- Janet Anderson
Infobox MP
honorific-prefix =
name = Janet Anderson
honorific-suffix =
constituency_MP = Rossendale and Darwen
parliament =
majority = 3,676 (8.3%)
predecessor = Sir David Trippier
successor =
term_start =9 April 1992
term_end =
birth_date = Birth date and age|1949|12|6|df=y
birth_place =Newcastle upon Tyne
death_date =
death_place =
nationality = British
spouse =Vincent Humphreys
party = Labour
relations =
children =
residence =
alma_mater =University of Westminster
occupation =
profession =
religion =
website =
footnotes =Janet Anderson (born
6 December ,1949 ) is a British Labour Party politician. She is theMember of Parliament for Rossendale and Darwen.Early life
Anderson was born in 1949 in
Newcastle upon Tyne and educated in the south west at theTrowbridge Girls' High School (now [http://www.johnofgaunt.wilts.sch.uk John of Gaunt School] ) and the Kingswood Grammar School (now [http://www.kingsfield.s-gloucs.sch.uk Kingsfield School] ) in Kingswood,South Gloucestershire . She attended the Polytechnic of Central London and the Université de Nantes.In 1971, she joined the offices of the "
The Scotsman " and "The Sunday Times" as asecretary . In 1974 she became the personal assistant to the MP for Blackburn,Barbara Castle and to her successor Jack Straw until the 1987 general election, when she unsuccessfully fought the marginal seat of Rossendale and Darwen; losing toDavid Trippier by 4,982 votes.Anderson became a campaigns organiser for the
Parliamentary Labour Party , and then the northern regional organiser for the Shopping Hours Reform Council campaigning to extending the Sunday trading laws. She also ran her ownpublic relations company, with clients such as theRoyal College of Nursing and Safeway plc.Parliamentary career
Janet Anderson fought Rossendale and Darwen again at the 1992 General Election, and this time she was successful, albeit very narrowly, ousting Trippier by just 120 votes. Almost immediately on entering Parliament she became the
Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Deputy Leader of the Opposition,Margaret Beckett , which she held for a year.She was an opposition whip for two years, 1994-1996, before being appointed Shadow Minister for Women. While in this role she notoriously remarked in an interview that women would become more promiscuous under a Labour government. [ [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/htmlContent.jhtml?html=/archive/1996/10/05/tlpet05.html The Daily Telegraph - 'Women like seeing men as sex objects'] ]
Following the 1997 general election Anderson was given a job in
Tony Blair 's new government as a junior whip, before being promoted toParliamentary Under Secretary of State at theDepartment for Culture, Media and Sport in 1998, where she was the Minister for Tourism, Film and Broadcasting and was responsible for bringing in the popular free TV licences for the over-75s.Anderson left government following the 2001 general election. She subsequently served on the
Home Affairs Select Committee , before becoming a member of theCulture, Media and Sport Select Committee and the House of CommonsAdministration Committee . She is also on the [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/81942.stm Chairmen's Panel] .In February 2007, when MP's travel expenses were published, it was revealed that Anderson claimed the largest amount in expenses for car journeys of any MP; £16,612 for 60,118 miles travelled. This was £4,500 more than the next highest claimant,
Laurence Robertson , the MP for Tewkesbury. [ [http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article2268087.ece The Independent - MPs' travel expenses revealed after two-year battle for secrecy] ]Anderson is a member of the
GMB Union , and was formerly secretary of the Tribune Group.Personal life
Anderson married solicitor Vincent Humphreys and they have three children together. In 1999 she left (and later divorced) Humphreys for fellow Labour MP Jim Dowd, though they remain on good terms. [ [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1349827/A-Blair-babe-who-amuses-Her-Majesty.html The Daily Telegraph - A Blair babe who amuses Her Majesty] ]
Anderson lists her pastimes as swimming, playing the
piano , listening toopera , gardening and cooking Sunday roasts for her family. [ [http://www.janetanderson.co.uk/profile.asp Janet Anderson MP - biography] ] She speaks fluent French.References
External links
* [http://www.janetanderson.co.uk/ Janet Anderson MP] official site
* [http://www.epolitix.com/EN/MPWebsites/Janet+Anderson ePolitix.com - Janet Anderson MP]
* [http://politics.guardian.co.uk/person/0,9290,-83,00.html Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Janet Anderson MP]
* [http://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/janet_anderson/rossendale_and_darwen TheyWorkForYou.com - Janet Anderson MP]
* [http://www.publicwhip.org.uk/mp.php?mpc=Rossendale+%26amp%3B+Darwen The Public Whip - Janet Anderson MP] voting record
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/mpdb/html/487.stm BBC Politics - Janet Anderson MP]
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