Fleur Anderson
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Kathleen Fleur Anderson (born 6 February 1971) is a British politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Putney since 2019. A member of the Labour Party, she has served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland since 2024.


Early life and education

Anderson was born on the Channel island of
Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...
. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Politics from the
University of York The University of York (abbreviated as or ''York'' for Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a public Collegiate university, collegiate research university in York, England. Established in 1963, the university has expanded to more than thir ...
in 1993. She was a member of Goodricke College. She was elected as president of the Students Union, holding that post in 1993/94. In 2007, she attended the
Open University The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...
for a Master of Science degree in Global Development Management, awarded in 2010.


Career


International development and advocacy

Anderson began her career in development and environmental and poverty campaigns, both in London and abroad. She worked for Christian Aid from 1994 to 1997, taking on roles as a campaign assistant in London, working in Serbia during the war and as Head of Country Office in Bosnia in the aftermath of the
Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. Following several earlier violent incid ...
. From 1997 to 1999 she was Head of World Action for the Methodist youth organisation MAYC, leading campaigns on bullying, Burma and international debt cancellation. She then worked for CAFOD in London as Head of Campaigns and Advocacy Strategy Manager. Here she co-founded the Trade Justice Campaign. From 2003 to 2006 she was a trustee of the Jubilee Debt Campaign. During her time as a freelance consultant in Kenya from 2007 to 2010, she worked on several successful campaigns on water and urban nutrition, working with organisations such as End Water Poverty and Oxfam, as well as helping to establish grassroots organisations such as the Shalom Centre for Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation. Upon returning to London, Anderson joined WaterAid as Head of Global Campaigns.


Politics

Anderson decided to get involved in politics in response to the closing of children's centres and local institutions. She was elected to represent Bedford Ward on Wandsworth London Borough Council in 2014, alongside Rosena Allin-Khan, and re-elected in 2018. Anderson was the Labour Spokesperson for Community Services and the Environment from 2015 to 2018 and the Deputy Leader of Wandsworth Labour Group from 2016 to 2018. She resigned from the Council in March 2021. She co-founded Wandsworth Welcomes Refugees and was the Head of Community Services for the Katherine Low Settlement, a community centre in Battersea from 2016 to 2020. Locally, she campaigned for the 20 mph speed limit, against the closure of children's centres, and against cutting the Autism Advisory Service. Anderson supported a second Brexit referendum, which she said was "the route to bringing the country back together." Anderson was elected MP for Putney on 12 December 2019, succeeding retiring MP
Justine Greening Justine Greening (born 30 April 1969) is a British former politician who was the Secretary of State for Education from 2016 to 2018. Prior to that, she was Economic Secretary to the Treasury from 2010 to 2011, Secretary of State for Transport f ...
, who had been elected as a
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 ...
. In a national election in which Labour won its fewest House seats since
1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...
, Putney was the only constituency Labour gained. She made her maiden speech on 9 January 2020. She backed
Keir Starmer Sir Keir Rodney Starmer (born 2 September 1962) is a British politician and lawyer who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since 2024 and as Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party since 2020. He previously ...
and Rosena Allin-Khan in the 2020 Labour
leadership Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations. "Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...
and deputy leadership elections, respectively. On 7 January 2021, Anderson was promoted from Parliamentary Private Secretary to Preet Gill as Shadow Secretary of State for International Development to replace
Helen Hayes Helen Hayes MacArthur (; October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993) was an American actress. Often referred to as the "First Lady of American Theatre", she was the second person and first woman to win EGOT, the EGOT (an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and ...
as a Shadow Minister for the Cabinet under Rachel Reeves due to Hayes resigning over Labour's support for the European Union (Future Relationship) Act 2020. In December 2021, she was promoted within the shadow Cabinet Office team to serve as Shadow Paymaster General. In the September 2023 shadow cabinet reshuffle, leader Keir Starmer appointed her to be Shadow Minister for Northern Ireland. Anderson wrote a letter to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak requesting a ceasefire in Gaza and a ban on sale of arms to Israel in April 2024. Following the 2024 general election, Anderson was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Fleur 1971 births 21st-century British women politicians Alumni of the Open University Alumni of the University of York British environmentalists Councillors in the London Borough of Wandsworth Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Jersey women in politics Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Labour Party (UK) councillors Living people People in international development UK MPs 2019–2024 Women councillors in England British Christians Labour Friends of Israel UK MPs 2024–present