Wera von Reden was born on 8 February 1960 in Hanover, Germany.[2] She studied history and fine art at the University of Münster and then studied art for two years at the École des Beaux Arts in Paris. She then moved back to Germany, completing a master's degree in history and fine art at the Free University of Berlin.[3] She married William Hobhouse in 1989 and moved to England the following year. They first lived in Liverpool, where Wera Hobhouse opened an art gallery on Falkner Street.[3] They moved to Rochdale in 1999.[4] Prior to her political career, she was a teacher, radio journalist and artist.[2][5][6][7]
Hobhouse was first elected in 2004 as a Conservative councillor for the ward of Norden on Rochdale Council, Greater Manchester. Her political career in Rochdale was defined by the Spodden Valley asbestos controversy, which was the proposed development of 650 homes on an asbestos-contaminated site.[8] Hobhouse and her husband opposed the proposals, leading them to defect to the Liberal Democrats in 2005. They were criticised at the time for not triggering by-elections to seek fresh mandates as Liberal Democrat councillors.[9][10] The development was successfully blocked in 2011.[11]
Hobhouse was re-elected in 2006 and 2010 for the Liberal Democrats in Norden.[12][13] The Liberal Democrats assumed majority control of Rochdale Council in 2007; Hobhouse served as the cabinet member for the environment between 2006 and 2009 and chaired the health scrutiny committee from 2009 to 2010. After the Liberal Democrats lost majority control of the council in 2010, Hobhouse was elected as the leader of the much-reduced Liberal Democrat group on Rochdale Council in May 2011.[14] In July 2011, Hobhouse accused a council officer of failing to act impartially but later apologised after the council officer began legal action for defamation.[15]
In 2017, Hobhouse was selected as the Liberal Democrat prospective parliamentary candidate for the constituency of Bath.[22] Hobhouse stood on a pro-European platform which emphasised housing, education, congestion and pollution concerns, as well as opposition to the incumbent Conservative MP's plans to link the A46 and A36 roads together. Her party emphasised the need for Labour supporters to vote tactically for Hobhouse to defeat the Conservatives.[5][23] At the snap 2017 general election, Hobhouse was elected to Parliament as the MP for Bath with 47.3% of the vote and a majority of 5,694 votes.[24][25]
On 6 March 2018, Hobhouse presented a Private Members' Bill to amend the Sexual Offences Act 2003; her bill aimed to outlaw acts of voyeurism, especially upskirting, which were not then explicitly covered by UK law.[29][30]Justice SecretaryDavid Gauke signalled that the government would support Hobhouse's bill,[31] which was later supported by the Prime Minister, Theresa May.[32] Hobhouse's bill was not debated at its presentation in the House of Commons.[33] At its second reading in the Commons on 15 June 2018, Conservative MP Christopher Chope objected to Hobhouse's bill, preventing its passage through the Commons.[34] The Prime Minister expressed her disappointment at the objection.[35] Following his objection, the government reaffirmed its commitment to introduce legislation to outlaw upskirting.[36] A government bill to outlaw upskirting was introduced to the House of Commons on 21 June 2018;[37][38] and passed its second reading on 3 July 2018 to become the Voyeurism (Offences) Act 2019.[38]
In an interview with HuffPost UK published in May 2018, Hobhouse warned against what she described as a "toxic" immigration debate in the UK. She acknowledged her party's limited resources following its electoral collapse at the 2015 general election, and affirmed that she was happy with Vince Cable as the party's leader. She urged the party to do more to increase its diversity.[26] In July 2018, Hobhouse was criticised for claiming £4,800 in parliamentary expenses for a heavy duty colour printer. Defending her actions, Hobhouse said that she had saved the taxpayer £40,000 by taking over the lease from Bath's previous MP and that she required the printer for her constituency letters.[39][40] In October 2018, Hobhouse's constituency office announced that it had completed 6,000 pieces of casework.[41]
Wera Hobhouse announced winner at the Bath 2019 general election declaration, alongside Annabel Tall the Conservative candidate
In February 2019, Hobhouse was made the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for the environment and climate change.[42] In this capacity, Hobhouse pushed for an end to most carbon emissions by 2030, and for net-zero carbon emissions to be achieved by 2045 at the latest.[43] This became the policy position of the Liberal Democrats at their conference in September 2019, where Hobhouse gave a keynote speech on tackling the climate crisis.[44] Among the proposals that she has promoted to meet these targets, Hobhouse has called for a permanent ban on fracking, for increased investment in renewable energy, for greater powers to be given to local authorities to cut emissions, and for all airport expansion to be halted until a replacement can be found for jet fuel.[43]
At the 2019 general election, Hobhouse was re-elected as MP for Bath with an increased vote share of 54.5% and an increased majority of 12,322.[45][46]
Hobhouse is a former member of the governing council of the Electoral Reform Society.[49] She supports proportional representation for UK elections and claims that the coalition government's failure to secure electoral reform was its "biggest disappointment".[7]
Hobhouse supports abortion reform in Northern Ireland,[50] and has supported a campaign to improve the treatment of eating disorders, including by leading a parliamentary debate on destigmatising them.[51][52][53] In local politics, she launched a petition to fund a large police station for the city.[54]
In May 2021, alongside celebrities and other public figures, Hobhouse was a signatory to an open letter from Stylist magazine which called on the government to address what it described as an "epidemic of male violence" by funding an "ongoing, high-profile, expert-informed awareness campaign on men's violence against women and girls".[55]
Hobhouse introduced a Private Members' Bill, the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Bill, in the House of Commons to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace, which was thought would force a culture change in employment. The Bill was passed on 20 October 2023.[56][57]
Personal life
Hobhouse has been married to the businessman William Hobhouse since 1989.[3] They both cite the fall of the Berlin Wall as a pivotal moment in their lives, which they witnessed when they lived in Germany.[7][58] They have four children, two sons and two daughters.[2][5] She naturalised as a British citizen in 2007.[26][59]
Hobhouse is a Christian.[26] Although her mother and grandmother identified as Christian, her great-grandfather was Jewish; which meant that her family was persecuted under the Nuremberg Laws.[6] Hobhouse is fluent in English, German and French.[23] She cites Barack Obama and William Wilberforce as her political idols.[60]
Related Research Articles
Upskirting or upskirt photography is the practice of taking photographs under a person's skirt or kilt, capturing an image of the crotch area, underwear, and sometimes genitalia. An "upskirt" is a photograph, video, or illustration which incorporates such an image, although the term may also be used to refer to the area of the body inside a skirt, usually from below and while being worn.
Donald Michael Ellison Foster, Baron Foster of Bath, is a British politician and life peer who served as Government Deputy Chief Whip and Comptroller of the Household from 2013 to 2015. A member of the Liberal Democrats, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for Bath from 1992 to 2015.
Alan James Beith, Baron Beith, is a British Liberal Democrat politician who represented Berwick-upon-Tweed as its Member of Parliament (MP) from 1973 to 2015.
Sir Christopher Robert Chope is a British barrister and politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Christchurch in Dorset since 1997. A member of the Conservative Party, he was first elected in 1983 for Southampton Itchen, but lost this seat in 1992 to Labour. He returned to Parliament in 1997 and has remained an MP ever since. A Brexit advocate, Chope has been supportive of Leave Means Leave, a Eurosceptic pressure group.
Lynne Choona Featherstone, Baroness Featherstone, is a British politician, businesswoman and Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords.
Bath is a constituency in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom represented by Wera Hobhouse of the Liberal Democrats.
John Sampson Macfarlane Leech is a British Liberal Democrat politician who was Member of Parliament for Manchester Withington from 2005 to 2015. Since 2016, he has represented Didsbury West on Manchester City Council.
Bath and North East Somerset Council is the local council for the district of Bath and North East Somerset in Somerset, England.
Rupert Bertram Mitford, 6th Baron Redesdale, Baron Mitford, is a British hereditary peer, Liberal Democrat politician and member of the prominent Mitford family.
Wendy Anne Chamberlain is a British politician serving as Deputy Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats since 2021. She was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for North East Fife at the 2019 General Election.
The 2012 Rochdale Council election took place on 3 May 2012 to elect members of Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council in the North West, England. This was on the same day as other 2012 United Kingdom local elections. The Labour Party won 17 of the 20 seats with 53% of the vote, with the other three going to the Conservative Party with 27% of the vote. The Liberal Democrats lost all 11 of their seats up for re-election with 15% of the vote. This election marked the return to the council of former Leaders Richard Farnell and Allen Brett. It also produced Rochdale's youngest ever councillor in Liam O'Rourke.
Benjamin John Howlett is an English Conservative Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bath between the 2015 and 2017 general elections.
Lucy Claire Frazer is a British politician and barrister serving as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport since February 2023. A member of the Conservative Party, she has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for South East Cambridgeshire since 2015.
Lloyd Cameron Russell-Moyle is a British Labour and Co-operative Party politician who was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Brighton Kemptown in the 2017 general election. He is a member of the left-wing Socialist Campaign Group parliamentary caucus.
The 2017 Liberal Democrats leadership election was held following the resignation of Tim Farron as leader on 14 June 2017, after just under two years as leader of the Liberal Democrats. At the close of applications on 20 July 2017, Vince Cable was the only nominated candidate and was therefore declared the new leader of the party.
The Voyeurism (Offences) Act 2019 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which amends the Sexual Offences Act 2003 to make upskirting a specific offence of voyeurism. The Act came into force on 12 April 2019.
The 2019 Liberal Democrats leadership election was held following the announcement of the resignation of Vince Cable as leader on 24 May 2019, after just under two years as leader of the Liberal Democrats in the United Kingdom. The two candidates to succeed Cable were Ed Davey and Jo Swinson.
The 2020 Liberal Democrats leadership election was held in August 2020, after Jo Swinson, the previous leader of the Liberal Democrats, lost her seat in the 2019 general election. It was initially set to be held in July 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic it was delayed by six weeks, having been at first postponed until May 2021.
Gina Martin is a British political activist and author. She is known for her case to make upskirting illegal in England and Wales, which resulted in the Voyeurism (Offences) Act 2019. Martin also authored a book, Be the Change: A Toolkit for the Activist in You, and rejected a nomination for an award of an Order of the British Empire in 2020.
The Climate and Nature Bill, formerly promoted as the Climate and Ecology Bill, is a private member's bill before the Parliament of the United Kingdom aimed at tackling the climate crisis and environmental disaster.
↑ Fitzpatrick, Katie (12 January 2013). "When the wall fell into history". Manchester Evening News. Archived from the original on 9 December 2017. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
