; Financial Secretary to the Treasury, 1999; Minister of State for Asylum and Immigration, Home Office, 1999–2001; Cabinet Office, 2001–2002; Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, 2002–2003.

After Parliament

After her defeat in 2005, and prior to the 2010 general election, she attempted to re-enter the Commons, seeking the Labour Party nomination (and being shortlisted) in the 'safe' Labour seats of Stockton North,[8] Houghton & Sunderland South,[9] Wigan,[10] and Stalybridge & Hyde[11] but was not selected for any of them, despite the support of the Labour-affiliated Unite union.[11]

Personal life

Roche is an avid theatre-goer and reader of detective fiction.

References
  1. "What happens to ex-MPs? | Politics". The Guardian. 1 June 2005. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  2. Dodd's Parliamentary Companion 2005, 173rd edition, London 2004, p.291.
  3. "LMH, Oxford - Prominent Alumni". Lmh.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  4. "Commons vote on war - 26 March". Igreens.org.uk. 26 September 2006. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  5. Green, Lord Andrew. "Was Mass Immigration a Conspiracy?". Migration Watch UK. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  6. Mendick, Robert (27 February 2016). "Tony Blair accused of conspiracy over mass immigration". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  7. Martyn Kent (19 January 2005). "Majority rules (From Times Series)". Times-series.co.uk. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  8. Passant, Andy (14 January 2008). "Veteran Stockton MP loses selection battle". Gazette Live. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  9. "Bridget Phillipson set to become one of Britain's youngest MPs - The Journal". Journallive.co.uk. 20 April 2009. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  10. "Labour unveils its election candidate". Wigan Today. 4 February 2010. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  11. "Powerbrokers fight for heart and soul of Labour Party as union row escalates". The Times. 17 March 2010. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Sir Hugh Rossi		 Member of Parliament for Hornsey and Wood Green
1992–2005		 Succeeded by
Lynne Featherstone
Political offices
Preceded by
Dawn Primarolo		 Financial Secretary to the Treasury
1999		 Succeeded by
Stephen Timms
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