The Baroness Taylor of Stevenage | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2023 | |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing and Local Government | |
| Assumed office 9 July 2024 | |
| Prime Minister | Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | The Baroness Swinburne |
| Baroness-in-Waiting Government Whip | |
| Assumed office 9 July 2024 | |
| Prime Minister | Keir Starmer |
| Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
| Assumed office 28 October 2022 Life peerage | |
| Leader ofStevenage Borough Council | |
| In office 23 May 2006 – 31 December 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Brian Hall |
| Succeeded by | Richard Henry |
| Member ofHertfordshire County Council for Bedwell | |
| In office 27 March 2008 – 10 July 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Tanis Kent |
| Member of Stevenage Borough Council forSymonds Green | |
| In office 1 May 1997 – 2 May 2024 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Sharon Jane Severn (1956-01-19)19 January 1956 (age 69) Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England |
| Political party | Labour |
| Children | 3 |
Sharon Jane Taylor, Baroness Taylor of Stevenage,OBE (née Severn; born 19 January 1956), is a British politician andlife peer who has served as aParliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing and Local Government and aBaroness-in-Waiting since July 2024.[1][2] She was a member ofStevenage Borough Council inHertfordshire from 1997 to 2024, and served as the leader of the council from 2006 to 2022.
Taylor was born inWelwyn Garden City on 19 January 1956 to David Severn and Joan Adele Severn (née Burkitt). She attended the Girls Grammar School inStevenage andHatfield Polytechnic, from which she graduated with aBachelor of Arts honours degree.[3]
In 1997, Taylor became a local councillor for theLabour Party, representing her home area ofSymonds Green.[4] She was leader of the council from 2006 to 2022.[3][5] Before this, she was Head of Executive Support atHertfordshire Constabulary.[6] Before that, she worked forJohn Lewis andBritish Aerospace.[7]
In 2008, Taylor became a county councillor forHertfordshire County Council. At the2010,2015 and2017 general elections, she unsuccessfully contested the constituency ofStevenage. She was appointedOfficer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to local government in the2013 New Year Honours.[8][9]
In October 2022, it was announced that she would receive alife peerage, sitting in theHouse of Lords for theLabour Party.[10][8] On 28 October 2022, she was createdBaroness Taylor of Stevenage, of Stevenage in the County of Hertfordshire.[11][12] She wasintroduced to the Lords on 31 October 2022.[13]
In February 2023, she accepted the role of patron of the Stevenage Community Trust. Taylor has been a supporter since the trust's inception in 1990.[14]
Taylor is divorced and has three children: a son and two daughters.[7][3]
