Vera Baird: Difference between revisions

The Right Honourable Vera Baird QC
Solicitor General for England and Wales
In office 29 June 2007 – 11 May 2010
Prime Minister	Gordon Brown
Preceded by	Mike O'Brien
Succeeded by	Edward Garnier
Member of Parliament for Redcar
In office 7 June 2001 – 12 April 2010
Preceded by	Mo Mowlam
Succeeded by	Ian Swales
Majority	12,116 (31.2%)
Personal details
Born	(1951-02-13) 13 February 1951 (age 73) Oldham, England
Political party	Labour
Alma mater	Newcastle Polytechnic, Open University,[1] University of Teesside

Vera Baird (13 February 1951) is a British Labour politician, author and barrister, who was the Member of Parliament for Redcar from 2001 to 2010, when she lost her seat to the Liberal Democrats, with the highest swing against any Labour candidate anywhere in the country (21.8%).

Early life

Vera Thomas was born in Oldham, Lancashire, and was educated at the Chadderton Grammar School for Girls (now called The Radclyffe School, and comprehensive since 1975) and then at Newcastle Polytechnic where she studied Law, gaining an LLB.^[2] In 1983 she gained a BA in Literature and Modern History. She is currently studying for an MPhil (History) at the University of Teesside.^[3]

She was the parish council clerk of Ludworth parish council in County Durham in the late 1970s when known as Vera Taylor-Gooby.

Baird joined the Labour Party in 1971 and was called to the Bar at Gray's Inn in 1975. Until her appointment to government she was a practising barrister working in the Chambers of Michael Mansfield alongside Patrick Roche, the husband of her former parliamentary colleague, Barbara Roche. She took silk in 2000, 25 years after becoming a barrister, and has said that the Queen’s Counsel system is in need of reform to make it more transparent.^[4]

She has written several books concerning rape and women's experiences in court and a book on women murderers. She is also a visiting Fellow at St Hilda's College, Oxford.

Parliamentary career

At the 1983 general election, Baird unsuccessfully contested the constituency of Berwick-upon-Tweed, finishing in third place, behind the victor Alan Beith. At the 2001 general election she was selected to contest the ultra-safe Labour seat of Redcar, following the retirement of the sitting MP and former Cabinet minister, Mo Mowlam.

Following the 2005 general election, Baird became the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Home Secretary, Charles Clarke.

On 8 May 2006, she was appointed as a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Department for Constitutional Affairs - which was renamed the Ministry of Justice in May 2007, following the reorganisation of the Home Office. In June 2007, newly appointed Prime Minister Gordon Brown appointed Baird Solicitor General for England and Wales.

She lost her seat in the House of Commons on 7 May 2010.

Controversies

Criticism of judge

In 2006 Baird commented that in calculating the sentence of a sex offender the judge had been too lenient, she retracted the comments when it emerged the judge had in fact followed the guidelines correctly.^[5] Judge Keith Cutler later suggested that Baird's stance could force judges to break their tradition of silence when criticised.^[6]

Expenses

In May 2009 The Daily Telegraph revealed that Baird had inappropriately attempted to claim for £286 of Christmas decorations using her expense allowance. Baird has described the goods as "miscellaneous items", but House of Commons officials noticed the nature of the items on the receipt and refused to pay. Baird also benefited from the Additional Costs Allowance (more commonly known as the 'second homes' allowance) by designating her London flat as her main home while claiming allowances for the four-bedroomed property in her constituency she has designated as her second home.^[7] She also earned an annual salary of £125,602.^[8]

Dog fouling incident

In 2009 Baird was involved in an altercation with a woman at King's Cross railway station in relation to Baird's dog fouling the platform.^[9] No action was taken by the British Transport Police.^[10] Baird denied any wrongdoing and claims the police have apologised to her following her complaints about their attitude.^[11]

Speeding

In June 2010, Baird was banned from driving for six months, having under the totting up scheme accumulated 12 penalty points on her driving license. In August 2009, she was caught on camera doing 98mph on the M4 motorway at Miskin, South Wales, whilst travelling to see an injured friend in Limeslade Bay near Swansea. Banned under the totting up scheme, she appealed on the grounds that she had not received her summons. Defending herself at her appeal in June 2010, Pontypridd magistrates dismissed her arguments, and re-impossed the ban.^[12]

Personal life

Baird married David Taylor-Gooby in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1972, and has two stepsons. They later divorced, and she married Robert Brian Baird (born July 1928) in 1978 in County Durham, a year before he died in 1979.

References

External links

• Vera Baird Q.C. official site
• ePolitix - Vera Baird official site
• Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Vera Baird MP
• TheyWorkForYou.com - Vera Baird MP
• The Public Whip - Vera Baird MP voting record
• Solicitor General page
• BBC Politics - Vera Baird

Offices held