Dari Taylor

Dari Jean Taylor (née Jones; born 13 December 1944)[1] is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Stockton South between the 1997 and 2010 general elections.

Dari Taylor

MP
Member of Parliament
for Stockton South
In office
1 May 1997 – 12 April 2010
Preceded byTim Devlin
Succeeded byJames Wharton
Personal details
Born
Dari Jean Jones

(1944-12-13) 13 December 1944
Rhondda, Wales
Political partyLabour
Spouse(s)David Taylor
RelativesDaniel Jones (father)
Alma materUniversity of Nottingham
University of Durham

Biography

Taylor was born into a staunch Labour Party family in Rhondda, South Wales in December 1944. She originally attended Ynyshir Girls' School before moving to Burnley Municipal College when her father, Daniel Jones, was elected to Parliament as the Labour MP for Burnley in 1959. He remained the MP for Burnley until 1983. She graduated with a BA from the University of Nottingham and an MA from the University of Durham, then lectured at a number of colleges of Further Education.[2]

She was active in the Trade Union movement from 1990 until her election in 1997. She initially worked as a researcher and later becoming the Regional Educational Officer for the GMB Union in the Northern Region in 1993. She was also an elected member of Sunderland Metropolitan Council between 1986 and the time of her election to Parliament in 1997.[2]

She describes her interests as issues relating to women, health, the economy, industry, defence, international development, disabilities, drugs and crime and all aspects of child welfare, especially adoption.[3]

Parliamentary career

Taylor was selected to stand for election for Labour through an all-women shortlist.[4] Taylor was elected as Member of Parliament for Stockton South in 1997, until losing the seat at the 2010 general election.

Taylor served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Lewis Moonie and Lord Bach (Ministry of Defence) from 2001 to 2003 and then as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Hazel Blears, Home Office minister between 2003 and 2005. Her latest such position was again as a Parliamentary Private Secretary, to Phil Hope at the Department of Health in 2008–09.[5]

She was the chairman of the North East Regional Select Committee and a member of the Intelligence and Security Committee.[6] Taylor was secretary of Labour Friends of India, Vice-chair of the Azerbaijan Group and the treasurer for the Opera Group.[5]

Whilst in Parliament, Taylor was Chair of the Adoption and Fostering Group, Secretary for the Cardiac Risk in the Young Group and Vice-chair of the Children Group.[5]

Controversies

Misuses of stationery

In early November 2008 Taylor was found guilty of misusing House of Commons stationery for political purposes, with four complaints about her upheld.[7] Of particular note was that this was the second occasion Taylor had committed such offences, having already been forced to repay for misused stationery and postage in April 2007.

A House of Commons Committee on Standards and Privileges stated:

"We strongly deprecate the continued misuse by Ms Taylor of House stationery for political purposes...we are surprised that an experienced Member has repeated previous breaches of the rules and has failed to act in accordance with advice given by the House authorities. We particularly regret the fact that Ms Taylor has continued to dispute parts of the Commissioner's findings and we are very disappointed that she has offered no apology. We conclude that Ms Taylor should pay the House authorities the sum of £500 and submit an unequivocal written apology.[8] "

Taylor suggested that the rules were too "confusing" and that she had "tried her best" to stick to them. She complied with the orders of the committee.[7]

Expenses

In 2006, on the subject of not being top of north east MP expenses, Taylor said she was disappointed not to be higher in the list. Referring to her position behind Dr Kumar and Sharon Hodgson, Taylor said: "I want to know what Ashok and Sharon are doing better than me." [9] In 2007, Taylor was the second costliest MP in the North East region (Stockton South), claiming £159,178, and putting her in 24th place in the Westminster league table.[10] In May 2009, Taylor attracted some criticism for her expenses claims, in particular for claiming £18,100 over four years for food – the maximum possible claim. She also claimed £54,329 for mortgage interest payments over four years on her two-bedroomed London apartment, £40 per month for a cleaner to perform housekeeping duties and £310 for tiling a bathroom.[11] She was one of the 98 MPs who voted to keep MPs' expenses secret.[12] She was one of the few MPs to publish their expenses independently, but had blacked out the parts that revealed staffers' personal details.[13]

Voting record

Taylor strongly supported the 2003 invasion of Iraq. She supports a fully elected House of Lords and bills which favoured a partially elected alternative. She is in favour of nuclear power and the replacement of Trident.[14] She is described as a "Labour loyalist".[2]

Personal life

She married David Taylor in July 1970 and they have one daughter. She enjoys classical music, walking and travelling.[3]

References
  1. "Ms Dari Taylor (Hansard)".
  2. "Politics". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
  3. "Taylor, Dari". Politics.co.uk. Archived from the original on 23 February 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
  4. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19960109/ai_n9634358?tag=content;col1. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. BBC News http://news.bbc.co.uk/democracylive/hi/representatives/profiles/25266.stm. Retrieved 1 May 2010. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. "Voting Record – Dari Taylor MP, Stockton South (10585) – The Public Whip". Publicwhip.org.uk. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
  7. "Labour MP fined by watchdog for misuse of expenses (From The Northern Echo)". Thenorthernecho.co.uk. 12 November 2008. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
  8. The Committee Office, House of Commons (12 November 2008). "House of Commons – Standards and Privileges – Eighteenth Report". Publications.parliament.uk. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
  9. "Blair bottom of the pile as expense claims revealed". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  10. "Region's most expensive MP revealed after claims released". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  11. "Mum speaks out over MP Dari Taylor's spending". Gazette Live. 22 May 2009. Archived from the original on 1 March 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
  12. Asthana, Anushka (20 May 2007). "How your MP voted on the FOI Bill". The Times. London. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
  13. Sutton (20 May 2009). "Mr". Gazette Live. Archived from the original on 23 September 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
  14. "Dari Taylor, former MP, Stockton South". TheyWorkForYou.com. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Tim Devlin		 Member of Parliament for Stockton South
1997 – 2010		 Succeeded by
James Wharton
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