Lorna Fitzsimons | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament forRochdale | |
| In office 1 May 1997 – 11 April 2005 | |
| Preceded by | Liz Lynne |
| Succeeded by | Paul Rowen |
| 45thPresident of the National Union of Students | |
| In office 1992–1994 | |
| Preceded by | Stephen Twigg |
| Succeeded by | Jim Murphy |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1967-08-06)6 August 1967 (age 58) Littleborough,Lancashire, England |
| Political party | Labour |
| Alma mater | Loughborough College of Art and Design (BA) |
Lorna Fitzsimons (born 6 August 1967) is a British businesswoman and former politician. A member of theLabour Party, she served asMember of Parliament (MP) forRochdale from 1997 to 2005.
Fitzsimons was born on 6 August 1967 inLittleborough,Lancashire. She attended St James CE Primary School inWardle andWardle High School. She then studied at Rochdale College of Art and Design, followed byLoughborough College of Art and Design where she studied for aBA in Textile Design.
Fitzsimons was the President of theNational Union of Students (NUS) from 1992 to 1994, having previously held the position of NUS Vice-President (Education). She was a Director ofNUS Services from 1990 to 1994, and ofEndsleigh Insurance from 1992 to 1994.
In 1997, Fitzsimons was elected as the Member of Parliament forRochdale, a position she held until her defeat at the2005 election by theLiberal Democrat candidatePaul Rowen. She was one of the youngest MPs elected in 1997.
During her time in Parliament she held various positions, including Chair of theAPPG onKashmir and Secretary of the APPG onPakistan. She was the Chair of theParliamentary Labour Party Women's Committee, with 101 women MPs, from 1997 to 2001, and then Vice-Chair from 2001 to 2005. Fitzsimons was PPS toRobin Cook from 2001 until his resignation.
She was involved in working to modernise the procedures and practices of theHouse of Commons in her role as a member of both the Procedures and Modernisation Select Committees.
Fitzsimons runs her own company, Lorna Fitzsimons Consulting Ltd. She was CEO ofBritain Israel Communications and Research Centre from 2006 to 2012. Before entering Parliament in 1997, Fitzsimons worked at theSaatchi subsidiary Rowland Sallingbury Casey holding various positions including Associate Director. Her clients included BT, Manweb, P&G, UKAEA and Brown and Root.
Whilst at Rowland's Fitzsimons, won the first IPR Young Communicator of the year award in 1995. She was part of the two person team that ran the 'Soap Wars' campaign forProcter & Gamble. She has held many elected and appointed positions for national organisations, as well as being a member of governing bodies for such institutions asSheffield Hallam University.
Fitzsimons married Stephen Benedict Cooney on 8 April 2000 in Rochdale. She has a step-daughter and step-son, and a son (born in September 2002).
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forRochdale 1997–2005 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | President of the National Union of Students 1992–1994 | Succeeded by |