Sandra Osborne

Infobox MP
honorific-prefix =
name = Sandra Osborne
honorific-suffix =MP

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constituency_MP = Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock
Ayr (1997-2005)
parliament =
majority = 9,997 (22.2%)
predecessor = Phil Gallie
successor = Incumbent
term_start = 1 May 1997
term_end =
birth_date = Birth date and age|1956|02|23|df=yes
birth_place = Paisley, Renfrewshire
death_date =
death_place =
nationality = Scottish
spouse = Alastair Osborne
party = Labour
relations =
children =
residence =
alma_mater = Strathclyde University
occupation =
profession =
religion =


website =
footnotes =

Sandra Currie Osborne, née Clark (born 23 February 1956, Paisley, Renfrewshire) is the Labour Member of Parliament for Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock in Scotland. She was first elected in 1997, and resigned from a government job in 2003 over the Iraq War. She is a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee. [* [http://www.sandraosborne.co.uk Sandra Osborne MP official site] ]

Family

Sandra Osborne is married to Alastair Osborne who was Labour candidate in the same Ayr constituency in 1992 that Mrs Osborne won in 1997. [* [http://politics.guardian.co.uk/person/0,,-3998,00.html Guardian Unlimited : Politics: Alastair Osborne] ] They have two daughters and a granddaughter and live in Symington, Ayrshire. Sandra was born and brought up in Ferguslie Park, Paisley. She was educated at Camphill Secondary School in Paisley. She later attending evening classes before going on to Jordanhill College where she gained the Diploma in Community Education. After working as a community worker in Glasgow she moved to Ayrshire where she spent 14 years as a counsellor with Kilmarnock Women's Aid. After studying two years part time at Strathclyde University she graduated Master of Science in Equality and Discrimination. In 1997 she was one of the shortlisted finalists in the Scottish Woman of the Year Award ("Glasgow Evening Times") [* [http://www.sandraosborne.co.uk Sandra Osborne MP official site] ]

Political career

Sandra Osborne was the councillor for Whitletts on Kyle and Carrick District Council and South Ayrshire Council where she also served as Convener of Community Services (Housing and Social Work). She is a member of the Trade Union Unite (formerly TGWU) and has been active in the Labour Party for over 30 years, serving for a time as Ayr CLP Secretary.

In May 1997 she was elected MP for Ayr constituency, becoming Ayr's first ever Labour MP and first ever woman MP. She was re-elected in the June 2001 general election.

Sandra Osborne served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Helen Liddell, the Secretary of State for Scotland, from June 2002 until she stepped down in March 2003 over her opposition to going to war with Iraq without a second UN resolution. [* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/2859901.stm BBC News site 19 March 2003] ] She had previously served as PPS to George Foulkes, Minister of State at the Scotland Office and to his predecessor in that post, Brian Wilson.

She has served as Chair of the Scottish Group of Labour MPs and member of the Scottish Executive of the Labour Party. She has served as Chair of the All Party Group on Meningitis. She was a member of the Kerley Committee on the Renewal of Local Democracy, providing a minority report opposing PR. [* [http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/158178/0042807.pdf Kerley Report] ]

In June 2004 Sandra was selected to be Labour Candidate for the new constituency of Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock, where she was returned at the 2005 general election with a majority of 9997. She was appointed to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee in 2005. She is also Secretary of the All Party Group on Colombia and the Women, Peace and Security Group. In 2006 the Prime Minister appointed her a member of the UK Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)

Her political interests include poverty, pensions, women's issues and International Development. She enjoys reading, walking and spending time with her granddaughter. [* [http://www.sandraosborne.co.uk Sandra Osborne MP official site] ]

External links

* [http://www.sandraosborne.co.uk Sandra Osborne MP] official site
* [http://politics.guardian.co.uk/person/0,9290,-4001,00.html Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Sandra Osborne MP]
* [http://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/sandra_osborne/ayr%2C_carrick_and_cumnock TheyWorkForYou.com - Sandra Osborne MP]

References