Sandra Currie Osborne (née Clark, born 23 February 1956) is a

Scottish Labour Scottish Labour (), is the part of the UK Labour Party (UK), Labour Party active in Scotland. Ideologically social democratic and Unionism in the United Kingdom, unionist, it holds 23 of 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament and 37 of 57 Sco ...

politician, who was the Member of Parliament for

Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was created for the 2005 general election from parts of the old Ayr and Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley const ...

from the

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

to 2015 general elections. She was first elected as MP for the Ayr constituency in 1997, and resigned from a government job in 2003 over the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

. She was a member of the

Foreign Affairs Select Committee The Foreign Affairs Select Committee is one of many select committees of the British House of Commons, which scrutinises the expenditure, administration and policy of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office The Foreign, Commonwea ...

from 2005 to 2010 and again from 2013. She was a member of the

Defence Select Committee The Defence Select Committee is one of the Select Committees of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, having been established in 1979. It examines the expenditure, administration, and policy of the Ministry of Defence and its associated pu ...

2010-13 and was a member of the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

Before Parliament

Osborne was born and brought up in the deprived Ferguslie Park district, in Paisley. She was educated at Camphill Secondary School in Paisley. She later attended evening classes before going on to

Jordanhill College Jordanhill College of Education was a higher education college in Jordanhill, Glasgow, Scotland. It opened as a teacher training college in 1921. The college merged with the University of Strathclyde in 1993, becoming its Faculty of Educati ...

where she gained the Diploma in Community Education. After working as a community worker in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

she moved to

Ayrshire Ayrshire (, ) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety ...

, where she spent fourteen years working as a counsellor with

Women's Aid Women's Aid Federation of England, commonly called Women's Aid within England, is one of a group of charities across the United Kingdom. There are four main Women's Aid Federations, 3 for each of the countries of the United Kingdom, and one for t ...

, based in

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...

. During that time, she also studied part-time at the

University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde () is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal charter in 1964 as the first techn ...

where she graduated with a Master of Science in Equality and Discrimination. In 1997, she was one of the shortlisted finalists in the Scottish Woman of the Year Awards ('' Glasgow Evening Times'') nominated for her work with abused women.

Political career

Osborne was the councillor for Whitletts on

Kyle and Carrick Kyle or Kyles may refer to: Name * Kyle (given name), a Gaelic given name, usually masculine * Kyle (surname), a surname of Scottish origin * Kyle (musician), a hip hop artist from California * Kyle (Child's Play), played by Christine Elise ...

District Council and South Ayrshire Council where she also served as Convener of Community Services (Housing and Social Work). She is a member of the

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

Unite (formerly

TGWU The Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU or T&G) was one of the largest general trade unions in the United Kingdom and Ireland—where it was known as the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers' Union (ATGWU)—with 900,000 members (a ...

) and has been active in the Labour Party since 1976, serving for a time as Ayr CLP Secretary. In 1983, she was a member of the Scottish contingent on the People's March for Jobs who walked from

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. She was selected as a Labour candidate in Ayr from an

all-women shortlist All-women shortlists (AWS) is an affirmative action practice intended to increase the proportion of female Members of Parliament (MPs) in the United Kingdom, allowing only women to stand in particular constituencies for a particular political p ...

. In May 1997, she was elected as MP for the Ayr constituency, becoming Ayr's first-ever Labour MP and first ever female MP. She was re-elected at the 2001 general election. Osborne served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to

Helen Liddell Helen Lawrie Liddell, Baroness Liddell of Coatdyke PC (' Reilly; born 6 December 1950) is a British politician and life peer who served as Secretary of State for Scotland from 2001 to 2003 and British High Commissioner to Australia from 2005 t ...

, the

Secretary of State for Scotland The secretary of state for Scotland (; ), also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Scotland Office. The incum ...

, from June 2002 until she stepped down in March 2003 over her opposition to going to war with Iraq. She believed this should not have gone ahead without a second UN resolution. She had previously served as PPS to George Foulkes, Minister of State at the Scotland Office and to his predecessor in that post,

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (June 20, 1942 – June 11, 2025) was an American musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often Brian Wilson is a genius, called a genius for his novel approaches to pop compositio ...

. She has served as Chair of the Scottish Group of Labour MPs and member of the Scottish Executive of the Labour Party. She has served as Chair of the All Party Group on Meningitis. She was a member of th
Kerley Committee on the Renewal of Local Democracy
providing a minority report opposing proportional representation. In June 2004, Osborne was selected as the Labour candidate for the new constituency of

, where she was returned at the 2005 general election with a majority of 9,997 votes. She served on the

from 2005 to 2010. She was also Secretary of the All Party Group on Colombia and the Women, Peace and Security Group. In 2006, then-

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...

appointed her as a member of the UK Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the p ...

(OSCE). On 6 May 2010, Osborne was re-elected as MP for

with a majority of 9,911 votes. In 2010, she was elected Vice Chair of Labour's backbench Foreign Affairs Committee and Chair of the All Party Equalities Group. In October 2010, she was appointed to the

and the

. In 2011, she was a member of the special Select Committee set up to scrutinise the Bill that became the Armed Forces Act 2011. In January 2011, the

Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...

appointed her to his

Panel of Chairs The Panel of Chairs (formerly the Chairman's Panel) are members of the House of Commons in the United Kingdom responsible for chairing public bill committees and other General Committees. They may also chair debates in Westminster Hall, the par ...

. She was reappointed to the

in 2013.

Family

Her husband is Alastair Osborne, who was the Labour candidate in the same Ayr constituency in 1992 that Sandra Osborne gained for her party in 1997. The couple have two daughters and two granddaughters and live in Symington,

References

External links

*
Guardian Unlimited Politics – Ask Aristotle: Sandra Osborne MPTheyWorkForYou.com – Sandra Osborne MP– General election 2010: No question – it's time to go
{{DEFAULTSORT:Osborne, Sandra 1956 births Living people Alumni of the University of Strathclyde Scottish Labour councillors Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies Scottish Labour MPs Politicians from Paisley, Renfrewshire UK MPs 1997–2001 UK MPs 2001–2005 UK MPs 2005–2010 UK MPs 2010–2015 20th-century Scottish women politicians 20th-century Scottish politicians 21st-century Scottish women politicians 21st-century Scottish politicians Women councillors in Scotland People from Symington, South Ayrshire