Pauline Latham

{{Infobox officeholder

| image = Official portrait of Mrs Pauline Latham MP crop 2.jpg

| honorific-prefix =

| name = Pauline Latham

| honorific-suffix = {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|OBE}}

| office = Member of Parliament
for Mid Derbyshire

| parliament = United Kingdom

| majority =

| term_start = 6 May 2010

| term_end = 30 May 2024

| predecessor = Constituency created

| successor = Jonathan Davies

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1948|02|4|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Sleaford, Lincolnshire, England

| death_date =

| death_place =

| spouse = Derek Latham

| party = Conservative

| website = [http://www.paulinelatham.co.uk/ paulinelatham.co.uk]

| caption = Official portrait, 2020

}}

Pauline Elizabeth Latham, {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|OBE}} (born 4 February 1948){{Cite book|last=Brunskill|first=Ian|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1129682574|title=The Times guide to the House of Commons 2019 : the definitive record of Britain's historic 2019 General Election|date=19 March 2020|isbn=978-0-00-839258-1|pages=166|publisher=HarperCollins Publishers Limited |oclc=1129682574}} is a British Conservative Party politician, who was elected at the 2010 general election as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Mid Derbyshire, serving until she stood down at the 2024 general election.

Early life

Pauline Latham was born on 4 February 1948 in Sleaford, Lincolnshire.{{cite news |title=Pauline Latham: Tory MP for Mid-Derbyshire to retire |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-64874598 |date=9 March 2023 |access-date=9 March 2023 |work=BBC News}} She grew up in Nottinghamshire, and her early education was at Bramcote Hills Technical Grammar School.{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/democracylive/hi/representatives/profiles/41721.stm|archive-date=5 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305054554/http://news.bbc.co.uk/democracylive/hi/representatives/profiles/41721.stm|title=Pauline Latham MP|publisher=BBC News|url-status=dead}} Latham moved to Derbyshire in 1970.{{cite web|url=https://www.parliament.uk/documents/CPA/Programmes-Delegations/Kenya-Ghana-Whips-final-programme.pdf|publisher=parliament.uk|title=Joint Delegation of Whips from the Parliaments of Ghana & Kenya|page=15}}

Political career

Latham was a Conservative member of Derbyshire County Council from 1987 to 1993, and was a Derby City Councillor from 1992 to 1996 and from 1998 to 2010. She held the position of Mayor of Derby during 2007/08.{{cite news | title = Profile: Pauline Latham | url = http://ukpolitics.telegraph.co.uk/Derbyshire+Mid/Pauline+Latham | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110831205056/http://ukpolitics.telegraph.co.uk/Derbyshire+Mid/Pauline+Latham | url-status = dead | archive-date = 2011-08-31 | website = ukpolitics.telegraph.co.uk | publisher = Telegraph Website}} She was also a governor of Ecclesbourne School for 12 years.{{cite web|url=https://www.derby.ac.uk/news/2018/mp-pauline-latham-backs-university-of-derby-youth-programme/|publisher=University of Derby|date=21 November 2018|access-date=28 August 2019|title=MP Pauline Latham backs University of Derby Youth Work Programme}}

Latham stood as a Conservative candidate for the 1999 European Parliament election for the East Midlands, but was not elected.{{cite web |title=1999 Election candidates |url=http://www.europarl.org.uk/section/1999/1999-election-candidates |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090828022854/http://www.europarl.org.uk/section/1999/1999-election-candidates |archive-date=28 August 2009 |access-date=4 June 2009 |work=UK Office of the European Parliament}} She again stood for the East Midlands in the 2004 European Parliament election, but was again not elected.{{cite web |title=2004 Election candidates |url=http://www.europarl.org.uk/section/2004/2004-election-candidates |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091004091828/http://www.europarl.org.uk/section/2004/2004-election-candidates |archive-date=4 October 2009 |access-date=4 June 2009 |work=UK Office of the European Parliament}}

At the 2001 general election, Latham stood as the Conservative candidate in Broxtowe, coming second with 36.7% of the vote behind the incumbent Labour MP Nick Palmer.{{cite web |title=Election Data 2001 |url=http://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/electdata_2001ob.txt |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111015054450/http://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/electdata_2001ob.txt |archive-date=15 October 2011 |access-date=18 October 2015 |publisher=Electoral Calculus}}

Parliamentary career

Latham was added to the A-List of high priority Conservative candidates created by David Cameron,{{cite web | title = Where are the original A-Listers now? The 18 who have been selected for Conservative seats | url = http://conservativehome.blogs.com/goldlist/2009/04/the-18-of-the-original-100-alisters-selected-for-conservative-seats-.html | website = conservativehome.blogs.com | publisher = Conservative Home }} and she was selected as the candidate for Mid Derbyshire.{{cite news |url=http://www.belpernews.co.uk/news/Tories-take-MidDerbyshire-seat-in.6279181.jp|title=Election 2010: Mid Derbyshire |work=Belper News |access-date=7 May 2010}} At the 2010 general election, Latham was elected to Parliament as MP for Mid Derbyshire with 48.3% of the vote and a majority of 11,292.{{cite news|title=Election 2010 | Derbyshire Mid|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/election2010/results/constituency/c87.stm|work=BBC News|access-date=1 April 2015}}{{cite web |title=Election Data 2010 |url=http://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/electdata_2010.txt |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130726162034/http://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/electdata_2010.txt |archive-date=26 July 2013 |access-date=17 October 2015 |publisher=Electoral Calculus}}

In Parliament, she has served on the select committee for International Development.{{cite web |title=Pauline Latham |url=http://www.parliament.uk/biographies/commons/pauline-latham/4025 |access-date=1 April 2015 |website=Parliament UK}}

At the 2015 general election, Latham was re-elected as MP for Mid Derbyshire with an increased vote share of 52.2% and an increased majority of 12,774.{{cite web |title=Election Data 2015 |url=http://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/electdata_2015.txt |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017112223/http://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/electdata_2015.txt |archive-date=17 October 2015 |access-date=17 October 2015 |publisher=Electoral Calculus}}

Latham voted for Brexit in the 2016 referendum. She subsequently became a member of the European Research Group.{{cite news|url=https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/derby-news/derbyshire-mp-calls-theresa-mays-2714522|work=Derby Telegraph|date=2 April 2019|access-date=27 August 2019|last=Sutherland|first=Rachel|title=Derbyshire MP calls for Theresa May's resignation over Brexit shambles}}

In February 2017, Latham said that other governments across Europe should be looking after refugee children from Calais in their jurisdictions, not Britain. She said that refugee children were not under threat of murder, that they were in safe countries, and other governments should deal with them.{{Cite news |last=O'Carroll |first=Lisa |date=2017-02-23 |title=Stop being sentimental about child refugees, says Tory MP |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/23/stop-being-sentimental-about-child-refugees-says-tory-mp |access-date=2020-03-17 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}

At the snap 2017 general election, Latham was again re-elected, with an increased vote share of 58.6% and a decreased majority of 11,616.{{Cite news |title=Derbyshire Mid parliamentary constituency - Election 2017 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/politics/constituencies/E14000814 |via=www.bbc.co.uk}}

Latham voted for then Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit withdrawal agreement on 29 March 2019.{{cite web|url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2019-03-29/division/B6052BBD-43BE-4A30-8365-E3A8B108009E/UnitedKingdomSWithdrawalFromTheEuropeanUnion?outputType=Names|title=Division 395, United Kingdom from the European Union|publisher=Hansard|access-date=28 August 2019}} She supported Esther McVey in the 2019 Conservative Party leadership election.{{cite web|url=https://www.conservativehome.com/platform/2019/06/pauline-latham-why-i-am-voting-for-mcvey.html|title=Pauline Latham: Why I am voting for McVey|publisher=Conservative Home|last=Latham|first=Pauline|date=4 June 2019 }}

Latham was again re-elected at the 2019 general election, with an increased vote share of 58.8% and an increased majority of 15,385.{{cite news |title=Derbyshire Mid Parliamentary constituency |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/constituencies/E14000814 |access-date=21 November 2019 |website=BBC News |publisher=BBC}}

In the fifty-seventh Parliament, she sponsored the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Bill, which would raise the legal age for marriage from 16 to 18.{{Cite news |date=2020-10-07 |title=MP Pauline Latham's bid to criminalise child marriage under 18 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-derbyshire-54423768 |access-date=2021-06-17 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}

Following an interim report on the connections between colonialism and properties now in the care of the National Trust, including links with historic slavery, Latham was among the signatories of a letter to The Telegraph in November 2020 from the "Common Sense Group" of Conservative Parliamentarians. The letter accused the National Trust of being "coloured by cultural Marxist dogma".{{cite letter |recipient=the Daily Telegraph |subject=Britain's heroes |language=English |date=9 November 2020 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/2020/11/09/letterswill-police-break-armistice-day-ceremonies-wednesday/ |access-date=30 January 2021}}

In March 2023, Latham announced she would stand down at the 2024 general election.

Personal life

Latham has lived in Derbyshire since 1970. She is married to the architect Derek Latham.

Their son Ben died aged 44 in 2018 of an aortic dissection. She has since campaigned for greater awareness of the condition.{{Cite news|url=https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/local-news/derbyshire-mp-shares-devastating-tale-5244538|title = Derbyshire MP shares devastating tale of son's death|newspaper = Derbyshirelive|date = 31 March 2021}}

Honours and awards

{{flag|Ukraine}}:
45px August 23, 2019: Third Class of the Order of Merit of Ukraine{{Cite web|url=https://www.kyivpost.com/article/opinion/op-ed/jack-laurenson-ukraines-friend-and-foe-of-the-week-7.html|title=Jack Laurenson: Ukraine's Friend and Foe of the Week|date=5 September 2019|website=KyivPost|access-date=2020-02-25}}