Maureen Colquhoun

Maureen Morfydd Colquhoun (pronounced 'Col-hoon', born 12 August 1928^[1]) is a British economist and Labour Party politician.

Education

She attended the London School of Economics and later worked as a literary research assistant.^[1]

Political career

She served as a councillor in West Sussex from 1971-74^[1] until she was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Northampton North in 1974. She had previously contested Tonbridge in the 1970 general election.^[1]

At the 1979 general election, she lost her seat to the Conservative Antony Marlow on an 8% swing.

Following her defeat she returned to the House of Commons where she worked as an assistant to Labour MPs. She was elected to Hackney London Borough Council in 1982-1990.^[1]

Personal life

Colquhoun was Britain's first openly lesbian MP.^[2] She punched a car park attendant in a row about a parking ticket in December 1974, and in 1977, after 'years of notoriety' in the house, she was deselected as a parliamentary candidate by her party.^[3] She was married with three children, and divorced in 1980 after leaving Parliament.^[1]

She published an autobiography in 1980^[4]

Colquhoun moved to the Lake District where she was a member of the Lake District National Park Authority between 1998 and 2006.^[5]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Centre for Advancement of Women in Politics
2. ^ Jeffery-Poulter, Stephen (1991). Peers, Queers, and Commons: The Struggle for Gay Law Reform from 1950 to the Present. Routledge. pp. 136–8. ISBN 0415057604 
3. ^ BBC News - Scandals Past, 22 December 1998
4. ^ Colquhoun, Maureen (10 November 1980). Woman in the House. Scan Publications. ISBN 0-90-636005-6. 
5. ^ Everything 2 article on Colquhoun, consulted 31May 2010

• Times Guide to the House of Commons 1979
• The Almanac of British Politics 1999

Parliament of the United Kingdom
New constituency	Member of Parliament for Northampton North February 1974–1979	Succeeded by Antony Marlow

Persondata
Name	Colquhoun, Maureen
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Date of birth	12 August 1928
Place of birth
Date of death
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