Lucy Nethsingha
{{Short description|British politician (born 1973)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2019}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = Cllr
| name = Lucy Nethsingha
| honorific-suffix =
| image = Lucy Nethsingha Brighton 2018.jpg
| office = Leader of Cambridgeshire County Council
| term_start = 18 May 2021
| term_end =
| deputy = Elisa Meschini
| predecessor = Steve Count
| successor =
| office1 = Lib Dem Group Leader on Cambridgeshire County Council
| term_start1 = May 2015
| term_end1 =
| deputy1 = Maurice Leeke
David Jenkins
Lorna Dupré
| predecessor1 = Maurice Leeke
| successor1 =
| constituency_MP2 = East of England
| parliament2 = European
| status2 =
| term_start2 = 2 July 2019
| term_end2 = 31 January 2020
| predecessor2 = David Campbell Bannerman
| successor2 = Constituency abolished
| office3 = Cambridgeshire County Councillor
for Newnham
| term_start3 = 4 June 2009
| term_end3 =
| majority3 = 548 (23.0%)
| predecessor3 = Alexander Reid
| successor3 =
| birth_name = Lucy Kathleen Sellwood
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1973|2|6|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Southampton, England
| party = Liberal Democrats
| nationality = British
| spouse = Andrew Nethsingha
}}
Lucy Kathleen Nethsingha[https://www.cambridge.gov.uk/media/7260/statement-of-persons-nominated-european-parliament-2019.pdf "European Parliamentary Election – Eastern Region, Thursday 23 May 2019 Statement of Parties and Individual Candidates Nominated and Notice of Poll"], Cambridge City Council, 25 April 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019. (née Sellwood; born 6 February 1973) is a British Liberal Democrat politician who has served as Leader of Cambridgeshire County Council since 2021, and leader of the Liberal Democrat group on the council since 2015. She was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the East of England from 2019 until 2020.
Early life
Born in Southampton in 1973,{{Cite web|url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/meps/en/197604/LUCY_NETHSINGHA/home|title=Lucy NETHSINGHA {{!}} MEPs|website=www.europarl.europa.eu|date=6 February 1973 |publisher=European Parliament|language=en|access-date=2019-07-10}} she attended the comprehensive Penair School, in Truro, to the age of 16. She attended the sixth form of the independent Truro School, then gained a BSc degree in Psychology from the University of Southampton.
Politics
Nethsingha served as a Liberal Democrat councillor on Gloucester City Council from 2004 to 2008.{{cite web |title=Council agenda, 22 June 2004 |url=https://democracy.gloucester.gov.uk/Data/Council/20040622/Agenda/$Agenda.doc.pdf |website=Gloucester City Council |access-date=26 June 2022}}{{cite web |title=Council minutes, 13 March 2008 |url=https://democracy.gloucester.gov.uk/documents/g3612/Printed%20minutes%2013th-Mar-2008%2019.30%20Council.pdf?T=1 |website=Gloucester City Council |access-date=26 June 2022}} After moving to Cambridgeshire, Nethsingha was elected for the Newnham division on Cambridgeshire County Council as a Liberal Democrat at the 2009 election,[https://cambridgeshire.cmis.uk.com/ccc_live/Councillors/tabid/63/ctl/ViewCMIS_Person/mid/383/id/328/Default.aspx "Councillor Lucy Nethsingha"], Cambridgeshire County Council. Retrieved 27 May 2019. and has been leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on the council since 2015 (she had previously been deputy leader since 2011).[https://cambridgeshire.cmis.uk.com/CCC_live/Document.ashx?czJKcaeAi5tUFL1DTL2UE4zNRBcoShgo=b7zQG6gpIqmQPm0HRAV6MXbtfMahX5OFdtlMnStZKBsINQ3QepRu7w%3d%3d&rUzwRPf%2bZ3zd4E7Ikn8Lyw%3d%3d=pwRE6AGJFLDNlh225F5QMaQWCtPHwdhUfCZ%2fLUQzgA2uL5jNRG4jdQ%3d%3d&mCTIbCubS "County Council: Minutes, 12 May 2015"], Cambridgeshire County Council, p. 10. Retrieved 27 May 2019.Councillors Neil McGovern, Andy Pellew, Simon Brierley, et al., [https://kingshedgesfocus.blogspot.com/2011/06/county-council-liberal-democrats-name.html "County Council Liberal Democrats name their new team"], Focus on King's Hedges, 22 June 2011. Retrieved 27 May 2019. At the 2025 Cambridgeshire County Council election she was elected for the Cambourne division and the Liberal Democrats took majority control of the county council. From 2016 to 2024, she also represented the Newnham ward on Cambridge City Council.[https://democracy.cambridge.gov.uk/mgUserInfo.aspx?UID=1454 "Councillor Lucy Nethsingha"], Cambridge City Council. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
She unsuccessfully contested the North East Cambridgeshire parliamentary constituency in the 2015 general election, finishing in fourth place out of five candidates with 2,314 votes (4.5%).{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20170109021944/http://democraticdashboard.com/constituency/north-east-cambridgeshire "North East Cambridgeshire"]}}, Democratic Dashboard. Retrieved 27 May 2019. In the snap general election held two years later, she contested South East Cambridgeshire and finished last out of three candidates with 11,958 votes (19.0%).[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/constituencies/E14000937 "Cambridgeshire South East parliamentary constituency – Election 2017"], BBC News. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
Nethsingha became a Member of the European Parliament in the 2019 elections, until 2020 when the United Kingdom left the EU.
After the 2021 Cambridgeshire County Council election she became leader of the council after agreeing a deal with the Labour and Independent groups.{{cite news |last1=Hatton |first1=Benjamin |title=Lib Dem Lucy Nethsingha officially selected as leader of Cambridgeshire County Council |url=https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/local-news/lib-dem-lucy-nethsingha-officially-20638031 |access-date=14 June 2021 |work=Cambridgeshire Live |date=20 May 2021}}
Personal life
Nethsingha grew up in Cornwall, which she states made her aware of the importance of caring for the environment. She is a teacher by profession and holds a master's degree from the University of Cambridge.
In 1996 she married Andrew Nethsingha, who has been organist and master of the choristers at Westminster Abbey since 2023.[https://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/10.1093/ww/9780199540884.001.0001/ww-9780199540884-e-42929 "Nethsingha, Andrew Mark"], Who's Who (online ed., Oxford University Press, December 2018). Retrieved 27 May 2019.[https://cambridgeshire.cmis.uk.com/ccc_live/Document.ashx?czJKcaeAi5tUFL1DTL2UE4zNRBcoShgo=sjWr6pnH1hMU4qvmlmN4boE2%2bDv4nnhz41bDNpx3NE3EgqnmkdfAjQ%3d%3d&rUzwRPf%2bZ3zd4E7Ikn8Lyw%3d%3d=pwRE6AGJFLDNlh225F5QMaQWCtPHwdhUfCZ%2fLUQzgA2uL5jNRG4jdQ%3d%3d&mCTIbCu "Register of members' disclosable pecuniary interests"], Cambridgeshire County Council, 6 May 2017. Retrieved 27 May 2019. They have three children.[https://www.libdems.org.uk/lucy-nethsingha "Lucy Nethsingha"], Liberal Democrats. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
References
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Category:Alumni of the University of Southampton
Category:MEPs for England 2019–2020
Category:Liberal Democrats (UK) MEPs
Category:21st-century women MEPs for England
Category:Liberal Democrats (UK) councillors
Category:Liberal Democrats (UK) parliamentary candidates
Category:Members of Cambridgeshire County Council
Category:Leaders of local authorities of England