Sarah Louise Newton, (née Hick; born 19 July 1961) is a British retired politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Truro and Falmouth from

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

. A member of the Conservative Party, she served as Minister of State for Disabled People, Work and Health from 2017 to 2019.

Early life

Born in Gloucestershire, Newton moved to Cornwall at an early age, and attended Marlborough Infants, Clare Terrace Primary School and Falmouth School, where she was elected Head Girl. Newton read history at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

. She completed a master's degree in the United States, studying as a

Rotary International Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. Its stated mission is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through hefellowship of business, prof ...

Scholar.

Professional career

Newton began her career as a marketing officer for businesses including

Citibank Citibank, N. A. (N. A. stands for " National Association") is the primary U.S. banking subsidiary of financial services multinational Citigroup. Citibank was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, and later became First National City ...

and

American Express American Express Company (Amex) is an American multinational corporation specialized in payment card services headquartered at 200 Vesey Street in the Battery Park City neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. The company was found ...

. During her six years working for American Express, Newton was responsible for strategic planning, marketing and promotion of the card in the United Kingdom. In the early 1990s, Newton served as the director of Age Concern England. After leaving this post, Newton served as a founder and the initial director of The International Longevity Centre.

Political career

Newton was previously a councillor on Merton Council, and served as both chairman and vice-chairman of Wimbledon Conservatives. During her time in Wimbledon, Newton served as the head of Friends of Cannizaro Park. Newton was first elected to the House of Commons in the 2010 general election. She beat the Liberal Democrat candidate by 435 votes. In

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

she won re-election with 44% of the overall vote. After both elections, Newton was one of four MPs sworn into office after taking their oaths in Cornish. During the

2016 EU membership referendum The United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, commonly referred to as the EU referendum or the Brexit referendum, took place on 23 June 2016 in the United Kingdom (UK) and Gibraltar to ask the electorate whether the country shoul ...

, Newton was one of several figures from the South West region who signed a statement backing the Britain Stronger in Europe campaign. She became

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Crime, Safeguarding and Vulnerability A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of t ...

in July 2016. In November 2017, she became the Minister of State for Disabled People, Work and Health. In March 2019, she resigned from this role to vote against the government whip on a motion to prevent the United Kingdom from ever leaving the EU without a deal. Newton did not seek re-election as an MP at the December 2019 general election.

Later career

Newton was appointed Chair of the

Health and Safety Executive The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is a UK government agency responsible for the encouragement, regulation and enforcement of workplace health, safety and welfare, and for research into occupational risks in Great Britain. It is a non-depar ...

from 1 August 2020.

Notes

References

External links

Official websiteGovernment biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Newton, Sarah 1961 births Living people Alumni of King's College London Politicians from Gloucestershire People from Cornwall Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 2010–2015 UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs 2017–2019 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for constituencies in Cornwall Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Councillors in the London Borough of Merton 21st-century British women politicians Politicians from Cornwall 21st-century English women 21st-century English people Women councillors in England