Vera Baird

Infobox MP


honorific-prefix =
name = Vera Baird
honorific-suffix =QC MP
office=Solicitor General for England and Wales
primeminister=Gordon Brown
term_start=29 June 2007
term_end=
predecessor=Mike O'Brien
successor=
constituency_MP2 = Redcar
parliament2 =
majority2 = 12,116 (31.2%)
predecessor2 = Mo Mowlam
successor2 = Incumbent
term_start2 = 7 June 2001
term_end2 =
birth_date = Birth date and age|1951|2|13|df=y
birth_place = Oldham, Lancashire
death_date =
death_place =
nationality = British
spouse =
party = Labour
relations =
children =
residence =
alma_mater = Northumbria University, Open University, University of London, University of Teesside
occupation =
profession =
religion =


website =
footnotes =

Vera Baird, QC (born Vera Thomas, 13 February 1951) is a British Labour politician, author and barrister. She is the Member of Parliament for Redcar, and a Queen's Counsel.

Early life

Baird was born in 1951 in Oldham, Lancashire, and was educated at the Chadderton Grammar School for Girls (now called The Radclyffe School, and comprehensive since 1975) on "Broadway" and then at Newcastle Polytechnic where she studied Law, gaining an LLB. In 1983 she gained a BA in Literature and Modern History from the University of London. She is currently studying for an MPhil (History) at the University of Teesside. [ [http://www.labouronline.org/wibs/166155/50fc2472-42cb-1404-718a-3d97353c7c20 Vera Baird QC MP - Official biography] ]

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. [ [http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article1052851.ece The Times - A QC who is striving for the mark of equality] ]

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.

Personal life

Baird married David Taylor-Gooby in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1972, and has two step sons. 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

* [http://www.verabaird.com Vera Baird Q.C.] official site
* [http://www.epolitix.com/EN/MPWebsites/Vera+Baird/ ePolitix - Vera Baird] official site
* [http://politics.guardian.co.uk/person/0,9290,-6442,00.html Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Vera Baird MP]
* [http://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/vera_baird/redcar TheyWorkForYou.com - Vera Baird MP]
* [http://www.publicwhip.org.uk/mp.php?mpn=Vera_Baird&mpc=Redcar The Public Whip - Vera Baird MP] voting record
* [http://www.attorneygeneral.gov.uk/sub_about_us_biographies.htm Solicitor General page]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/mpdb/html/472.stm BBC Politics - Vera Baird]