Eric Ollerenshaw OBE (born 26 March 1950) is a British Conservative Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Lancaster and Fleetwood from 2010 to 2015. He was born and grew up in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

and was educated at Hyde County Grammar School and the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

where he was awarded a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics in 1971. He has previously been an elected member of the

London Assembly The London Assembly is a 25-member elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds supermajority, to amend the Mayor's annual budget and to reject t ...

and head of the Cities and Diversity section of the Conservative Party at

Conservative Campaign Headquarters The Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ), formerly known as Conservative Central Office (CCO), is the headquarters of the British Conservative Party, housing its central staff and committee members, including campaign coordinators and man ...

Teaching career

Before moving into politics, Ollerenshaw was a full-time teacher of History. He taught in three comprehensive schools – two of which were social priority schools – and in 1986 gained his first elected position on the

Inner London Education Authority The Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) was the local education authority for the City of London and the 12 Inner London boroughs from 1965 until its abolition in 1990. From 1965 to 1986 it was an ad hoc committee of the Greater London Co ...

. After rising to lead the Conservative group on the Authority in 1988, he worked with the Government and the Boroughs to abolish the Authority in 1990.

Political career

In the 1991 New Year Honours, he was awarded his OBE for Public and Political Service. The same year he was elected to the

London Borough of Hackney The London Borough of Hackney ( ) is a London boroughs, London borough in Inner London, England. The historical and administrative heart of Hackney is Mare Street, which lies north-east of Charing Cross. The borough is named after Hackney, Lond ...

representing Springfield as one of its three Conservative councillors. In 1992 he stood as the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Parliamentary Candidate in Heywood and Middleton. In 1998, he rose to lead the Conservative group on Hackney London Borough Council when Joe Lobenstein, the previous leader of the group, became mayor of Hackney. His involvement with Councillor Isaac Leibowitz, who was later convicted of electoral fraud, was mentioned in an Early Day Motion from the Labour MP for Hackney South, Brian Sedgemore calling for him to be divested of his OBE. Between 2000 and 2001, he was the joint leader of

Hackney Council Hackney London Borough Council, also known as Hackney Council, is the local authority for the London Borough of Hackney, in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. The council has been under Labour majority c ...

with Labour's

Jules Pipe Julian Benjamin Pipe (born May 1965) is a British politician who currently serves as the Deputy Mayor of London for Planning, Regeneration and Skills. Pipe was the first directly elected mayor of the London Borough of Hackney between his ele ...

during Hackney's most troubled period. In 2000, Ollerenshaw was elected as a member of the

and in 2002 rose to become the Conservative Group Leader. He was elected Member of Parliament for Lancaster and Fleetwood at the 2010 general election with a majority of 333 votes.

Parliamentary career

In March 2007 he was selected as the

Parliamentary Candidate for Lancaster and Fleetwood, which he won in the General Election held on 6 May 2010 by just 333 votes. In September 2010 he was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to Baroness Warsi. Ollerenshaw campaigned on the 'No' side during the lead up to the 2011 Referendum on the Alternative Vote. In the 2015 General Election Ollerenshaw lost to Labour's Cat Smith by 1,265 votes. After returning to live in Hackney, he was again selected as the Conservative candidate for Lancaster and Fleetwood at the 2017 General Election, once again being defeated by Labour's Cat Smith, but by a much increased margin of 6,661 votes, despite him increasing his votes and vote share.

Personal life

Ollerenshaw is openly gay. His partner of 36 years, Michael Donoghue, died of pancreatic cancer in 2009. Ollerenshaw is a trustee of the Baroness Warsi Foundation.

References

External links

*
The Hackney Conservative Party
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ollerenshaw, Eric Conservative Members of the London Assembly Councillors in the London Borough of Hackney 1950 births Living people People from Ashton-under-Lyne UK MPs 2010–2015 English gay politicians Officers of the Order of the British Empire Alumni of the London School of Economics Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies LGBTQ members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom London AMs 2000–2004