Janet Royall, Baroness Royall of Blaisdon

Infobox Politician
honorific-prefix = The Right Honourable

name = The Baroness Royall of Blaisdon

honorific-suffix =

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caption =
office = Leader of the House of Lords
Lord President of the Council
term_start = 3 October 2008
primeminister = Gordon Brown
predecessor = The Baroness Ashton of Upholland
office1 = Lords Chief Whip
term_start1 = 24 January 2008
term_end1 = 3 October 2008
primeminister1 = Gordon Brown
predecessor1 = The Lord Grocott
successor1 = The Lord Bassam of Brighton
birth_date = Birth date and age|1955|08|20|df=yes
birth_place = Gloucester
death_date =
death_place =
nationality = British
party = Labour Party
spouse = Stuart Hercock
relations =
children =
residence =
alma_mater = Westfield College, University of London
occupation =
profession =
religion =


website =
footnotes =

Janet "Jan" Anne Royall, Baroness Royall of Blaisdon, PC (born 20 August 1955) is a Labour politician and the current Leader House of Lords.

The daughter of Basil and Myra Royall, Baroness Royall was educated at the Royal Forest of Dean Grammar School and Westfield College, University of London where she gained a BA in Spanish and French in 1977.

Royall was a special adviser to Neil Kinnock, the Leader of the Labour Party, in the 1980s. She sought selection as Labour's candidate for Ogmore in a 2002 by-election. However, the constituency party preferred to choose Huw Irranca-Davies as their candidate. When in 2003 she became head of the European Union's office in Wales there were calls for her to stand down because of her Labour connections.

On 25 June 2004 she was created Baroness Royall of Blaisdon, of Blaisdon in the County of Gloucestershire. In the House of Lords, Lady Royall of Blaisdon became a Government whip, as well as being Government Spokesperson for Health, for International Development and for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. She took on her role of GovernmentChief Whip following the resignation of Lord Grocott on 24 January 2008, and was created a Privy Councillor in the same year. On October 3, 2008, Baroness Royall was promoted to the cabinet and made Leader of the House of Lords and Lord President of the Council by Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

It is a significant feature of her political career that every office held has been an unelected appointment; she has never actually been elected to any public office.

Her recreations include reading, travel, gardening and swimming. She is married to Stuart Hercock and has one daughter, Charlie and two sons, Edwin and Henry.

External links

* [http://www.thepeerage.com/p19179.htm Notification of her Peerage]
* [http://www.dodonline.co.uk/engine.asp?lev1=4&lev2=38&menu=81&biog=y&group=5&tab=1&id=32312 Dod Online]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/3034029.stm 2003 BBC News Article]
* [http://www.lordswhips.org.uk/Display/templateDisplay1.asp?SectionID=10 Biography]

###@@@KEY@@@###succession box
before = The Lord Grocott
title = Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms
Chief Whip of the House of Lords
years = 2007 – 2008
after = The Lord Bassam of BrightonSuccession box
before = The Baroness Ashton of Upholland
title = Leader of the House of Lords
years = 2008 – present
after = IncumbentSuccession box
before = The Baroness Ashton of Upholland
title = Lord President of the Council
years = 2008 – present
after = Incumbent