Colleen Fletcher

Colleen Margaret Fletcher (née Dalton; born 23 November 1954) is a British Labour Party politician. She was first elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Coventry North East in the 2015 general election. Prior to her parliamentary career, she was a local councillor.

Colleen Fletcher
MP
Official portrait, 2017
Shadow Lord Commissioner of HM Household
Assumed office
19 July 2017
LeaderJeremy Corbyn
Keir Starmer
Preceded byPosition Established
Member of Parliament
for Coventry North East
Assumed office
7 May 2015
Preceded byBob Ainsworth
Majority7,692 (17.3%)
Personal details
Born
Colleen Margaret Dalton

(1954-11-23) 23 November 1954
Coventry, England
Political partyLabour
Spouse
Ian Richard Fletcher
​
​
(m. 1972)​
Children2

Early life

Colleen Margaret Dalton was born on 23 November 1954 in Coventry, England to William Charles and Dot Dalton.[1] Her mother was a Labour councillor on Coventry City Council. She grew up in Coventry and attended Richard Lee Primary School, Lyng Hall School, and the further education college Henley College.[2]

Political career

Fletcher represented Wyken ward on Coventry City Council from 1992 to 2000 and between 2002 and 2004.[3] In 2011, Fletcher was elected as a Labour Party councillor for the Upper Stoke ward on the same council.[4]

In December 2013, she was selected as the Labour candidate for Coventry North East. The seat had been represented by a Labour MP since its formation in 1974.[5] Fletcher was elected as MP with a majority of 11,775 (29.1%). She was re-elected in the 2017 general election.[6]

She supported Owen Smith in the failed attempt to replace Jeremy Corbyn in the 2016 Labour leadership election.[7] Since October 2017, Fletcher has sat on the Administration Committee and is an opposition whip.[8]

Fletcher supported the United Kingdom (UK) remaining within the European Union (EU) in the 2016 UK EU membership referendum. In the indicative votes on 27 March 2019, she voted for a referendum on a Brexit withdrawal agreement, for the Norway-plus model, and for a customs union with the EU.[9]

On 5 September 2022, she announced she would be standing down at the next general election.[10]

Personal life

She married Ian Richard Fletcher in 1972; the couple have two sons.[11]

References
  1. Fletcher, Colleen Margaret. A & C Black. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U283917. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  2. Reid, Les (14 December 2013). "Colleen Fletcher selected as Labour candidate for Coventry North East". Coventry Telegraph. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  3. Reid, Les (18 November 2013). "Four make shortlist to fight Coventry North-East for Labour". Coventry Telegraph. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  4. "Upper Stoke Ward - Labour hold". Coventry City Council. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  5. "Coventry North East". UK Polling Report. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  6. "Coventry North East". BBC News. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  7. "Full list of MPs and MEPs backing challenger Owen Smith". LabourList. 21 July 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  8. "Colleen Fletcher MP". parliament.uk. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  9. "How MPs voted on May's withdrawal deal defeat". Financial Times. 29 March 2019. Archived from the original on 2 September 2019.
  10. Brown, Ellie (5 September 2022). "Coventry MP to stand down at next general election". CoventryLive. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  11. Gilbert, Simon (3 June 2015). "Coventry's first female MP in 35 years speaks of juggling her new career with supporting her husband through his cancer battle". Coventry Telegraph. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
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