Debra Shipley

Debra Ann Shipley (born 22 June 1957) is a politician in the United Kingdom. She was Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP) for Stourbridge from 1997 until the 2005 general election, when she stood down for reasons of ill health.[1] She was succeeded by Lynda Waltho, also from the Labour Party.

Debra Shipley
Member of Parliament
for Stourbridge
In office
2 May 1997 – 11 April 2005
Preceded byConstituency Established
Succeeded byLynda Waltho
Personal details
Born (1957-06-22) 22 June 1957
NationalityBritish
Political partyLabour

Shipley was the first woman MP for Stourbridge, but not the first Labour MP to sit for the town under different boundaries.

Wilfred Wellock had been Labour MP 1927-1931 (Stourbridge), Arthur Moyle 1945-1950 (Stourbridge), George Wigg 1950-1968 (Dudley, lost to the Tories in a by-election in 1968 following Wigg's ill-health and appointment to the National Horseracing Board), and John Gilbert 1970-1974 (Dudley, as Labour regained Dudley in 1970 General Election).

Following Shipley's departure in 2005, she later left the Labour Party, and in 2019 campaigned for the Change UK in Norfolk.

Parliament

Shipley was selected to stand for election for Labour through an all-women shortlist.[2] As an MP, Shipley's most significant initiative was the Protection of Children Act, which passed with cross-party support, it requires that childcare organizations now check new staff against a newly created registry of child abusers. Shipley was also responsible for the Children's Food Bill, which called for the removal of "unhealthy" food from school vending machines and improvements to school meals.[3] The latter bill attracted the support of celebrity chef Jamie Oliver.[3]

Shipley served on the Culture Media and Sport Select Committee and she was Parliamentary Ambassador to the NSPCC, in which capacity she fronted the "Full Stop" Campaign in Parliament. Shipley generally voted along with her party.

References
  1. "Debra Shipley, former MP". They Work For You. FaxYourMP Ltd. Retrieved 17 May 2005. External link in |work= (help)
  2. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19960109/ai_n9634358?tag=content;col1. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. "MP in cancer fight to stand down". BBC News. 24 March 2005. Retrieved 17 May 2006.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
New constituency Member of Parliament for Stourbridge
1997–2005		 Succeeded by
Lynda Waltho


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