The Baroness Maddock | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2018 | |
| President of the Liberal Democrats | |
| In office 1 January 1999 – 31 December 2000 | |
| Preceded by | Robert Maclennan |
| Succeeded by | Navnit Dholakia |
| Member of theHouse of Lords Lord Temporal | |
| In office 30 October 1997 – 26 June 2020 Life peerage | |
| Member of Parliament forChristchurch | |
| In office 29 July 1993 – 8 April 1997 | |
| Preceded by | Robert Adley |
| Succeeded by | Christopher Chope |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Diana Margaret Derbyshire[1] (1945-05-19)19 May 1945 Croydon, Surrey, England |
| Died | 26 June 2020(2020-06-26) (aged 75) Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland, England |
| Political party | Liberal Democrat |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | Portsmouth University |
Diana Margaret Pearson Maddock, Baroness Maddock, Baroness Beith (néeDerbyshire; 19 May 1945 – 26 June 2020) was a BritishLiberal Democrat politician. She was elected asMember of Parliament (MP) forChristchurch in a1993 by-election but lost the seat at the subsequent1997 general election to ConservativeChristopher Chope. She re-entered Parliament as a life peer as Baroness Maddock, ofChristchurch in theCounty of Dorset, in 1997 where she remained until her death.
As of 2024, she and fellow Liberal Democrats, DameAnnette Brooke andVikki Slade, and Labour'sJessica Toale, are the only women to date who representedparliamentary constituencies in Dorset.
Diana Margaret Derbyshire was born inCroydon on 19 May 1945, to Margaret (Evans) and Reginald Derbyshire.[1][2] She spent her early years in Croydon andWantage, but after her parents divorced, she was raised by her mother inLymington, in Hampshire.[2] She was educated atBrockenhurst Grammar School, Shenstone Training College, and Portsmouth Polytechnic (now theUniversity of Portsmouth) and was a teacher of English as a foreign language.[2][3] She married Bob Maddock in 1966.[2] The couple lived in Sweden for a time, and she credited her time living there as an influence on her political beliefs[4] and went on to serve as President of theAnglo-Swedish Society from 1999 until her death.[5] They returned to England in 1972, and had two daughters.[2]
Maddock joined theLiberal Party in 1976, and was elected toSouthampton City Council in 1984.[2] Maddock was not particularly political in her early life. She highlights her initial involvement came when she was pregnant and approached by a canvasser who convinced her to join the Liberal Party having voted for them previously.[6] As she had stopped work, she had more time to be civically engaged which expanded to the point where she became involved with the Association of Liberal Councillors which promoted active engagement with community groups and she realised she enjoyed campaigning.[7] She became leader of the Liberal Democrat group on the council in 1986.[2] While on Southampton City Council Maddock's primary areas of interest were housing and energy conservation, and she continued her work in these areas throughout her political career.[2]
Maddock unsuccessfully contestedSouthampton Test atthe 1992 general election, coming third.[2] She was elected asMember of Parliament forChristchurch at aby-election in 1993 that was caused by the death ofRobert Adley, but lost the seat at the1997 election to theConservative candidateChristopher Chope.[2] During her time in parliament, she was the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for housing.[2]
She was created alife peer asBaroness Maddock,ofChristchurch in theCounty of Dorset on 30 October 1997.[8] From 1998 to 2000, she wasPresident of the Liberal Democrats.[9]
In 2005, she was elected a member ofNorthumberland County Council for Berwick North Division and in 2007 also toBerwick-upon-Tweed Borough Council for Edward Ward.[10][11]
Maddock did not re-stand for election to the County Council at the expiry of her term in 2008[12] and the Borough Council was abolished in 2009 and absorbed intoNorthumberland County Council.
Her marriage to Bob Maddock ended in divorce in 2000.[2] She married secondly, toAlan Beith, then-MP forBerwick-upon-Tweed, in 2001.[13][14] She and her husband were one of the few couples who each held peerages in their own right. She died from breast cancer on 26 June 2020, aged 75, at her home in Berwick-upon Tweed, Northumberland.[2][15][16]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forChristchurch 1993–1997 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | President of theLiberal Democrats 1998–2000 | Succeeded by |
