Alex Mayer
Alex Mayer | |
---|---|
Member of Parliament for Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard | |
Assumed office 5 July 2024 | |
Preceded by | Constituency established |
Majority | 667 (1.4%) |
Member of the European Parliament for East of England | |
In office 15 November 2016 – 1 July 2019[1][2] | |
Preceded by | Richard Howitt |
Succeeded by | Catherine Rowett |
Personal details | |
Born | Alexandra Louise Mayer 2 June 1981 High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England |
Political party | Labour |
Website | www.votealexmayer.co.uk |
Alexandra Louise Mayer (born 2 June 1981) is a British politician who currently stands as the Member of Parliament for Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard.[3] She was previously a British Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the East of England region for the Labour Party from 2016 to 2019.[4]
Early life[edit]
Mayer was born in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire and brought up in Crawley, West Sussex.
Mayer graduated with a bachelor's degree in history from Exeter University in 2001 and has a master's degree in Politics and Parliamentary Studies from the University of Leeds.
Politics[edit]
In the 2014 European Parliament election she stood in for the East of England region in second position on the Labour list,[5] which did not yield a seat, but took over from Richard Howitt following his resignation.[6][7]
Mayer is a member of the Labour Party's National Policy Forum, a member of the GMB, UNISON and the Co-operative Party.
In the European Parliament she was Labour's spokesperson for the foreign affairs (16–18) and the economy (18–19)[8] and a member of the US-EU Relations Delegation. She is the international co-ordinator for the Washington DC Statehood campaign.[9]
A member of the Labour Animal Welfare Society, Alex is a long-standing animal welfare campaigner, she was awarded the Cruelty Free International Parliamentarian Award and took an 8 million signature petition to the United Nations in New York on the topic of animal free cosmetic testing.
Mayer has been a member of Amnesty International for over twenty years and worked on issues relating to the ongoing human rights abuses in Kashmir, as a member of the European Parliament Friends of Kashmir group.[10]
In May 2024, Mayer was selected to be Labour's candidate for the new constituency of Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard at the 2024 general election.[11][12]
On 4 July 2024, Alex Mayer won the Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard seat, becoming the area's first female MP.[3] She is the first Labour MP for the area in over 50 years since Labour's Gwilym Roberts won the South Bedfordshire constituency in 1966.[13]
References[edit]
- ^ "Key dates ahead". European Parliament. 20 May 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
- ^ "Key dates ahead". BBC News Online. British Broadcasting Corporation. 22 May 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
- ^ a b "Bedfordshire election results see stalwart Selous ousted". BBC News. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
- ^ "Alex MAYER - Home - MEPs - European Parliament". www.europarl.europa.eu.
- ^ "Elections 2014: European election candidates for the Eastern region". www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk.
- ^ Conor Pope (5 September 2016). "Senior MEP Richard Howitt to quit Brussels for financial services job". LabourList. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
- ^ Sophie Day (27 October 2016). "East of England MEP bids farewall to European Parliament role". The Hunts Post. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
- ^ "8th parliamentary term | Alex MAYER | MEPs | European Parliament". www.europarl.europa.eu. 2 June 1981.
- ^ "From Lougton to New York: Biggest ever animal related petition is handed to the UN". St Albans & Harpenden Review. 7 October 2018.
- ^ Hutchinson, Paul (27 May 2019). "Here's how Bedford voted in the European Elections".
- ^ "Alex Mayer has been selected as Labour's Parliamentary Candidate for Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard". Labour East. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
- ^ Duncan, Euan (28 May 2024). "Alex Mayer to stand for Labour in Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard constituency". Luton News.
- ^ "Mr Gwilym Roberts (Hansard)". api.parliament.uk. Retrieved 29 May 2024.