Wera Hobhouse
|
Wera Hobhouse MP |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
|
Member of Parliament for Bath |
|
|
Assumed office 9 June 2017 |
|
| Preceded by | Ben Howlett |
| Majority | 5,694 (11.5%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
8 February 1960 Hanover, Germany |
| Political party |
Liberal Democrats (2005-present) Conservatives (before 2005) |
| Spouse(s) | William Hobhouse |
| Children | 4 |
| Website | twitter |
Wera Benedicta Hobhouse (born 8 February 1960) is a British Liberal Democrat politician. She is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bath, having been elected at the 2017 general election by a majority of 5,694.
Hobhouse was born in Hanover, Germany and came to Britain in 1990 having met and married her English husband, William Hobhouse. From 1990 they lived in Liverpool, moving to Rochdale in 1999. Prior to her political career, she was a teacher.
Hobhouse served as a councillor in Rochdale before moving to Bath. Her political career in Rochdale was defined by her opposition to the proposed development of 650 homes on the contaminated site of a former asbestos factory. She was first elected in 2004 as a Conservative councillor.
In 2004, she switched to the Liberal Democrats. She was criticised at the time for not triggering a by-election to seek a fresh mandate as a Liberal Democrat. In response, she cited the Spodden Valley asbestos controversy as the reason for her defection, saying "We are doing this because of our concerns and involvement in the safe development of the former Turner Brothers Asbestos site. This development will probably be the most important health issue for the people of Rochdale for the next 5 years. If it goes wrong, people will die. We are not prepared to keep quiet. We believe that the health and safety of the people of Rochdale comes before party loyalty." The development, which included a nursery, was finally blocked 7 years later in 2011.
After 2 successful elections as councillor for Norden Ward, Hobhouse became leader of the Liberal Democrat group in 2011 on Rochdale Council, after serving as the Cabinet Member for the Environment for three years. In 2011, Hobhouse publicly apologised to the council solicitor following a heated exchange at a council meeting concerning arts funding. The apology was accepted, with Hobhouse saying "If I believe something is in the public interest then no matter what the threat I will continue to speak on it."
...
Wikipedia