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Fiona Twycross, Baroness Twycross

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The Right Honourable
The Baroness Twycross
Official portrait, 2023
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Gambling
Incumbent
Assumed office
23 July 2024
Prime MinisterKeir Starmer
Preceded byStuart Andrew
Baroness-in-Waiting
Government Whip
Incumbent
Assumed office
11 July 2024
Prime MinisterKeir Starmer
Deputy Mayor for Fire and Resilience
In office
1 April 2018 – 10 May 2024
MayorSadiq Khan
Preceded byOffice created
Succeeded byJules Pipe
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
Incumbent
Assumed office
7 November 2022
Life Peerage
Member of the London Assembly
as the 6th Additional Member
In office
6 May 2016 – 22 March 2020
Preceded byMurad Qureshi
Succeeded byMurad Qureshi
Member of the London Assembly
as the 8th Additional Member
In office
3 May 2012 – 6 May 2016
Preceded byCaroline Pidgeon
Succeeded byTom Copley
Personal details
Political partyLabour
Alma materUniversity of Edinburgh

Fiona Ruth Twycross, Baroness Twycross (born 29 May 1969) is a Labour Party politician. She was born in South London before moving to Oxford. She studied at Cheney School in Oxford before going on to study Scandinavian Studies at the University of Edinburgh and has a PhD in contemporary Scandinavian literature. She subsequently studied Public Policy and Management at Birkbeck, University of London.[1] She has been Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Gambling and a Baroness-in-Waiting since July 2024.[2]

Career

[edit]

Prior to her election as a member of the London Assembly, Twycross worked for Diabetes UK as Head of Governance, having previously worked as the charity's Head of Campaigns and Volunteer Development. She has also worked for the Labour Party as Regional Director in Yorkshire and the Humber and the North East, and was Agent for the Sedgefield by-election, in which Phil Wilson succeeded Tony Blair after Blair's resignation from parliament.

Twycross was placed third on Labour's Assembly list for the 2012 London Assembly election[3] and was elected as a Londonwide Assembly Member in May 2012.[4] She was re-elected as a Londonwide member in 2016.[5] Twycross most recently sat on the Assembly's Education Panel,[6] and the Economy Committee.[7] Twycross was a member of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA) from 2012 until its abolition in 2018. She served as Labour Group Leader on the Authority from July 2013,[8] and as Chair from 2016 until LFEPA's 2018 abolition[7] and her appointment as Sadiq Khan's Deputy Mayor for Fire and Resilience.[9]

In February 2019, Twycross announced that she did not intend to seek re-election to the Assembly at the 2020 London Assembly election,[10] in order to concentrate on her Deputy Mayoral role. Following the extension of the Assembly's term to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic,[11] Twycross resigned as a member of the Assembly and was replaced by the next member on Labour's 2016 Londonwide list, former Assembly Member Murad Qureshi.[12]

As well as the Labour Party, Twycross is also a member of the Co-operative Party, the Fabian Society and the Socialist Health Association.

It was announced on 14 October 2022 that as part of the 2022 Special Honours, Twycross would receive a life peerage.[13] On 7 November 2022, she was created Baroness Twycross, of Headington in the City of Oxford.[14]

On 10 May 2024,[15] Twycross stepped down from her role as Deputy Mayor to spend more time on her roles in the House of Lords. She was then appointed a Baroness in Waiting (Government Whip) on 11 July 2024 and a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on 23 July 2024.[16]

Campaigns and activities

[edit]

Twycross has led a number of campaigns since being elected to the assembly, notably leading a London Assembly investigation into the rise in food poverty in London which called for London to be a Zero Hunger City.[17] Boris Johnson subsequently adopted the goal as part of his 2020 vision, making London one of just two cities worldwide to sign up to the United Nations' Zero Hunger Challenge.[18]

Twycross has led the Labour 999SOS campaign, fighting cuts to emergency services since its launch in October 2012.[19] In her former role as the London Assembly Labour Group's Economy spokesperson, Twycross challenged former Mayor of London Boris Johnson over low pay and poverty in London and over the use of zero hours contracts at City Hall.[20]

In September 2013, Twycross co-founded the Labour Campaign for Universal Free School Meals with the GMB Union and Richard Watts, Leader of Islington Council.[21]

In November 2018, London joined the 100 Resilient Cities project and Twycross was appointed to the role of City Hall's Chief Resilience Officer by Sadiq Khan.[22]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Fiona Twycross | » About Me". fionatwycross.org. Archived from the original on 18 January 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  2. ^ "Baroness Twycross". GOV.UK. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
  3. ^ "Labour announces London Assembly candidates | LabourList". labourlist.org. 13 July 2011. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  4. ^ "Meet The New London Assembly Members: Fiona Twycross | Londonist". londonist.com. 15 June 2012. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  5. ^ "Results 2016 | London Elects". londonelects.org.uk. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  6. ^ "Committee details - Education Panel | Greater London Authority". london.gov.uk. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  7. ^ a b "Dr Fiona Twycross - London City Hall | Greater London Authority". london.gov.uk. Retrieved 14 August 2019.[permanent dead link‍]
  8. ^ "London Fire Brigade – Member details – Dr Fiona Twycross AM". moderngov.london-fire.gov.uk. Retrieved 10 February 2014.[permanent dead link‍]
  9. ^ "Twycross is appointed as London's Deputy Mayor for Fire | Inside Croydon". insidecroydon.com. 8 February 2018. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  10. ^ "Twycross is fourth Labour Assembly Member to stand down | Inside Croydon". insidecroydon.com. 12 February 2019. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  11. ^ "Local elections postponed for a year over coronavirus". BBC News. 13 March 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  12. ^ "Labour's Alison Moore and Murad Qureshi join London Assembly | East London and West Essex Guardian Series". guardian-series.co.uk. 30 March 2020. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  13. ^ "Political Peerages 2022". GOV.UK. 14 October 2022. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  14. ^ "Baroness Twycross". MPs and Lords. UK Parliament. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  15. ^ "Mayor announces key senior appointments". Greater London Authority. 10 May 2024. Retrieved 2 August 2024. Baroness Fiona Twycross will be stepping down from her role as Deputy Mayor for Fire and Resilience to spend more time fulfilling her duties in the House of Lords.
  16. ^ "Baroness Twycross". GOV.UK. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  17. ^ "A Zero Hunger City – Tackling food poverty in London | Greater London Authority". london.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 6 October 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  18. ^ "Interactive timeline | Greater London Authority". london.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 1 April 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  19. ^ "Fiona Twycross | » 999 SOS". fionatwycross.org. Archived from the original on 18 January 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  20. ^ Butler, Sarah (12 December 2013). "Boris Johnson under fire over zero-hours contracts at City Hall | UK news | The Guardian". The Guardian. theguardian.com. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  21. ^ Murray, Janet; Campbell, Denis (9 September 2013). "Free school dinners all round, regardless of income | Education | The Guardian". The Guardian. theguardian.com. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  22. ^ "London joins world cities to prepare for economic and social challenge | London City Hall". london.gov.uk. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
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