Anne McGuire

The Right Honourable Dame Anne McGuire DBE
Shadow Minister for Disabled People
In office 8 October 2011 – 8 May 2015
Leader	Ed Miliband
Preceded by	Margaret Curran
Succeeded by	Ian Mearns
Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition
In office 10 October 2010 – 8 October 2011 Serving with Chuka Umunna (2010-11) Michael Dugher (2011)
Leader	Ed Miliband
Preceded by	Desmond Swayne
Succeeded by	John Denham
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for (Disabled People) Work and Pensions
In office 17 June 2005 – 5 October 2008
Prime Minister	Tony Blair Gordon Brown
Preceded by	Maria Eagle
Succeeded by	Jonathan Shaw
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Department for Work and Pensions
In office 17 May 2005 – 17 June 2005
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State to the Scotland Office
In office 13 June 2003 – 17 May 2005
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Parliamentary Secretary to the Scotland Office
In office 29 May 2002 – 13 June 2003
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Lords Commissioners to the Treasury (Government Whip)
In office 12 June 2001 – 29 May 2002
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Assistant Whip at the Treasury
In office 28 July 1998 – 12 June 2001
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Member of Parliament for Stirling
In office 1 May 1997 – 30 March 2015
Preceded by	Michael Forsyth
Succeeded by	Steven Paterson
Majority	8,354 (17.9%)
Personal details
Born	(1949-05-26) 26 May 1949 Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland
Nationality	British
Political party	Labour
Spouse(s)	Len McGuire
Children	Sarah McGuire, Paul McGuire
Alma mater	University of Glasgow
Religion	Roman Catholic
Website	http://www.annemcguiremp.org.uk/

Dame Anne Catherine McGuire DBE (born 26 May 1949) is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Stirling from 1997 to 2015, and served as a minister under successive Labour governments.

Early life

Born in Glasgow as Anne Catherine Long, she was educated at the city's Our Lady and St Francis Secondary School (became part of St Mungo's Academy in 1988) on Charlotte Street and the University of Glasgow where she was awarded a MA in politics with history.^[1] She went on to study for teacher training at the Notre Dame College of Education (merged with Craiglockhart College in 1981 to become the St Andrew's College of Education, then became part of the Faculty of Education of the University of Glasgow in 1999) in Bearsden, gaining a Diploma in Secondary Education.

She worked in the University Court of the University of Glasgow as both a registrar and a secretary from 1971 to 1974. In 1983, she joined Community Service Volunteers (CSV), initially as a teacher, then as a fieldworker. She left the organisation in 1993 as its national officer. Upon leaving CSV, she became the Deputy Director of the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, where she remained until her election to the UK Parliament in 1997.

She was the parliamentary election agent for Norman Hogg at the 1979 general election at Dunbartonshire East, when he ousted the Scottish National Party's MP Margaret Bain (later Ewing). She remained as Hogg's election agent for the 1983, 1987 and 1992 elections in his new Cumbernauld and Kilsyth constituency. She was elected a councillor on Strathclyde Regional Council in 1980 and served for two years. She was a member of the Scottish Labour Party Executive from 1984 until 1997 and Chair of the Scottish Labour Party from 1992 to 1993. From 1987 until 1991, she was a member of the national executive of the GMB Union.

Parliamentary career

McGuire was selected to stand for election for Labour through an all-women shortlist.^[2][3] She was elected to the House of Commons at the 1997 general election when she ousted the then Secretary of State for Scotland Michael Forsyth by 6,411 votes. In the same year as her first election, she was rewarded by becoming the Parliamentary Private Secretary to Secretary of State for Scotland Donald Dewar. A year later, she was appointed an Assistant Whip's office, becoming a Lord Commissioner to the Treasury in 2001. She became a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland in 2002, moving sideways to the Department for Constitutional Affairs in 2003. She served in the Department for Work and Pensions with responsibility for disabilities from 2005 to 2008. In October 2008, she stood down from the government and it was announced she would be appointed to the Privy Council.

On 10 October 2010, McGuire was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to Leader of the Opposition Ed Miliband, despite having backed his brother in the leadership campaign.^[4] She later asked to step down for the role in order to be able to speak more freely, and became Labour's spokesperson on disabilities again before announcing her decision to stand down at the next election^[4]

She also served as a member of the Public Accounts Committee and as co-chair of the All-party group on Disability.

McGuire is a member of Labour Friends of Israel (LFI), becoming its chair in May 2013 and was described by LFI director Jennifer Gerber as "a true friend of Israel".^[5]

McGuire was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2015 New Year Honours.^[6][7]

McGuire was described by the Daily Telegraph as "the ultimate loyalist" for never having rebelled once in Parliament.^[4] She described votes over cutting benefits for single mothers as the closest she came to rebelling against the government and supporting the 2003 Iraq War most difficult decision she had to make.^[4]

Personal life

She has been married to her husband, Len, since 12 February 1972 and they have a son and a daughter and live in Cumbernauld.^[8] She is a keen linguist and speaks French and Gaelic. She enjoys Ceilidh dancing and is honorary vice-president of Glasgow University Shinty Club.^[9]

References

External links

• Anne McGuire official site
• DWP
• Guardian Unlimited Politics – Ask Aristotle: Anne McGuire MP
• TheyWorkForYou.com – Anne McGuire MP
• Labour MPs told to check expenses