The Baroness Bray of Coln | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2025 | |
| Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
| Assumed office 8 November 2022 Life Peerage | |
| Member of Parliament forEaling Central and Acton | |
| In office 6 May 2010 – 30 March 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency Created |
| Succeeded by | Rupa Huq |
| Leader of the Conservative Party in theLondon Assembly | |
| In office 2006–2007 | |
| Preceded by | Bob Neill[1] |
| Succeeded by | Richard Barnes |
| Member of theLondon Assembly forWest Central | |
| In office 4 May 2000 – 1 May 2008 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency Created |
| Succeeded by | Kit Malthouse |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1953-10-13)13 October 1953 (age 71)[2] Croydon,Surrey,England |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Alma mater | University of St Andrews |
Angela Lavinia Bray, Baroness Bray of Coln[3] (born 13 October 1953) is a BritishConservative Party politician who was the Member of theLondon Assembly for West Central from 2000 to 2008, andMember of Parliament (MP) forEaling Central and Acton from2010 to2015.
Bray was born inCroydon to Benedict Eustace Charles Tevery Bray and Patricia Measures who were residents of the Isle of Man. She was privately educated atDowne House School,Thatcham, and later attended theUniversity of St Andrews, where she studiedmedieval history.
In 1979 she joined theBritish Forces Broadcasting Service inGibraltar; a year later she joinedLBC Radio as a presenter, producer and reporter.
She was employed as head of broadcasting atConservative Central Office from 1989. She was a press officer forJohn Major's1990 leadership campaign. During the1992 general election campaign she served as press secretary toChris Patten, theChairman of the Conservative Party. She assisted the party's press office again in the2005 election campaign, after which she worked as apublic affairs consultant.
Bray unsuccessfully contestedEast Ham at the1997 general election, finishing second behindStephen Timms. She was a member of theLondon Assembly forWest Central London from 2000 until she stood down in 2008, acting asConservative leader in the Assembly from 2006.[4]
She was placed on the 'A-List' of Conservative Party candidates for the2010 general election.[5] She was elected in theconstituency ofEaling Central and Acton defeating Labour candidateBassam Mahfouz with a majority of 3,716 votes.[6] She made hermaiden speech in theHouse of Commons on 27 May 2010 during a debate on Energy and Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.[7]
Following Bray's election to Parliament, she was appointedParliamentary private secretary to theCabinet Office Minister,Francis Maude.[8] She was sacked as Parliamentary Private Secretary in July 2012, after she voted against acoalition government Bill on reforming the House of Lords.[9]
She lost her seat in the2015 general election.
It was announced on 14 October 2022, that as part ofBoris Johnson's2022 Political Honours, Bray would be appointed a life peer.[10] On 8 November 2022, she was createdBaroness Bray of Coln,of Coln Saint Aldwyns in the County of Gloucestershire.[11][12] She made her maiden speech in thehouse of Lords on 6 February 2023 during the debate on theRetained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill.[13]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| New constituency | Member of Parliament forEaling Central and Acton 2010–2015 | Succeeded by |
