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Mary Macleod

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For other people named Mary MacLeod, see Mary MacLeod (disambiguation).

Mary Macleod
Member of Parliament
for Brentford and Isleworth
In office
6 May 2010 – 30 March 2015
Preceded byAnn Keen
Succeeded byRuth Cadbury
Personal details
Born (1969-01-04) 4 January 1969 (age 55)[1][2]
London, England
Political partyConservative
ResidenceChiswick
Alma materUniversity of Glasgow
OccupationChief Executive of Business in the Community
ProfessionPolitician
WebsiteMaryMacleod.org.uk

Mary Macleod (born 4 January 1969) is a British Conservative Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Brentford and Isleworth from the 2010 general election until the 2015 general election, when she was defeated by Ruth Cadbury of the Labour Party. After a career in business consulting, Macleod was a policy advisor to Queen Elizabeth II.[3][4]

Early life

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Born in London to Scottish parents, she has lived for many years in Chiswick and continues to reside there.[3] She graduated from the University of Glasgow[4] with a degree in Ancient Greek, together with Business Studies.[5]

Career

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On graduation, she joined Andersen Consulting and then Accenture, as a business consultant.[3][4] She was Chief of Staff and Chief Operating Officer for Group Operations at ABN AMRO, and then Group Communications Head of Transition at Royal Bank of Scotland.[3][4]

Before her election, she was an ambassador for ActionAid, a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and served as a policy advisor to The Queen and the Royal Household at Buckingham Palace, advising on public relations, communications and "strategic change within the monarchy."[3][4] On 1 January 2023, Macleod became the Chief Executive of Business in the Community.[6]

Political career

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Having unsuccessfully contested Ross, Skye and Inverness West at the 1997 general election, Macleod was elected as the Member of Parliament for the marginal seat of Brentford & Isleworth on 7 May 2010.[3][4]

From May 2010, she served on the Home Affairs Select Committee. In September that year, she was appointed as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Rt Hon. Nick Herbert MP, Minister of State for Policing and Criminal Justice. She set up the All Party Parliamentary Group for Women in Parliament, and joined the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme as a Squadron Leader in the Royal Air Force. In September 2013, Macleod was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the new Culture Secretary, Maria Miller.[3][4]

She was the primary supporter in the House of Commons for the Equality (Titles) Bill, dubbed the "Downton Abbey Law", which seeks to abolish male-only primogeniture in the Peerages. The Bill was ultimately unsuccessful.

In April 2014, Macleod accused the media of a "witch hunt" against her boss, Maria Miller, who was the subject of criticism for over-claiming expenses and failing to cooperate with the enquiry.[7] However, the next day Miller resigned.[8]

In July that year, she said there was a "bullying culture" in the House of Commons, and the behaviour of many male MPs was "off-putting to most women".[9] Speaking in advance of the publishing of a report into female representation in Parliament, she suggested that reprimands from the Speaker for misbehaving MPs were "counter-effective", with some of them enjoying the attention.

Macleod was defeated in the 2015 general election by Ruth Cadbury of Labour by less than 500 votes. After the election, Macleod was appointed to a position advising the Secretary of State for Scotland, David Mundell.[10]

In the snap 2017 general election, Macleod ran again as the Conservative candidate for Brentford and Isleworth, but lost by more than 12,000 votes, 20% of the vote.

References

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  1. ^ "MacLeod Consulting Group Limited". Dellam Corporate Information. 21 March 2011. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
  2. ^ "Register of Members' Financial Interests as at 6th September 2010: Part 1: MacLeod, Mary (Brentford and Isleworth)". House of Commons. 20 October 2010. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Biography". Mary MacLeod MP. Archived from the original on 8 November 2018. Retrieved 7 February 2013.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g "Mary MacLeod ?MP". Brentford and Isleworth Conservatives. Archived from the original on 16 April 2013. Retrieved 7 February 2013.
  5. ^ "Westminster Parliamentary Record". Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  6. ^ Mary was appointed Chief Executive of Business in the Community October 2022
  7. ^ "Maria Miller aide condemns media 'witch-hunt'". BBC. 8 April 2014. Archived from the original on 25 July 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  8. ^ "Maria Miller quits as culture secretary after expenses row". BBC. 9 April 2014. Archived from the original on 27 November 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  9. ^ Sanghani, Radhika (14 July 2014). "Bullying MPs enjoy being 'named and shamed' in Parliament, says woman MP". Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 April 2015. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  10. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 17 December 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
[edit]
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Brentford and Isleworth
2010–2015 		Succeeded by
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