Geraldine Smith (politician)

{{Infobox officeholder

| image =

| honorific-prefix =

| name = Geraldine Smith

| constituency_MP = Morecambe and Lunesdale

| parliament =

| majority =

| predecessor = Mark Lennox-Boyd

| successor = David Morris

| term_start = 1 May 1997

| term_end = 12 April 2010

| birth_name = Maria Geraldine Smith

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1961|08|29}}

| birth_place = Belfast, Northern Ireland

| death_date =

| death_place =

| nationality = British

| party = Labour

}}

Maria Geraldine Smith (born 29 August 1961) is a former British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for Morecambe and Lunesdale from 1997 to 2010.

Early life

She was educated at Morecambe High School and Lancaster and Morecambe College, where she gained a Diploma in Business Studies. Her first campaign was supported by the Communication Workers Union, for which she was formerly an officer. Prior to becoming taking office, she worked for the Royal Mail from 1980 to 1997, and was a member of Lancaster City Council.

Parliamentary career

After the Labour Party's poor showing in the local government elections of 4 May 2006 she was linked to a campaign{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/blair-backs-down-on-full-term-pledge-but-refuses-to-set-a-date-6101411.html|title=Blair backs down on 'full term' pledge but refuses to set a date|work=The Independent|date=9 May 2006}} on a timetable for Tony Blair's departure as Prime Minister and also expressed a preference for Gordon Brown to succeed him. She also found "outrageous" the survival of John Prescott as a government minister following the reshuffle.{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/05/06/ulabour1.xml&sSheet=/portal/2006/05/06/ixportaltop.html|title=Outrage over Prescott role|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060519173305/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2006%2F05%2F06%2Fulabour1.xml&sSheet=%2Fportal%2F2006%2F05%2F06%2Fixportaltop.html|work=The Telegraph|date=6 May 2006|accessdate=6 May 2006|archivedate=19 May 2006|url-status=dead}} She said that she believed William Hague would be the next Conservative Prime Minister, rather than David Cameron.{{cite web|url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmhansrd/cm080311/debtext/80311-0008.htm#080311109000288|title=11 Mar 2008 : Column 172|work=www.parliament.uk|date=11 March 2008|accessdate=12 March 2008}} In August 2009, she criticised the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 which conferred legal parenthood on a biological mother's female partner, saying "To have a birth certificate with two mothers and no father is just madness."{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2009/aug/31/lesbian-partners-birth-certificates|title=Lesbian partners to be named on birth certificates|work=The Guardian|date=31 August 2009|accessdate=8 September 2009}} Smith was a member of the All-Party Parliamentary Flag Group.{{cite web |url=https://edm.parliament.uk/early-day-motion/40851/union-flag-at-parliament |title=Union Flag At Parliament |website=Early Day Motions |publisher=UK Parliament |date=29 March 2010}}

On Wednesday 17 September 2008, Smith was interviewed by Tony Livesey on BBC Radio Lancashire's Breakfast Show; she attacked the so-called "Lancashire Mafia" for their plot against Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and accused those behind the scenes of being cowards.

Smith narrowly lost her seat to the Conservative David Morris in the general election in May 2010.

Personal life

Geraldine Smith was the Patron of the Morecambe Bay National Osteoporosis Society Support Group until 2010.

Geraldine Smith was the President of 455 (Morecambe and Heysham) Squadron Air Training Corps until 2010 when she regretfully to its members stood down after a number of years as an ambassador to youth development in the area. The Air Training Corps is a youth organisation sponsored by the Royal Air Force for local youth between the ages of 13 and 18 giving them opportunities to learn new skills and support their local community.

References

External links

[https://web.archive.org/web/20050606224139/http://www.labour.org.uk/maps/locinfo.phtml?ctid=2348 The Labour Party – Geraldine Smith MP] official biography
[http://politics.guardian.co.uk/person/contactdetails/0,9290,-4843,00.html Guardian Unlimited Politics – Ask Aristotle: Geraldine Smith MP]
[https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/geraldine_smith/morecambe_and_lunesdale TheyWorkForYou.com – Geraldine Smith MP]
[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/mpdb/html/412.stm BBC Politics page] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070829211855/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/mpdb/html/412.stm |date=29 August 2007 }}

{{succession box

| title = Member of Parliament for Morecambe and Lunesdale

| years = 1997 – 2010

| before = Mark Lennox-Boyd

| after = David Morris

}}

Category:1961 births

Category:Living people

Category:Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies

Category:Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies

Category:Councillors in Lancashire

Category:Labour Party (UK) councillors