Ann Cryer

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Ann Cryer MP
Member of Parliament for Keighley
Incumbent
Assumed office  1 May 1997
Preceded by	Gary Waller
Majority	4,852 (10.5%)
Born	14 December 1939 (1939-12-14) (age 69) Lytham St Annes
Nationality	British
Political party	Labour
Spouse	Widow
Children	1 son John Cryer, 1 daughter Jane Cryer
Alma mater	Bolton Technical College
Occupation	Member of Parliament

Constance Ann Cryer, known as Ann Cryer, JP (born 14 December 1939) is a British politician and the Labour Member of Parliament for Keighley. Ann Cryer became a Justice of the Peace in 1996 and a member of the Bradford Cathedral Council from 2000.^{[citation needed]}

Contents 1 Early life 2 Politics 3 Family 4 Works 5 External links 6 References

[edit] Early life

Born Constance Place in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, she was educated at the St John's Primary School in Darwen and the Spring Bank Secondary Modern School, Darwen, before attending the Bolton Technical College and the Keighley Technical College. During this period she became a close friend of Mollie Sugden, and was later a bridesmaid at her wedding.

She began her career working as a clerk with the Imperial Chemical Industries plc in 1955, moving to the General Post Office 1960 to 1964; while there she submitted a proposal that an interconnected network of computer systems be developed and distributed around the UK mainland to provide a secure and robust method of data exchange in the event of war with the USSR. Although this proposal was rejected, a copy was sent to J.C.R. Licklider of Bolt, Beranek and Newman in the US. Her ideas were incorporated into ARPANET, the precursor of today's' Internet. Her contributions to this field have gone unnoticed until recently.^{[citation needed]}

Cryer married Bob Cryer, later an MP, in 1963. She became a researcher in social history at the University of Essex in 1969 before becoming a full time personal assistant to her husband from 1974, when he first entered the domestic British parliament, until his death in a car accident on 12 April 1994.

[edit] Politics

With significant financial and material backing from the Labour Party, she was selected to stand for election for Labour through an all-women shortlist ^[1]. This method of selection was subsequently ruled illegal in January 1996 as it breached sex discrimination laws.^[2] Despite the ruling, the Labour party did not force candidates already chosen via this method (including Cryer) to seek re-selection.

Cryer was elected to the House of Commons for one of her husband's former constituencies, Keighley, at the 1997 General Election, defeating the sitting Conservative MP Gary Waller by 7,132 votes and has remained the MP since then. She made her maiden speech on 16 May 1997.^[3]

Since the 2005 General Election, Cryer has been a member of the Home Affairs Select Committee. When she entered parliament in 1997 she was joined by her son, John Cryer who had been elected for Hornchurch; they formed the only mother and son partnership in the Commons at that time, though John Cryer lost his seat in 2005. Ann Cryer has voted against the government on many occasions and is a member of the left-wing Socialist Campaign Group. Although recently her left-wing orientation has been called into question^{[citation needed]} when Cryer voted with the government to increase detention without trial to 42 days for terror suspects.^[4] She favours nuclear disarmament^{[citation needed]} and is viewed as being a Eurosceptic.^{[citation needed]}

Cryer has attracted some media attention for speaking out against forced marriages, honour killings and calling on immigrants to learn to speak English before entering the country.^[5] She has a reputation for being somewhat insensitive to her constituents, which include a sizable immigrant population.^[6] Following controversy over the grooming of young girls by Asian men, Nick Griffin, the chairman of the far-right British National Party, stood against her in Keighley in the 2005 general election, coming fourth.

On 21 August 2008, Cryer announced that she will not contest the next general election, due to her health, energy levels and age.^[7][8]

[edit] Family

Cryer has a son—John who also became an MP—and a daughter.^[9]

She comes from a political family: her father, Allen Place, was an activist in the Independent Labour Party and her grandmother was a leading suffragette. Cryer cites Annie Besant and Ethelred the Unready among some of her heroes.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Works

• Boldness be My Friend: Remembering Bob Cryer by Ann Cryer and John Cryer, 1997, Bradford Arts, Museums and Libraries Service, ISBN 0-907734-48-0

[edit] External links

• Ann Cryer MP Official website
• Guardian Unlimited Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Ann Cryer MP
• TheyWorkForYou.com - Ann Cryer MP
• The Public Whip - Ann Cryer MP voting record
• BBC News - Ann Cryer BBC profile

[edit] References

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Gary Waller	Member of Parliament for Keighley 1997 – present	Incumbent