Debra Shipley

Debra Shipley
Member of Parliament for Stourbridge
In office 1 May 1997 – 5 May 2005
Preceded by	Constituency Established
Succeeded by	Lynda Waltho
Personal details
Born	22 June 1957 (1957-06-22) (age 54)
Nationality	English
Political party	Labour
Spouse(s)	Simon Molesworth

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.

Parliament

Shipley was selected to stand for election for Labour through an all-women shortlist.^[2] This method of selection was subsequently declared illegal in January 1996 as it breached sex discrimination laws.^[3] Despite the ruling she remained in place as the candidate for the following year's election.

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.^[4] The latter bill attracted the support of celebrity chef Jamie Oliver.^[4]

Shipley served on the Culture Media and Sport Select Committee and she was Parliamentary Ambassador for NSPCC, in which capacity she fronted the "Full Stop" Campaign in Parliament. Shipley generally voted along with her party, and consistently voted in favour of equal rights for homosexuals.^[5]

Family

Shipley was married to Simon Molesworth, who died of cancer in 2004, a year prior to her own diagnosis with breast cancer.^[4]

References

1. ^ "Debra Shipley, former MP". They Work For You. FaxYourMP Ltd.. http://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/debra_shipley/stourbridge. Retrieved 2005-05-17. 
2. ^ . http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19960109/ai_n9634358?tag=content;col1. ^{[dead link]}
3. ^ "Labour blow as all-women lists outlawed". The Independent (Bnet.com). 9 January 1996. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19960109/ai_n9634289. ^{[dead link]}
4. ^ ^{a b c} "MP in cancer fight to stand down". BBC News. 2005-03-24. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_midlands/4378767.stm. Retrieved 2006-05-17. 
5. ^ "Policy report — 'Homosexuality — Equal rights' compared to Debra Shipley MP, Stourbridge". The Public Whip. http://www.publicwhip.org.uk/mp.php?mpn=Debra_Shipley&mpc=Stourbridge&dmp=826. Retrieved 2006-05-17. 

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Debra Shipley

Parliament of the United Kingdom
New constituency	Member of Parliament for Stourbridge 1997–2005	Succeeded by Lynda Waltho

Persondata
Name	Shipley, Debra
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	22 June 1957
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death