Joan Ruddock

Biography:

Joan Ruddock was re-elected MP for Lewisham, Deptford in May 2010 with a majority of 12,499.

Joan Ruddock has been the Labour MP for Lewisham, Deptford since 1987. She attended Pontypool Grammar School for Girls in Wales, and later went on to study Botany and Chemistry at Imperial College, London.

In 1997 she was appointed the first full-time Minister for Women in the new Labour Government. In opposition she was a frontbench spokesperson on both Transport and Environmental Protection. As Shadow Transport Minister from 1989 to 1992, she “greened” Labour’s road policy and wrote the first comprehensive transport strategy for London.

In her subsequent portfolio she led for Labour in all stages of the Environment Act 1995 and forged close links throughout the country with the major green organisations.

Joan piloted a Private Members Bill on Flytipping through Parliament, which became the Control of Pollution (Amendment) Act in 1989.

After the 2001 election she sat on two Select Committees – the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Select Committee and the Modernisation Select Committee. In 2005 she joined the International Development Select Committee until her appointment as DEFRA Minister with responsibility for Climate Change, Biodiversity and Waste when Gordon Brown became Prime Minister.

Prior to her appointment as a minister she held a number of positions including Vice-Chair of GLOBE UK and the All-Party sustainable development group. She remains a Vice-President of SERA, the Socialist Environment and Resources Association.

She was a Vice-President of the Family Planning Association (fpa) and Vice Chair of the Parliamentary Labour Party’s Women’s Group. Joan was also a member of the All Party Sex Equality group and Vice-Chair of the Associate Parliamentary Group on Equalities. Joan also chaired the All Party Compassion in Dying Group.

She was Vice-Chair of the All Party group for the future of Afghanistan and worked with a number of Afghan groups. After September 11th she set up the UK Women’s Link with Afghan Women. Her interest in development issues extended to Zambia where she was twinned with a female MP under a British Council sponsored programme.

Constituency: Lewisham, Deptford

Date of Birth: 28 December 1943

Party: Labour

Personal Website: http://www.joanruddock.org/