Wendy Chamberlain | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2024 | |
| Deputy Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats | |
| Assumed office 3 December 2021 | |
| Leader | Alex Cole-Hamilton |
| Preceded by | Alistair Carmichael |
| Member of Parliament forNorth East Fife | |
| Assumed office 12 December 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Stephen Gethins |
| Majority | 13,479 (31.5%) |
| Liberal Democrat portfolios | |
| 2020 | Northern Ireland |
| 2020 | International Development |
| 2020–2022 | Scotland |
| 2020–2022 | Wales |
| 2020–2024 | Work and Pensions |
| 2020–present | Chief Whip |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Wendy Anne Chamberlain (1976-12-20)20 December 1976 (age 48) Greenock, Scotland |
| Political party | Liberal Democrats |
| Residence(s) | Fife, Scotland |
| Alma mater | University of Edinburgh[1] |
| Website | www |
Wendy Anne Chamberlain (born 20 December 1976)[2] is a British politician who has been theMember of Parliament (MP) forNorth East Fife since2019.[3] She has served as Deputy Leader of theScottish Liberal Democrats since 2021.
Chamberlain is theChief Whip of the Liberal Democrats, the first woman to hold the post[4][circular reference]. She previously served as theLiberal Democrat Spokesperson for Work and Pensions to September 2024, theLiberal Democrat Spokesperson for Northern Ireland and International Development from January 2020 to September 2020, and as the Spokesperson for Scotland and Wales to July 2022. She sat on the Scottish Affairs Select Committee in the 2019 to 2024 parliament. She is currently the chair of the APPGs for Ending the Need for Food Banks,[5] Afghan Women and Girls,[6] Scotch Whisky,[7] and PANS PANDAS.
Wendy Chamberlain was born on 20 December 1976 inGreenock,[8] the older of two daughters.[9] She studied English at theUniversity of Edinburgh, and was a member of the Edinburgh University Footlights, a student-run musical-theatre group, and performed in a show with the group at theEdinburgh Festival Fringe.[9] The daughter of a police officer, after finishing university she joined the police force.[9] During her twelve years as a police officer, Chamberlain worked for theAssociation of Chief Police Officers in Scotland and theScottish Police College.[10]
After leaving the police, Chamberlain worked as a Communications Lecturer atFife College, before becoming a Training Manager for the Scottish Resettlement Centre, aMinistry of Defence contractor inRosyth,[11] and then a Capability Manager for Britishmultinationalalcoholic beverages company,Diageo. While working in the private sector, Chamberlain was a Member of theChartered Management Institute and an Associate Member of theChartered Institute of Personnel and Development.[12] In 2017, Chamberlain became a member of the board of theCamanachd Association, the worldgoverning body of the Scottish sport ofshinty, becoming the first female director of the Association.[13]
Chamberlain joined theLiberal Democrats after the2015 United Kingdom general election, which saw the party lose 49 of its 57 MPs. After standing in an "unwinnable" council seat (the ward of Rosyth inFife Council)[14] in the2017 Scottish local elections, Chamberlain was asked byScottish Liberal Democrat leaderWillie Rennie to consider putting herself forward to stand in the2017 general election.[15] Chamberlain stood as apaper candidate inStirling,[15] where she finished fourth with 3.4% of the vote behind theConservative Party'sStephen Kerr, theScottish National Party'sSteven Paterson, and theLabour Party candidate.[16]
Chamberlain was selected as the prospective Parliamentary candidate for the Liberal Democrat target seat ofNorth East Fife in June 2018,[17] and in March 2019 was appointed as the Scottish Liberal Democrats' spokesperson for Constitutional Relations by Willie Rennie.[18] Chamberlain was elected as MP forNorth East Fife at the2019 general election, overturning theScottish National Party's slim two-vote majority and winning with 43.1% of the vote and a majority of 1,316.[19][20][21]
Following the election, Chamberlain was appointed as a party spokesperson in three areas: Political and Constitutional Reform; Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland; and International Development.[22] In a wide-rangingmaiden speech, Chamberlain spoke about her constituency,gender equality, theEuropean Union, andelectoral reform, while also paying tribute to her predecessors.[23]
During the course of theCOVID-19 pandemic, Chamberlain expressed her belief that "civil liberties mustn't be curtailed more than necessary, and the powers mustn’t be used disproportionately against minority communities", and called for vigilance "to ensure that those [emergency] powers are used properly and evenhandedly".[24] Chamberlain wrote a letter calling for the resignation ofCatherine Calderwood, the thenChief Medical Officer for Scotland, following reports that Calderwood had failed to followcoronavirus guidelines by visiting her second home, which was located in Chamberlain's constituency.[25] In April 2020, following the decision to limit the number ofMPs in theHouse of Commons,[26] Chamberlain led a group of opposition MPs (fromPlaid Cymru, theSocial Democratic and Labour Party, theAlliance Party of Northern Ireland and theGreen Party of England and Wales) in calling for the establishment of a COVID-19select committee. Chamberlain stated that the creation of such a committee was "the only way to guarantee smaller parties from across the political spectrum the opportunity to scrutinise and ask questions of Ministers at this critical time".[27] She sponsored the introduction of the Carer's Leave Bill in the House of Commons in 2022.[28]
Chamberlain was one of three Liberal Democrat MPs (alongsideJamie Stone andWera Hobhouse) to endorseLayla Moran in her ultimately unsuccessful campaign to becomeleader of the party.[29]
At the2024 general election, Chamberlain was re-elected to Parliament as MP for North East Fife with an increased vote share of 54.7% and an increased majority of 13,479.[30]
Originally fromGreenock, Chamberlain has lived inFife since 2003.[8] She is married, and has two children with her husband,[31] Keith, who is a member of the Scottish National Party.[9] Chamberlain has stated that her father encouraged her to get involved in politics.[32]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forNorth East Fife 2019–present | Incumbent |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Liberal Democrat Chief Whip of theHouse of Commons 2020–present | Incumbent |
