Marie Tidball is a British Labour politician and disability rights campaigner, who has been the Member of Parliament for

Penistone and Stocksbridge Penistone and Stocksbridge is a Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, constituency in South Yorkshire represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, UK Par ...

since

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

Early life

She was born with a congenital disability which affects all four limbs, with foreshortened arms and legs and a digit on each underdeveloped hand. As a child she missed three years of school because of the surgery needed. She grew up in

Penistone Penistone ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England, which had a population of 13,270 at the 2021 census. Historic counties of England, Historically in ...

and

Stocksbridge Stocksbridge is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish, it is encircled to the north and east by the southern edge of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, although since 1974 it lies within the borders of the City of Sheffield, in ...

, and was educated at

Penistone Grammar School Penistone Grammar School (PGS) is a large co-educational secondary school with a sixth form located in Penistone, South Yorkshire, England. Founded in 1392, it is amongst the List of the oldest schools in the United Kingdom, oldest extant scho ...

, by then a non-selective state school. Her mother was a nursery head and her father was a teacher and Labour county councillor, who helped found

Barnsley College Barnsley College is a further education college just outside the town centre of Barnsley, England. It has several campuses, including the SciTech Digital Innovation Centre and The Electric Theatre. The college provides A Levels, apprenticeship ...

Education and early career

Tidball studied Law at

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street, Oxford, Broad Street and Parks Road ...

, followed by a journalism internship at

Channel 4 News ''Channel 4 News'' is the main news programme on British television broadcaster Channel 4. It is produced by ITN, and has been in operation since Channel 4's launch in November 1982. Current productions ''Channel 4 News'' ''Channel 4 News'' ...

. She returned to Oxford to do a

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

(MSc) degree in criminology and criminal justice. Her MSc dissertation was titled ''Mad, Bad or Disabled?''. She then worked as policy and legal officer for Autism West Midlands in Birmingham. She was a founding director and coordinator of the Oxford University disability law and policy project. She was awarded a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

(DPhil) degree in 2017: her

doctoral thesis A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...

was titled "The governance of adult defendants with autism through English criminal justice policy and criminal court practice" and her

doctoral supervisor A doctoral advisor (also dissertation director, dissertation advisor; or doctoral supervisor) is a member of a university faculty whose role is to guide graduate students who are candidates for a doctorate, helping them select coursework, as well ...

was Carolyn Hoyle.

Oxford councillor

Tidball has been called one of the country's leading

disability rights The disability rights movement is a global social movement that seeks to secure equal opportunities and equal rights for all disabled people. It is made up of organizations of disability activists, also known as disability advocates, around ...

campaigners by the ''

Barnsley Chronicle The ''Barnsley Chronicle'', published in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, is one of the UK's oldest provincial newspapers and one of the few weeklies still in private ownership. It was launched in 1858 and celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2008. It i ...

''. From 2016–2022 she was a Labour Councillor for

Oxford City Council Oxford City Council is the local authority for the city of Oxford in Oxfordshire, England. Oxford has had a council since medieval times, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1974, Oxford has been a non-metropolitan district, wi ...

. In the 2017 election she stood for parliament in the Oxford West and Abingdon constituency, finishing third.

Parliamentary career

In June 2022, Tidball was selected to stand as the Labour candidate for the 2024 election, with the backing of multiple trade unions, as well as

Dan Jarvis Daniel Owen Woolgar Jarvis (born 30 November 1972) is a British politician and former Army officer who has served as Minister of State for Security since July 2024, and as Member of Parliament (MP) for Barnsley North, formerly Barnsley Cen ...

Stephanie Peacock Stephanie Louise Peacock (born 1986) is a British Labour Party politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Barnsley South, previously Barnsley East, since 2017. She has served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Sport, Med ...

and

David Blunkett David Blunkett, Baron Blunkett, (born 6 June 1947) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Education and Employment from 1997 to 2001, Home Secretary from 2001 to 2004 and Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in 2005. ...

. In July 2024, she was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for

. In September 2024, Tidball unsuccessfully stood for election as Chair of the

Education Select Committee The Education Select Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the committee is to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Department for Education and any asso ...

. Tidball supported

Kim Leadbeater Kim Michele Leadbeater (; born 1 May 1976) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Spen Valley, formerly Batley and Spen, since 2021. Early life and career Kim Leadbeater was born on 1 May 1976 in ...

's bill introducing

assisted suicide Assisted suicide, sometimes restricted to the context of physician-assisted suicide (PAS), is the process by which a person, with the help of others, takes actions to end their life. Once it is determined that the person's situation qualifie ...

into law and served on the committee examining the legislation.

Personal life

She has a daughter, and has lobbied for better maternity care and assistance for disabled mothers.

Selected works

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tidball, Marie Living people Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies People educated at Penistone Grammar School Alumni of Wadham College, Oxford Autism activists British disability rights activists British politicians with disabilities British women activists Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Labour Party (UK) councillors Members of Oxford City Council People from Penistone People from Stocksbridge UK MPs 2024–present Women councillors in England Year of birth missing (living people)