Siobhan Kathleen Baillie (born 28 August 1981) is a British former politician. A member of the Conservative Party, she was the Member of Parliament (MP) for

Stroud Stroud is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District. The town's population was 13,500 in 2021. Sited below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the ...

from the 2019 general election until

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 ...

. Before her parliamentary career, she was a family law solicitor, a councillor, and worked for a charity.

Early life

Baillie was born in

Crawley Crawley () is a town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in West Sussex, England. It is south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of and had a populat ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

, on 28 August 1981, and she moved with her family at the age of eight to

Filey Filey () is a seaside town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is located between Scarborough, North Yorkshire, Scarborough and Bridlington on Filey Bay. Although it was a fishing village, it has a large ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

. She has a younger brother and sister. Her parents separated during her childhood. Baillie moved out of the family home at the age of 15 and left school two years later to work as a legal secretary in

Reading, Berkshire Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, England, and the county town of Berkshire. It is the United Kingdom's largest town, with a combined population of 355,596. Most of Reading built-up area, its built-up area lies within the Borough ...

. She attended a law school at weekends, and qualified as a family law solicitor in 2010. Baillie also worked as the head of policy and communications for the charity, OnePlusOne.

Political career

Baillie was a councillor in the

London Borough of Camden The London Borough of Camden () is a London boroughs, borough in Inner London, England. Camden Town Hall, on Euston Road, lies north of Charing Cross. The borough was established on 1 April 1965 from the former Metropolitan boroughs of the Cou ...

from 2014 to 2018, representing the ward of Frognal and Fitzjohns. As an opposition member she served on the Children, Schools and Families Scrutiny Committee and during the 2016–2017 civic year she chaired a review of mental health service provision for young people. She stood for the Bermondsey and Old Southwark seat at the 2017 general election. She was third behind the Labour and

Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party, Democratic Liberal Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties have usually followed liberalism as ideology, although they can vary widely from very progr ...

candidates with 13% of the vote. She had previously unsuccessfully sought selection for the Hampstead and Kilburn constituency for the same election, and for the Barnet and Camden

London Assembly The London Assembly is a 25-member elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds supermajority, to amend the Mayor's annual budget and to reject t ...

seat at the 2016 election. Baillie was selected as the Conservative candidate for

on 31 July 2018. She supported the UK remaining within the EU in the

2016 UK EU membership referendum The 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, commonly referred to as the EU referendum or the Brexit referendum, was a referendum that took place on 23 June 2016 in the United Kingdom (UK) and Gibraltar under the provisions o ...

, but during her 2019 election campaign indicated that she now supported

Brexit Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...

, to honour the result of the referendum. At the 2019 general election, she was elected as an MP with a majority of 3,840 (5.8%). The seat had been represented by

Labour and Co-operative Labour and Co-operative Party (often abbreviated to Labour Co-op; ) is a description used by candidates in United Kingdom elections who stand on behalf of both the Labour Party and the Co-operative Party. Candidates contest elections under an e ...

MP David Drew since the 2017 election. Baillie was the first woman to represent the constituency. She has been a member of the

Work and Pensions Select Committee The Work and Pensions 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 Work and Pen ...

since March 2020. In July 2021, Baillie commented that she opposed the removal of the Blackboy Clock in Stroud as she felt that it was important to leave all statues to "reflect our country's journey in the 20th and 21st centuries toward equality" but supported adding "factual information" on the "origins of its imagery". Baillie endorsed

Rishi Sunak Rishi Sunak (born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2022 to 2024. Following his defeat to Keir Starmer's La ...

in the

July–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election The July–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election was triggered by Boris Johnson's announcement on 7 July 2022 that he would resign as Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister of ...

and the subsequent

October 2022 Conservative Party leadership election The October 2022 Conservative Party leadership election was triggered by Liz Truss's announcement that she would resign as Leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, amid an economic and political crisis. In t ...

. She apologised in August 2023 for wrongfully claiming that she had created the Natural History GCSE on her website and in a campaign leaflet. Baillie lost her seat in the

2024 general election This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2024 United Nations Security Council election * 2024 national electoral calendar * 2024 local electo ...

to Labour's

Simon Opher Simon Joseph Opher is a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician and general practitioner who has served as the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Stroud (UK Parliament constituency), Stroud 2024 Unit ...

Personal life

Baillie married Kristian Triggle on 23 June 2018 at St Mary's Church in

Swinbrook Swinbrook is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Swinbrook and Widford, in the West Oxfordshire district, in the county of Oxfordshire, England. It is on the River Windrush, about east of Burford. Widford, Oxfordshire, Widf ...

. Triggle is a managing director for the Swiss banking firm

UBS UBS Group AG (stylized simply as UBS) is a multinational investment bank and financial services firm founded and based in Switzerland, with headquarters in both Zurich and Basel. It holds a strong foothold in all major financial centres as the ...

. The couple have two daughters born in 2020 and 2022.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baillie, Siobhan Living people 1981 births UK councillors 2014–2018 UK MPs 2019–2024 Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies 21st-century British women politicians Councillors in the London Borough of Camden Conservative Party (UK) councillors Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies 21st-century English women 21st-century English politicians Women councillors in England