Joan Lorraine Walley is 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...

 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...

 politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

, who has been the 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) for Stoke-on-Trent North since 1987

United Kingdom general election, 1987

The United Kingdom general election of 1987 was held on 11 June 1987, to elect 650 members to the British House of Commons. The election was the third consecutive election victory for the Conservative Party under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher, who became the first Prime Minister since the 2nd...

.

Early life

She attended Biddulph Grammar School (now known as Woodhouse Middle School) on Woodhouse Lane in Biddulph

Biddulph

Biddulph is a town in Staffordshire, England, north of Stoke-on-Trent and south east of Congleton, Cheshire.-Origin of the name:Biddulph's name may come from Anglo-Saxon bī dylfe = "beside the pit or quarry"...

, north Staffordshire

Staffordshire

Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...

. At the University of Hull

University of Hull

The University of Hull, known informally as Hull University, is an English university, founded in 1927, located in Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire...

, she gained a BA

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 in Social Administration. From the University College of Wales, Swansea

Swansea University

Swansea University is a university located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. Swansea University was chartered as University College of Swansea in 1920, as the fourth college of the University of Wales. In 1996, it changed its name to the University of Wales Swansea following structural changes...

, she gained a Diploma in Community Work Development. From 1970-3, she worked on an Alcoholics Recovery Project. From 1974-8, she was a Local Government Officer for Swansea City Council. She worked for Wandsworth Council from 1978-9. From 1979-82, she was a Development Officer for NACRO

NACRO

Nacro is a registered criminal justice charity operating in England and Wales. It is not formally linked with Sacro in Scotland or NIACRO in Northern Ireland.-History:...

.

Parliamentary career

Since the deselection of her predecessor John Forrester

John Forrester

John Stuart Forrester was a British Labour Party politician.-Early life and education:Forrester was born in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent and was educated at Eastwood School, the City School of Commerce in Stoke-on-Trent, and Alsager teacher training college in Cheshire.-Early career:He spent three and...

 in 1987, she has been 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...

 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) for Stoke-on-Trent North (the second female MP for the seat after Harriet Slater

Harriet Slater

Harriet Slater CBE, née Evans, was a British Labour and Co-operative politician.Educated at Hanley High School and Dudley Teachers’ Training College, Slater was National Organiser for the Cooperative Party from 1942 to 1953, and a local councillor in Stoke-on-Trent from 1933 to 1965.She was...

 from 1953 to 1966). Walley had previously been a councillor on Lambeth Council.

Personal life

She married Jan Ostrowski in 1981 and they have two sons. Walley is a Port Vale

Port Vale F.C.

Port Vale Football Club is an English football club currently playing in Football League Two. They are based in Burslem, Staffordshire — one of six towns that make up the city of Stoke-on-Trent. The club's traditional rivals in the city are Stoke City, and games between the two clubs are known as...

 supporter (Port Vale is the major club within her constituency).

External links

• Joan Walley MP official site