Jenny Willott

Infobox MP
honorific-prefix =
name = Jenny Willott
honorific-suffix = MP

---

imagesize = 200px
constituency_MP2 = Cardiff Central
majority2 = 5,593 (15.5%)
term_start2 = 5 May 2005
term_end2 =
predecessor2 = Jon Owen Jones
successor2 = Incumbent
birth_date = birth date and age|1974|05|29
birth_place = London Borough of Merton
death_date =
death_place =
nationality = British
party = Welsh Liberal Democrats
spouse =
relations =
children =
residence =
alma_mater = Durham University London School of Economics
occupation =
profession =
religion =


website = [http://www.jennywillott.org.uk/ www.jennywillott.org.uk]
footnotes =

Jennifer Nancy Willott (born 29 May 1974) is a British politician and the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Cardiff Central since the 2005 general election. She is the first woman and the first Liberal Democrat to represent her seat.

Willott has a history of work with charitable organisations such as OXFAM and a women's organisation in North India. She supports the movement of trade justice and has interests in human rights and social justice. She was a councillor in the London Borough of Merton from 1998 to 2000.

2005 Election

Willott's campaign was closely linked to specific local and national issues and her support was widespread across all wards. In particular, her predecessor Jon Owen Jones's support for the Iraq War put him at odds with a significant number of his constituents of which many were students or from a Muslim background, whereas the Liberal Democrats opposed the war consistently.

Parliamentary career

In her maiden speech, Willott pledged to "make Cardiff proud" and celebrated the cultural diversity of her constituency. She declared her priorities in parliament would be local health services, tuition and top-up fees, and council tax. [ [http://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2005-05-26.881.0&s=section%3Adebates+speaker%3A11480#g912.0 Jenny Willott's maiden speech] TheyWorkForYou.com, 26 May 2006]

She supported Sir Menzies Campbell in the leadership election in 2006, and was later appointed as a deputy whip and Youth Affairs spokesperson. She representes her party on the Board of Trustees of the UK Youth Parliament. She is currently Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary for the Lib Dems.

References

External links

* [http://www.jennywillott.org.uk/ Jenny Willott MP] official site
* [http://www.libdems.org.uk/people/jenny-willott Jenny Willott MP] profile at the site of Liberal Democrats
* [http://www.welshlibdems.org.uk/people_e_detail.asp?memberNo=169 Jenny Willott MP] profile at the site of Welsh Liberal Democrats
* [http://politics.guardian.co.uk/person/0,9290,-6599,00.html Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Jenny Willott MP]
* [http://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/jennifer_willott/cardiff_central TheyWorkForYou.com - Jennifer Willott MP]
* [http://www.publicwhip.org.uk/mp.php?mpn=Jennifer_Willott&mpc=Cardiff+Central The Public Whip - Jennifer Willott MP] voting record
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4436148.stm BBC News Meet the MP] Interview with Jenny Willott 20 December, 2005
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/mpdb/html/123.stm BBC News - Jennifer Willott] profile 30 March, 2006
* [http://www.dmoz.org/Regional/Europe/United_Kingdom/Wales/Society_and_Culture/Politics/Parties/Welsh_Liberal_Democrats_-_Democratiaid_Rhyddfrydol_Cymru/MPs/Willott,_Jenny/ Open Directory Project - Jenny Willott] directory category