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Phyllis Starkey

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Dr
Phyllis Starkey
Member of Parliament
forMilton Keynes South West
In office
1 May 1997 – 12 April 2010
Preceded byBarry Legg
Succeeded byIain Stewart
Personal details
Born(1947-01-04)4 January 1947(age 77)
Ipswich,England,UK
Political partyLabour
SpouseHugh Walton Starkey
Children2 daughters
Alma materLady Margaret Hall, Oxford
Clare Hall, Cambridge

Phyllis Margaret Starkey(néeWilliams;born 4 January 1947) is a BritishLabour partypolitician, who was theMember of Parliament(MP) forMilton Keynes South Westfrom1997to2010.She had previously served as Leader ofOxford City Council.

Early life

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She was the daughter of Dr John Williams, a food chemist, and Catherine Hooson Williams. She attended the independentPerse School for GirlsinCambridgethen read for aBachelor of Artsdegree inBiochemistryatLady Margaret Hall, Oxford,graduating in 1970.[1]In 1974, as a graduate student ofClare Hall, Cambridge,she was awarded the degree ofDoctor of Philosophyby theUniversity of Cambridge.

Early career

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Before she entered Parliament, Starkey's career was in biomedical research. Her early work withAlan Barrettat theUniversity of Cambridgewas in the field ofbiochemistry,and included formulating the trap hypothesis ofpeptidaseinhibition.[2]From 1974 to 1981, she was at theStrangeways Laboratory[3]in Cambridge. She later headed a group at theUniversity of Oxfordresearching problems ofpregnancy.[4]She was at theSir William Dunn School of Pathologyin Oxford from 1981 to 1984. She lectured inObstetricsat the University of Oxford and was a fellow ofSomerville College, Oxford,from 1984 to 1993.

Subsequently, she worked as an expert in science and technology policy and bioethics for theBiotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Councilfrom 1993 to 1997. From 1997 to 1998 she was a fellow ofSt Antony's College, Oxford.

Starkey joined theLabour Partyin 1974 and became acouncilloronOxford City Councilin 1983.[5]She held various positions on the council, including that of Leader of the council (1990–93) and Chair of the Finance Committee (1988–90 and 1993–96).

Parliamentary career

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Starkey was selected to stand for election for Labour through anall-women shortlist.[6]As a female entrant to Parliament after the1997 general election,Starkey was part of the intake dubbed'The Blair Babes'by the UK media following aphotoshootby the Labour Party to show off how many women MPs were in the new government. Her Parliamentary voting record showed she was a staunch supporter of the legislation introduced by the Labour governments, including the occasional contentious issues within her party. Such were herBlairitecredentials thatKen Livingstone,Labour'sMayor of London,dubbed her "PhyllisStasi"[7][8]

On the backbenches (1997–2001)

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Starkey was a Member of theSelect Committee on the Modernisation of the House of Commonsbetween 1997 and 1999,[4]during which time significant changes to parliamentary procedures were introduced, including the establishment of theWestminster Halldebating chamber and the beginning of alterations to sitting hours of Parliament to make them more 'family friendly'.[9]

In 1998 Starkey highlighted the need for a national register for door supervisors (bouncers) to protect young people's safety while clubbing, and introduced aPrivate Members Billto Parliament to establish one.[10]Whilst her Bill did not succeed, the Government was persuaded of the need for a register, and it was incorporated into the Private Security Industry Act 2001 which led to the formation of theSecurity Industry Authorityin 2003.

Between 1999 and 2001, Starkey was a member of theForeign Affairs Select Committee.

Parliamentary Private Secretary (2001–2005)

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After the2001 general electionStarkey was subsequently appointedParliamentary Private Secretary(PPS) to juniorForeign OfficeMinistersDenis MacShaneandBen Bradshawand from May–October 2002 was PPS to Denis MacShane andMike O'Brien.In November 2002 she transferred to become PPS to Denis MacShane in his new role asMinister of State for Europe.

Select committee chair (2005–2010)

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After thegeneral election in May 2005,Starkey was appointed chair of the Committee on theOffice of the Deputy Prime Minister.Following the reorganisation of Government Departments announced on 5 May 2006, the committee was renamed theCommunities and Local Government Select Committee,though its role and the majority of its remit remained the same.[11]

In 2006, there were some notable examples of Starkey becoming increasingly critical of the Prime Minister Tony Blair. In March she used a tough line of questioning duringPMQsregarding the tensions between Israel and the Palestinian Authority,[12]and in July during aLiaison Committeesession with the PM she raised concerns in relation to the Government's work on education and employment for the Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities of Britain.[13]

In 2007 Starkey along withJeffrey Donaldson MPcalled for an investigation into the private security and military services firmArmorGroup,who held contracts with the British Government for police training in Iraq and Afghanistan.[14]She has also pressed the Government to regulatenail barsand for a ban on a potentially harmful chemicalglueused in some outlets to affixfake nails.[15]

Starkey took a close interest in the political situation in the Middle East in her last Parliament, and travelled to both Palestine and Lebanon. Her outspoken opinion on the Israeli incursion into Lebanon in 2006 was firmly at odds with the Labour leadership.[16]In apop quizof MPs involved in Middle East issues run byThe Sunday Timesnewspaper in 2007, Starkey was commended along withConservativeMPAndrew Rosindellfor getting the highest score, with all but one answer correct.[17]

Starkey was comparatively untroubled byThe Daily Telegraph's investigation of theMPs' expenses scandalin 2009,[18]though she was one of the MPs to have travelled abroad as a guest of theBritish Council,a taxpayer-funded organisation, which became the subject of controversy when theSpeakerMichael Martinwithheld information relating to the declaration of the hospitality provided.[19]Starkey said she could not remember if she had spoken to the Registrar about her trip, but was of the opinion she did not have to declare a trip that was effectively paid for by the Government and the taxpayer; a position endorsed by the Commons Registrar of Members' Interests.[19]

Defeat

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At the 2010 general election, Starkey ran in the redrawn seat ofMilton Keynes Southbut lost to Conservative candidateIain Stewart,whom she had previously defeated in 2001 and 2005.

Personal life

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She married Hugh Walton Starkey on 6 September 1969. They have two daughters.[20]

References

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  1. ^"LMH, Oxford – Prominent Alumni".Retrieved22 May2015.
  2. ^Salvesen GS, Murphy G, Nagase H. The trap hypothesis: α2M and protease inhibitionThe Biochemist(June 2006) 46–48(accessed 2 October 2007)
  3. ^Strangeways LaboratoryArchived2 March 2010 at theWayback Machine,University of Cambridge,UK.
  4. ^abPhyllis Starkey, MP for Milton Keynes South West: About Phyllis(accessed 30 December 2007)
  5. ^Phyllis Starkey, BBC Election 1997 candidate pageArchived29 October 2004 at theWayback Machine(accessed 30 December 2007)
  6. ^"Seats with Labour candidates from all-female shortlists".The Independent.London. 9 January 1996.Archivedfrom the original on 26 May 2022.Retrieved22 May2010.
  7. ^The Public Whip – Voting Record: Phyllis Starkey MP.
  8. ^Russell, Ben (26 February 2004)."What became of Blair's Babes? Ben Russell charts the chequered careers of the class of 1997 – UK Politics, UK".The Independent.London. Archived fromthe originalon 28 October 2009.Retrieved19 April2015.
  9. ^Modernisation CommitteeSelect Committee on Modernisation of the House of Commons First Report, Appendix 12 December 1998 (accessed 30 December 2007).
  10. ^Hansard, 28 January 1998Hansard – Door Supervisors (Registration)28 January 1998 (accessed 30 December 2007).
  11. ^ODPM Committee NoteArchived21 November 2006 at theWayback MachineThe ODPM Select Committee and the Department for Communities and Local Government22 May 2006 (accessed 30 December 2007).
  12. ^Hansard, 15 March 2006Hansard – Questions to the Prime Minister15 March 2006 (accessed 30 December 2007).
  13. ^Liaison Committee – Minutes of EvidenceArchived6 October 2007 at theWayback MachineHouse of Commons Liaison Committee4 July 2006 (accessed 30 June 2007).
  14. ^Guardian NewspaperIraq cover-up claims: MPs call for inquiry24 December 2007 (accessed 30 December 2007).
  15. ^BBC News WebsiteCall for UK ban on fake-nail glue30 December 2007 (accessed 30 December 2007).
  16. ^The Independent – Comment PagesArchived16 October 2007 at theWayback MachinePhyllis Starkey: I could support Blair on Iraq, but not over this2 August 2006 (accessed 30 December 2007).
  17. ^Sunday Times[dead link]MPs don’t know their Sunnis from Shi’ites7 January 2007 (accessed 30 December 2007).
  18. ^"MPs' expenses: Full list of MPs investigated by The Telegraph".The Daily Telegraph.London. 8 May 2009.Retrieved8 July2009.
  19. ^abHastings, Chris (7 February 2009)."Speaker Michael Martin in secrecy row over British Council trips".The Daily Telegraph.London. Archived fromthe originalon 11 February 2009.Retrieved30 June2009.
  20. ^"BBC NEWS – VOTE 2001 – CANDIDATES".BBC News.
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News items

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Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of ParliamentforMilton Keynes South West
1997–2010 		Constituency abolished
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