Angela Rumbold
Encyclopedia
Dame Angela Claire Rosemary Rumbold, DBE
(11 August 1932 – 19 June 2010) was a British
Conservative Party
Member of Parliament
(MP) until 1997.
, Cambridge, Notting Hill & Ealing High School
and King's College London
. She qualified as a Barrister
after earning her LLB, but never practised. She travelled across the US with her father, a physicist
who was Pro-Rector of the Imperial College until his death.
, by whom she had two sons and a daughter and, , seven grandchildren.
She returned to a working life after raising her children and worked as the Chief Executive for a charity
, The National Association for the Welfare of Children in Hospital. After that, and because she had become a local councillor
, she went to work at the Greater London Council
as a researcher, transferring across to work on the London
desk at Conservative Central Office.
She served on many national committees including the Doctors’ and Dentists’ Review Body and was Chairman of the Teachers’ Negotiating Committee until it was closed down by Act of Parliament
.
between 1974 and 1983.
In 1982 Bruce Douglas-Mann
, the MP for Mitcham and Morden, left the Labour Party
to join the Social Democratic Party
(SDP). He decided to resign as an MP and seek re-election under the SDP banner. The resulting by-election
was held during the Falklands War
and was won by Rumbold. She held the seat for the Conservatives in the landslide 1983 General Election and for a further 14 years thereafter, usually with modest majorities.
Angela Rumbold served as Parliamentary Private Secretary
to the Secretary of State for Transport
, Under Secretary
at the Department of Environment
, Minister of State
for Education and Deputy for the Secretary of State for Education, and Deputy for the Secretary of State at the Home Office
; in 1992 she became the Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party.
At the 1997 general election
she lost her seat to Labour's Siobhain McDonagh
on a swing significantly above the national average.
and Surbiton High School
in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames
, as well as Vice Chair of the Governing Body of Tolworth Girls’ School, a large comprehensive school
also in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames.
She was Chair of Governors of Wimbledon High School
and a Governor of More House Girls’ School in Knightsbridge
. She was Chair of the Court of Governors of Mill Hill School
for nine years and set up its Pre-prep School Grimsdells. She also chaired the Minerva Fund for replacement of bursaries in Girls' Day School Trust
schools after the closure of the Assisted Places Scheme
.
She was co-Chair of the Association of Governing Bodies of Independent Schools, and Chair of the Finance and General Purposes Committee of the Independent Schools Council
. She was a member of the Trust and Governing Council of the United Church Schools Trust
, and Chair of the United Learning Trust
.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(11 August 1932 – 19 June 2010) was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) until 1997.
Education
Born as Angela Claire Rosemary Jones, she was educated at the Perse School for GirlsPerse School for Girls
The Stephen Perse Foundation is an independent, fee-paying day school situated near the centre of Cambridge, England. The Foundation is made up of four schools: The Stephen Perse Pre-Prep School, for boys and girls aged 3-7, Perse Girls Junior School,for girls aged 7-11, Perse Girls Senior School,...
, Cambridge, Notting Hill & Ealing High School
Notting Hill & Ealing High School
Notting Hill and Ealing High School is an independent school for girls aged 4 - 18, located in West Ealing, a suburb of London. Founded in 1873 it is one of the 26 schools that make up the Girls' Day School Trust...
and King's College London
King's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
. She qualified as a Barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
after earning her LLB, but never practised. She travelled across the US with her father, a physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
who was Pro-Rector of the Imperial College until his death.
Marriage and early career
She married John Rumbold, a solicitorSolicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
, by whom she had two sons and a daughter and, , seven grandchildren.
She returned to a working life after raising her children and worked as the Chief Executive for a charity
Charitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
, The National Association for the Welfare of Children in Hospital. After that, and because she had become a local councillor
Councillor
A councillor or councilor is a member of a local government council, such as a city council.Often in the United States, the title is councilman or councilwoman.-United Kingdom:...
, she went to work at the Greater London Council
Greater London Council
The Greater London Council was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council which had covered a much smaller area...
as a researcher, transferring across to work on the London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
desk at Conservative Central Office.
She served on many national committees including the Doctors’ and Dentists’ Review Body and was Chairman of the Teachers’ Negotiating Committee until it was closed down by Act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
.
Politician
Rumbold served as a councillor in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon ThamesRoyal Borough of Kingston upon Thames
The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames is a borough in southwest London, England. The main town is Kingston upon Thames and it includes Surbiton, Chessington, New Malden and Tolworth. It is the oldest of the three Royal Boroughs in England, the others are Kensington and Chelsea, also in London,...
between 1974 and 1983.
In 1982 Bruce Douglas-Mann
Bruce Douglas-Mann
Bruce Leslie Home Douglas-Mann was a British politician.Bruce Douglas-Mann was born at Bexhill, Sussex, the son of a solicitor, Leslie John Douglas-Mann, MC....
, the MP for Mitcham and Morden, left the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
to join the Social Democratic Party
Social Democratic Party (UK)
The Social Democratic Party was a political party in the United Kingdom that was created on 26 March 1981 and existed until 1988. It was founded by four senior Labour Party 'moderates', dubbed the 'Gang of Four': Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rodgers and Shirley Williams...
(SDP). He decided to resign as an MP and seek re-election under the SDP banner. The resulting by-election
Mitcham and Morden by-election, 1982
-Overview:The British by-election was caused by the resignation of Bruce Douglas-Mann, the Member of Parliament for Mitcham and Morden. Douglas-Mann had retained the seat for the Labour Party since its creation for the February 1974 general election...
was held during the Falklands War
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
and was won by Rumbold. She held the seat for the Conservatives in the landslide 1983 General Election and for a further 14 years thereafter, usually with modest majorities.
Angela Rumbold served as Parliamentary Private Secretary
Parliamentary Private Secretary
A Parliamentary Private Secretary is a role given to a United Kingdom Member of Parliament by a senior minister in government or shadow minister to act as their contact for the House of Commons; this role is junior to that of Parliamentary Under-Secretary, which is a ministerial post, salaried by...
to the Secretary of State for Transport
Secretary of State for Transport
The Secretary of State for Transport is the member of the cabinet responsible for the British Department for Transport. The role has had a high turnover as new appointments are blamed for the failures of decades of their predecessors...
, Under Secretary
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
A Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State is the lowest of three tiers of government minister in the government of the United Kingdom, junior to both a Minister of State and a Secretary of State....
at the Department of Environment
Secretary of State for the Environment
The Secretary of State for the Environment was a UK cabinet position, responsible for the Department of the Environment . This was created by Edward Heath as a combination of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Public Building and Works on 15...
, Minister of State
Minister of State
Minister of State is a title borne by politicians or officials in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a "minister of state" is a junior minister, who is assigned to assist a specific cabinet minister...
for Education and Deputy for the Secretary of State for Education, and Deputy for the Secretary of State at the Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
; in 1992 she became the Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party.
At the 1997 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1997
The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...
she lost her seat to Labour's Siobhain McDonagh
Siobhain McDonagh
Siobhain Ann McDonagh is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Mitcham and Morden since 1997. She previously served as an Assistant Whip in the Labour Government, but was fired following comments regarding a leadership contest to replace PM Gordon Brown.She...
on a swing significantly above the national average.
School governor
After leaving the House of Commons in 1997 she returned to many of her voluntary activities. She was Chair of the Governing Body of both Danes Hill School in OxshottOxshott
Oxshott is a village in Surrey, England with a growing population of around 6,100. Neighbouring settlements include: Chessington, Claygate and Cobham. It is situated in fields and woodlands between Esher and Leatherhead on the A244, five minutes by car from both the A3 and the M25 London Orbital...
and Surbiton High School
Surbiton High School
Surbiton High School is a private school in Surbiton in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, Greater London, England. It was founded in 1884 by a group of Anglican clergymen who instituted the Church Schools Company...
in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames
Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames
The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames is a borough in southwest London, England. The main town is Kingston upon Thames and it includes Surbiton, Chessington, New Malden and Tolworth. It is the oldest of the three Royal Boroughs in England, the others are Kensington and Chelsea, also in London,...
, as well as Vice Chair of the Governing Body of Tolworth Girls’ School, a large comprehensive school
Comprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
also in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames.
She was Chair of Governors of Wimbledon High School
Wimbledon High School
.Wimbledon High School is an independent girls' school in Wimbledon, South West London. It is run by the Girls' Day School Trust and celebrated its 130th birthday on November 9 2010, having been founded by Edith Hastings in 1880. WHS educates girls between the ages of 4 and 18.The motto is "Ex...
and a Governor of More House Girls’ School in Knightsbridge
Knightsbridge
Knightsbridge is a road which gives its name to an exclusive district lying to the west of central London. The road runs along the south side of Hyde Park, west from Hyde Park Corner, spanning the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea...
. She was Chair of the Court of Governors of Mill Hill School
Mill Hill School
Mill Hill School, in Mill Hill, London, is a coeducational independent school for boarding and day pupils aged 13–18. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference, an organisation of public schools in the United Kingdom....
for nine years and set up its Pre-prep School Grimsdells. She also chaired the Minerva Fund for replacement of bursaries in Girls' Day School Trust
Girls' Day School Trust
The Girls' Day School Trust is a group of 26 independent schools - 24 schools and two Academies - in England and Wales, catering for pupils aged 3 to 18. It is the largest group of independent schools in the UK, and educates 20,000 girls each year...
schools after the closure of the Assisted Places Scheme
Assisted Places Scheme
The Assisted Places Scheme was established in the UK by the Conservative government in 1980. Children who could not afford to go to fee-paying independent schools were provided with free or subsidised places - if they were able to score within the top 10-15% of applicants in the school's entrance...
.
She was co-Chair of the Association of Governing Bodies of Independent Schools, and Chair of the Finance and General Purposes Committee of the Independent Schools Council
Independent Schools Council
The Independent Schools Council is a non-profit organisation that represents 1,234 schools in the United Kingdom's independent education sector...
. She was a member of the Trust and Governing Council of the United Church Schools Trust
United Church Schools Trust
The United Church Schools Trust is a large education charity in the United Kingdom which owns and operates a group of 11 independent schools.-History:...
, and Chair of the United Learning Trust
United Learning Trust
The United Learning Trust is an education charity and the largest single sponsor of academies in the UK with 20 academies and one City Technology College currently open. ULT's objective is to bring out "the best in everyone", driving educational improvement across its family of academies and...
.