Marie Tidball | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2024 | |
| Member of Parliament forPenistone and Stocksbridge | |
| Assumed office 4 July 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Miriam Cates |
| Majority | 8,739 (19.9%) |
| Personal details | |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Labour |
| Education | Penistone Grammar School |
| Alma mater | Wadham College, Oxford |
| Profession | Politician |
| Website | https://www.marietidball.com/ |
Marie Tidball is a BritishLabour politician and disability rights campaigner, who has been theMember of Parliament forPenistone and Stocksbridge since2024.
Marie Tidball was born with a congenital disability which affects all four limbs, with foreshortened arms and legs and a digit on each underdeveloped hand.[1][2] As a child she missed three years of school because of the surgery needed.[3]
She grew up inPenistone andStocksbridge, and was educated atPenistone Grammar School, by then a non-selective state school. Her mother was a nursery head and her father was a teacher and Labour county councillor, who helped foundBarnsley College.[1]
Tidball studied Law atWadham College, Oxford, followed by a journalism internship atChannel 4 News.[4] She returned to Oxford to do aMaster of Science (MSc) degree in criminology and criminal justice. Her MSc dissertation was titledMad, Bad or Disabled?. She then worked as policy and legal officer for Autism West Midlands in Birmingham.[4]
She was a founding director and coordinator of theOxford University disability law and policy project.[5] She was awarded aDoctor of Philosophy (DPhil) degree in 2017: herdoctoral thesis was titled "The governance of adult defendants with autism through English criminal justice policy and criminal court practice" and herdoctoral supervisor was Carolyn Hoyle.[6]
Tidball has been called one of the country's leadingdisability rights campaigners by theBarnsley Chronicle.[7] From 2016 to 2022 she was aLabour Councillor forOxford City Council.[3][8] In the2017 election she stood for parliament in theOxford West and Abingdon constituency, finishing third.[3][9]
In June 2022, Tidball was selected to stand as the Labour candidate for the2024 election, with the backing of multiple trade unions, as well asDan Jarvis,Stephanie Peacock andDavid Blunkett.[10] In July 2024, she was elected as theMember of Parliament (MP) forPenistone and Stocksbridge.[11][12]
In September 2024, Tidball unsuccessfully stood for election as Chair of theEducation Select Committee.[13][14]
Tidball supportedKim Leadbeater's bill introducingassisted suicide into law and served on the committee examining the legislation.[15]
She has a daughter,[16] and has lobbied for better maternity care and assistance for disabled mothers.[17]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forPenistone and Stocksbridge 2024–present | Incumbent |