Rebecca Taylor (politician)
{{Short description|British health researcher and Liberal Democrat politician}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2017}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix =
| name = Rebecca Taylor
| party = Liberal Democrat
| image = Rebecca Taylor at Glasgow.jpg
| caption = Taylor in 2013
| constituency_MP = Yorkshire and the Humber
| term_start = 8 March 2012
| term_end = 2 July 2014
| parliament = European
| majority =
| predecessor = Diana Wallis
| successor = Mike Hookem
| birth_name = Rebecca Elizabeth Taylor
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1975|8|28|df=y}}
| birth_place = Todmorden, England
| nationality = British
| spouse =
| relations =
| children =
| residence =
| alma_mater = University of Leeds {{small|(BA)}}
University of Kent {{small|(MA)}}
King's College London {{small|(MPH)}}
| occupation = Politician
| profession =
| religion =
| signature =
| website = http://www.rebeccataylor.eu http://rebeccataylormep.blogspot.co.uk/
| footnotes =
}}
Rebecca Elizabeth Taylor (born 10 August 1975{{cite web | url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/meps/en/112620/Rebecca_TAYLOR.html | work= European Parliament / MEPs | title=Rebecca Taylor | accessdate=16 April 2012}}) is a British health researcher and Liberal Democrat politician, who was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Yorkshire and the Humber from 2012 to 2014.{{cite news|title=Todmorden MEP comes from family of Liberals|url=http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/todmorden/9506561.Todmorden_MEP_comes_from_family_of_Liberals/|accessdate=6 March 2012|newspaper=Lancashire Telegraph|date=1 February 2012}}
Early life and education
Taylor was born in Todmorden, a market town in the Upper Calder Valley in Calderdale, West Yorkshire. Her father, Michael Taylor, was the leader of the Liberal Democrat group on Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council and her mother, Elisabeth Wilson, was the Lib Dem candidate for Halifax in the 2010 general election, placing third with 8,335 votes (19.1%).{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-16760781|title=The Mr and Mrs team step down in Yorkshire MEP row|publisher=BBC News|date=27 January 2012|accessdate=29 August 2016}}
Taylor has a BA in Japanese and Management Studies (1997) from the University of Leeds, an MA in International Relations (2001) from the University of Kent. She then began working in health policy research and earned a Master in Public Health (2012) from King's College London.
Political career
Taylor contested the European Parliament constituency of Yorkshire and the Humber in the 2009 election. Third on the list of Lib Dem candidates, her party only received enough votes to elect the first candidate on the list, incumbent MEP Diana Wallis. Taylor then stood for election to the Parliamentary constituency of Rotherham in the 2010 general election. She came third with 5,994 votes (16%).
In June 2012, Taylor was appointed to the European Parliament to replace Diana Wallis, who resigned after almost 13 years in office. Wallis had been due to be succeeded by her husband and Communications Manager Stewart Arnold, who had been second on the list of Lib Dem candidates for the seat in the 2009 election, but declined the appointment after pressure from within the party due to complaints of nepotism.{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-16636573 | title=MEP Diana Wallis criticised over registration 'nepotism' | publisher=BBC News | date=19 January 2012 | accessdate=20 January 2012}} Arnold then went on to found the Yorkshire Party.{{cite web | url=https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/new-party-promises-to-put-yorkshire-first-1-6556616 | title=New party promises to put 'Yorkshire First' | publisher=The Yorkshire Post | date=15 April 2014 | accessdate=20 January 2012}} Taylor, who was third on the list, was appointed instead. Taylor was not a candidate for the seat in the 2014 election. She instead contested the Parliamentary constituency of Morley and Outwood in the 2015 general election, finishing fourth with 1,426 votes (3%).
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{commons category}}
- [http://www.rebeccataylor.eu Rebecca Taylor MEP Official Website]
- [http://www.libdems.org.uk/meps_detail.aspx?name=Rebecca_Taylor_MEP&pPK=3c2e35ec-fc3b-47ff-8955-818409e4cb41 Rebecca Taylor MEP – MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber - Liberal Democrats]
- [http://www.europarl.europa.eu/meps/en/112620/Rebecca_TAYLOR.html Rebecca Taylor - Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe - European Parliament]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Rebecca}}
Category:People from Todmorden
Category:Alumni of the University of Leeds
Category:Alumni of the University of Kent
Category:Alumni of King's College London
Category:Liberal Democrats (UK) MEPs
Category:Liberal Democrats (UK) parliamentary candidates