Fleur Anderson
MP
Official portrait, 2019
Member of Parliament
for Putney
Assumed office
12 December 2019
Preceded byJustine Greening
Majority4,774 (9.5%)
Shadow portfolios
2023–presentNorthern Ireland
2021–2023Paymaster General
2021–2021Cabinet Office
Member of Wandsworth Council
for Bedford
In office
22 May 2014 – April 2021
Succeeded byHannah Stanislaus
Personal details
Born
Kathleen Fleur Anderson

(1971-02-06) 6 February 1971
Jersey, Channel Islands
Political partyLabour
Alma mater
Websitefleuranderson.co.uk

Kathleen Fleur Anderson[1] (born 6 February 1971) is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Putney, elected in 2019.[2][3][4] A member of the Labour Party, she has served as Shadow Minister for Northern Ireland since September 2023. She previously served as a member of Wandsworth London Borough Council from 2014 to 2021 and Shadow Paymaster General from December 2021 to September 2023.

Early life and education

Anderson was born on the Channel island of Jersey.[5] She graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Politics from the University of York in 1993. She was a member of the Liberal Democrats at university, and was elected president of the Students Union, holding that post in 1993/94.[6] In 2007, she attended the Open University for a Master of Science degree in Global Development Management, awarded in 2010.[7]

Career

International development and advocacy

Anderson began her career in development and environmental and poverty campaigns, both in London and abroad. She worked for Christian Aid from 1994 to 1997, taking on roles as a campaign assistant in London, working in Serbia during the war and as Head of Country Office in Bosnia in the aftermath of the Bosnian War. From 1997 to 1999 she was Head of World Action for the Methodist youth organisation MAYC, leading campaigns on bullying, Burma and International Debt cancellation. She then worked for CAFOD in London as Head of Campaigns and Advocacy Strategy Manager. Here she co-founded the Trade Justice Campaign. From 2003 to 2006 she was a trustee of the Jubilee Debt Campaign. During her time as a freelance consultant in Kenya from 2007 to 2010, she worked on several successful campaigns on water and urban nutrition, working with organisations such as End Water Poverty and Oxfam, as well as helping to establish grassroots organisations such as the Shalom Centre for Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation. Upon returning to London, Anderson joined WaterAid as Head of Global Campaigns.[8][9]

Politics

Anderson decided to get involved in politics in response to the closing of children's centres and local institutions. She was elected to represent Bedford Ward on Wandsworth London Borough Council in 2014, alongside Rosena Allin-Khan, and re-elected in 2018.[10][11] Anderson was the Labour Spokesperson for Community Services and the Environment from 2015 to 2018 and the Deputy Leader of Wandsworth Labour Group from 2016 to 2018. She resigned from the Council in April 2021.[12]

She co-founded Wandsworth Welcomes Refugees and was the Head of Community Services for the Katherine Low Settlement, a community centre in Battersea from 2016 to 2020. Locally, she campaigned for the 20 mph speed limit, against the closure of children's centres, and against cutting the Autism Advisory Service.[13] Anderson supported a second Brexit referendum, which she said was "the route to bringing the country back together."[14]

Anderson was elected MP for Putney on 12 December 2019, succeeding retiring MP Justine Greening, who had been elected as a Conservative. In a national election in which Labour won its fewest House seats since 1935, Putney was the only constituency Labour gained.[15] She made her maiden speech on 9 January 2020.[16] She backed Keir Starmer and Rosena Allin-Khan in the 2020 Labour leadership and deputy leadership elections, respectively.

On 7 January 2021, Anderson was promoted from Parliamentary Private Secretary to Preet Gill as Shadow Secretary of State for International Development to replace Helen Hayes as a Shadow Minister for the Cabinet under Rachel Reeves due to Hayes resigning over Labour's support for the European Union (Future Relationship) Act 2020.[17] In December 2021, she was promoted within the shadow Cabinet Office team to serve as Shadow Paymaster General,[18] a position she held until the 2023 British shadow cabinet reshuffle.

In the September 2023 shadow cabinet reshuffle, leader Keir Starmer appointed her to be Shadow Minister for Northern Ireland.[19]

References

  1. ↑ "Bedford ward results 2018". Wandsworth Borough Council.
  2. ↑ "Table K part 2". www.kittybrewster.com. Archived from the original on 15 June 2006.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. ↑ "Putney". BBC News. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  4. ↑ Brunskill, Ian (19 March 2020). The Times guide to the House of Commons 2019 : the definitive record of Britain's historic 2019 General Election. p. 305. ISBN 978-0-00-839258-1. OCLC 1129682574.
  5. ↑ Bond, Daniel (16 December 2019). "Class of 2019: Meet the new MPs". Politics Home: The House. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  6. ↑ "YUSU Presidents: past and present". YU Magazine. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  7. ↑ "International success story". The Guardian. 30 January 2013. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  8. ↑ "Fleur Anderson for Putney". Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  9. ↑ "Fleur Anderson". Linkedin. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  10. ↑ "Bedford ward results 2014". Wandsworth Borough Council. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  11. ↑ "Bedford ward results 2018". Wandsworth.gov.uk. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  12. ↑ "Putney MP stands down as local councillor". 9 April 2021.
  13. ↑ Bayley, Sian (12 December 2019). "Putney General Election Results 2019". My London. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  14. ↑ Henden, Amalie (13 December 2019). "Putney result: Who is Fleur Anderson, the new Putney MP? Latest election result". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  15. ↑ Wandsworth Council (14 November 2019). "Statement of Persons Nominated – Putney Constituency" (PDF).
  16. ↑ "Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, for...: 9 Jan 2020: House of Commons debates". TheyWorkForYou. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  17. ↑ Rodgers, Sienna. "New roles for Dromey, Anderson, Rodda and Tarry in Labour reshuffle". LabourList. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  18. ↑ Dunne, John (16 December 2021). "Police want to interview two people over Shaun Bailey's Tory HQ party". www.standard.co.uk. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
  19. ↑ Belger, Tom (5 September 2023). "Labour reshuffle: Starmer unveils six new shadow ministers of state". LabourList. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
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