Jacqueline Ashley (born 10 September 1954) is an English

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

and broadcaster.

Early life

Ashley was born in

St Pancras, London St Pancras () is a district in north London. It was originally a medieval ancient parish and subsequently became a metropolitan borough. The metropolitan borough then merged with neighbouring boroughs and the area it covered now forms around ...

. She is the daughter of Pauline Kay () and

Jack Ashley, Baron Ashley of Stoke Jack Ashley, Baron Ashley of Stoke, (6 December 1922 – 20 April 2012) was a British politician. He was a Labour Member of Parliament in the House of Commons for Stoke-on-Trent South for 26 years, from 1966 to 1992, and subsequently sat in ...

, a Labour MP and

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

. She was educated at Rosebery Grammar School for Girls, a

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

Epsom Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...

. She went on to study Philosophy, Politics and Economics at St Anne's College, Oxford. She was a member of the Oxford University Broadcasting Society.

Career

She has been a television news reporter and newspaper journalist, writing for the ''

New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...

'' and ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

''. She specialises in the Labour Party, the media, politics, public services, trade unions and women's issues. She was broadly a supporter of

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in Tony ...

's government. Having graduated from university, she spent two years, from 1979–81, as a trainee with the BBC. She was a producer and newsreader on ''

Newsnight ''Newsnight'' (or ''BBC Newsnight'') is BBC Two's news and current affairs programme, providing in-depth investigation and analysis of the stories behind the day's headlines. The programme is broadcast on weekdays at 22:30. and is also availa ...

'' from 1981–84. Then, from 1984–86, she was a

reporter A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

on TV-am, and a producer and reporter on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

. She moved to ITN in 1986, where she was a political correspondent. She then moved from television to print media, and was political editor of the ''

'' from 2000 to 2002. Since 2002, she has been a

columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the form of a short essay ...

and political interviewer for ''

''. From October 2015 to October 2018, Ashley was President of

Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge Lucy Cavendish College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college is named in honour of Lucy Cavendish (1841–1925), who campaigned for the reform of women's education. History The college was founded in 1965 by fe ...

. She has been a trustee of the

Carers Trust The Carers Trust is a charity in the United Kingdom which supports carers. It works with a network of partner organisations to help carers with the challenges of their caring roles. History The Princess Royal Trust for Carers was created on the ...

since July 2019.

Personal life

Jackie Ashley married fellow journalist Andrew Marr in

in August 1987; they live in

Primrose Hill Primrose Hill is a Grade II listed public park located north of Regent's Park in London, England, first opened to the public in 1842.Mills, A., ''Dictionary of London Place Names'', (2001) It was named after the natural hill in the centre of ...

, North London. The couple have a son and two daughters.

References

External links

Jackie Ashley's articles in ''The Guardian''

Jackie Ashley on Twitter
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ashley, Jackie 1954 births Living people Alumni of St Anne's College, Oxford BBC newsreaders and journalists Daughters of barons English journalists English television presenters People from Epsom The Guardian journalists Presidents of Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge British republicans