Irene Adams

{{Other people||Catherine Adams (disambiguation){{!}}Catherine Adams}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific-prefix = The Right Honourable

| name = The Baroness Adams
of Craigielea

| honorific-suffix =

| office1 = Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal

| term_start1 = 28 June 2005
Life peerage

| term_end1 =

| office2 = Member of Parliament
for Paisley North

| parliament2 =

| majority2 =

| term_start2 = 9 November 1990

| term_end2 = 11 April 2005

| predecessor2 = Allen Adams

| successor2 = Constituency abolished

| birth_name = Katherine Patricia Irene Adams

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1947|12|27|df=yes}}

| birth_place =

| nationality = British

| party = Labour

| otherparty =

| spouse = {{marriage|Allen Adams|1968|1990|end=died}}

}}

Katherine Patricia Irene Adams, Baroness Adams of Craigielea (born 27 December 1947) is a Scottish Labour peer who served as the Member of Parliament for Paisley North from 1990 to 2005.

Early life

Adams was educated at Stanley Green High School in Paisley, marrying Allen Adams in February 1968 with whom she had three children. In 1970 she was on Paisley Town Council and by 1972 was appointed Justice of the Peace. In 1974, as Katherine Adams, she became a councillor for Stanley Ward of Renfrew District Council,{{cite book|title=Scottish Regional and District Elections 1974|publisher=Scottish Academic Press|author1=J.M.Bochel|author2=D.T.Denver|url=http://www.electionscentre.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Scottish-Regional-and-District-Elections-1974.pdf|page=119}} but failed to be reelected in 1977 following a general collapse in the Labour vote.{{cite book|url=http://www.electionscentre.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Scottish-District-Elections-1977.pdf|page=72|title=Scottish District Elections 1977|publisher=University of Dundee|author1=J.M.Bochel|author2=D.T.Denver}} In 1979, she stood for and won the Paisley Craigielea seat on Strathclyde Regional Council succeeding her husband, Allen Adams, who had stepped down from the council following his election as MP. She successfully stood for reelection in 1982,{{cite book|url=http://www.electionscentre.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Scottish-Regional-Elections-1982.pdf|page=45|title=Scottish Regional Elections 1982|publisher=University of Dundee and University of Lancaster|author1=J.M.Bochel|author2=D.T.Denver}} retiring in 1986.{{cite book|url=http://www.electionscentre.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Scottish-Regional-Elections-1986.pdf|page=30|title=Scottish Regional Elections 1986|publisher=University of Dundee and University of Lancaster|author1=J.M.Bochel|author2=D.T.Denver}}

Parliamentary career

Her husband, Allen Adams, had been MP for Paisley North until his death on 5 September 1990 at the age of 44 from a brain haemorrhage.{{Cite web| title = Between jellies and a hard place| date = 13 November 1995| work = Herald Scotland| url = http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12063239.Between_jellies_and_a_hard_place/}} Irene, who had served as his secretary during his time as MP, stood in the subsequent by-election and despite a swing to the SNP, went on to win with 44% of the vote.{{cite web|url=http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-information-office/fymp/m12.pdf|title=By-election results: 1987-92|publisher=House of Commons Information Office|page=14}} She successfully defended the seat in the next three General Elections.

As an MP, she had been outspoken on the issue of drug abuse and gang violence and received death threats. Media sources speculated that the 1999 torching of her car was as a result of this work.{{Cite web| title = MP hit by car blaze| work = BBC News| date = 7 July 1999| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/388334.stm}} Despite being loyal to the Labour government of the day,{{Cite web| title = Anger over whisky tax backing| work = BBC News| date = 28 April 2004| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/3665017.stm}} Adams was seen as clearly on its left wing including being against the Iraq war, a Eurosceptic and one of the more pro-devolution Scottish Labour members.{{Cite web| title = Irene Adams| work = BBC News| date = 17 October 2002 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/2123399.stm}} Within the Labour party, it was alleged that she had been the target of "bad mouthing" by fellow Labour MP Tommy Graham, which lead to Graham's expulsion from the party in 1999.{{Cite web | title = Expelled MP prepares legal battle | work = BBC News | date = 10 September 1998 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/168370.stm}}

Adams was persuaded to stand down with the promise of a peerage, in order to allow sitting West Renfrewshire MP Jim Sheridan to be selected to fight in the May 2005 election for the newly merged seat of Paisley and Renfrewshire North. Following the General Election, on 13 May 2005 it was announced that she would be created a life peer as Baroness Adams of Craigielea, of Craigielea in the County of Renfrewshire, on 28 June.{{London Gazette |issue=57692 |date=4 July 2005|page=8639}}{{cite web|url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200506/minutes/050718/ldminute.htm|title=House of Lords; Minutes of Proceedings|date=18 July 2005|publisher=Parliament of the United Kingdom|access-date=2008-09-20}}

=Peerage and expenses=

Despite no longer being a member of the House of Commons, Adams along with 13 other MPs was the subject of a court case over the release of information into parliamentary expenses.{{Cite web| title = Open Secrets: MPs in court today| author = Martin Rosenbaum| work = BBC News| date = 7 May 2008| url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/opensecrets/2008/05/mps_in_court_today_1.html}} As a result of the widespread expenses scandal within parliament, she was ultimately asked pay over £50,000 which she initially refused to do.{{Cite web

| title = MPs' expenses: Baroness Adams challenges Commons to sue her| author = Rosa Prince| work = Daily Telegraph | date = 15 October 2010 | url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/8007279/MPs-expenses-Baroness-Adams-challenges-Commons-to-sue-her.html}}

Adams is not noted for being an active member of the House of Lords, and attracted criticism for claiming expenses despite having only made a single contribution, her maiden speech, between May 2005 and October 2010.{{cite web|url=http://www.sundaypost.com/news-views/politics/westminster/anger-at-250-000-expenses-claims-of-lazy-labour-lords-1.710315|title=Anger at £250,000 expenses claims of 'lazy Labour lords'|work=sundaypost.com|date=30 November 2014 |access-date=14 September 2015}} She currently lives in a converted mill in Paisley.{{cite news|title=Baroness Adams: the peer who claimed £200,000 but has spoken only once|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/6852178/Baroness-Adams-the-peer-who-claimed-200000-but-has-spoken-only-once.html|work=Daily Telegraph|date=26 November 2001}}

References

External links

{{UK Peer links | parliament = lords/baroness-adams-of-craigielea/631 | hansard = mrs-irene-adams | hansardcurr = 4899 | guardian = 19/irene-adams | publicwhip = Baroness_Adams_of_Craigielea | theywork = baroness_adams_of_craigielea | record = Katherine-Adams/1449 | bbc = 25792.stm | journalisted = }}

{{s-ttl

|title=Member of Parliament for Paisley North

|years=1990 – 2005

}}

Category:1947 births

Category:Living people

Category:Scottish Labour MPs

Adams of Craigielea

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

Category:Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Paisley constituencies

Category:Scottish Labour councillors

Category:Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II