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Luisa Porritt

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Cllr
Luisa Porritt
Member of the European Parliament
for London
In office
2 July 2019 – 31 January 2020
Preceded byMary Honeyball
Succeeded byPosition abolished
Member of Camden London Borough Council for Belsize
Incumbent
Assumed office
3 May 2018
Preceded byLeila Roy (Con)
Personal details
Born (1987-05-23) 23 May 1987 (age 37)
Royal Free Hospital, London, England
Political partyLiberal Democrats
ResidenceCamden
Alma materRoyal Holloway, University of London
Sciences Po Paris[citation needed]
Websitewww.luisa4london.co.uk

Luisa Manon Porritt (born 23 May 1987) is a British Liberal Democrat politician. She served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for London from 2019 to 2020.[1][2] She was the party's candidate for the 2021 London mayoral election,[3] though she failed to achieve more than 5% of the vote and lost her deposit.

Early life and education

Luisa Manon Porritt was born at the Royal Free Hospital on 23 May 1987.[4] She grew up in Camden and was educated at a local private school.[5] She earned a degree in history from Royal Holloway, University of London in 2008 and went on to complete a Master's degree at Sciences Po Paris.[6][7]

Career

Before her political career, Porritt worked as a journalist, a consultant for strategic advisory firm Global Counsel, and a political researcher and advisor for Shriti Vadera.[8] In 2021, Porritt became Head of Investment Content at PR firm Edelman Smithfield.[9]

Political career

Porritt joined the Liberal Democrats a few days after the UK voted to leave the European Union in 2016.[10] She became a Liberal Democrat councillor for the London Borough of Camden in 2018.[11] She gained a seat for the marginal council ward of Belsize from the Conservative incumbent by nine votes, following a recount.[12] She became leader of the small Liberal Democrat group of 3 on Camden council on 7 September 2020.[13]

In the 2019 European Parliament election, she was third on the Liberal Democrat list for the London constituency.[11] The Liberal Democrats won 27% of the vote, winning three seats, so Porritt was elected as a Member of the European Parliament.[14] She was appointed deputy leader of the Liberal Democrat group in the European Parliament.[15] During her time as an MEP, Porritt brought resolutions calling on Iran to release Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe.[16]

Porritt was reported to be “seriously considering” putting her name forward to be the Liberal Democrat candidate in the 2021 London mayoral election after Siobhan Benita withdrew from the race following its postponement from the original May 2020 date.[17] She won the selection against the option to reopen nominations on 13 October 2020 after the other shortlisted candidate, Geeta Sidhu-Robb, was suspended from the Liberal Democrats following antisemitism. Siddhu-Robb was filmed when she was a Conservative candidate in the 1997 general election saying: “Don’t vote for a Jew, Jack Straw is a Jew.”[18]

Porritt called for empty offices to be turned into affordable housing,[19] and reform of stop and search.[20] She has been critical of the government's handling of coronavirus, calling for a circuit breaker lockdown when London was put into Tier 2 restrictions in October 2020,[21] and Sadiq Khan's negotiations on the future of Transport For London.[22] Her mayoral campaign drew criticism for breaking COVID-19 lockdown rules, with senior members such as Lib Dem Assembly Member Caroline Pidgeon meeting in groups to campaign during the national lockdown.[23]

Porritt placed fourth in the election, failing to achieve 5% of the vote and therefore losing her deposit. This was the third Mayoral election in a row in which the Lib Dems came fourth, leading the Greens to suggest they were now the third party in London.[citation needed] Porritt came third in her own council ward Belsize on 209 votes to Labour's Sadiq Khan's 986 and the Conservatives' 477.[24]

In August 2021, Porritt abstained on a vote on the controversial Haverstock Hill cycle lane in her own ward, which was ultimately supported by the council.[25]

Porritt will stand down as a Camden councillor at the 2022 Camden London Borough Council election, citing work commitments.[26]

Personal life

Porritt is of Jewish, Spanish, Turkish, Egyptian and Austro-Hungarian descent.[27]

References

  1. ^ "The UK's European elections 2019". BBC News. Archived from the original on 29 April 2019. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  2. ^ "Live updates as Brexit Party takes first two seats". Evening Standard. 26 May 2019. Archived from the original on 26 May 2019. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  3. ^ ""I'll bring big ideas and urgent action" - Luisa Porritt". London Liberal Democrats. 13 October 2020. Archived from the original on 20 October 2020. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  4. ^ Taylor, Harry (23 April 2019). "EU elections: Belsize councillor Luisa Porritt bids to become an MEP on birthday". Hampstead Highgate Express. Archived from the original on 1 December 2020. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  5. ^ "A 'safer, fairer and greener' London - Belsize's Luisa in line for mayoral race". 21 September 2020. Archived from the original on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  6. ^ "Alumni Generations". Higher – The Magazine for the alumni of Royal Holloway and Bedford [colleges]. 2011. pp. 24–25. Archived from the original on 27 May 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  7. ^ "Lib Dem mayoral candidate vows to speak for 'millennial Londoners'". Evening Standard. 13 October 2020. Archived from the original on 16 October 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  8. ^ "Luisa Porritt". Business Insider. 16 September 2015. Archived from the original on 16 May 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  9. ^ Harrington, John (7 September 2021). "Edelman hires former Mayor of London candidate and ex-MEP in new investment content role". PRWeek. Archived from the original on 18 November 2021. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  10. ^ "Q&A: My Belsize Park, by Cllr Luisa Porritt". Archant (Hampstead & Highgate Express), Norwich. 5 July 2018. Archived from the original on 18 October 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  11. ^ a b "EU elections: Camden councillor Luisa Porritt elected MEP for London as Lib Dems take 27% of votes in capital". Archant (Hampstead & Highgate Express), Norwich. 27 May 2019. Archived from the original on 27 May 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  12. ^ "Belsize: Lib Dems take seats from the Tories after dramatic recount". Camden New Journal. 4 May 2018. Archived from the original on 30 May 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  13. ^ Taylor, Harry (7 September 2020). "Longstanding Camden Lib Dem leader Flick Rea 'passes on the baton', with Luisa Porritt taking over borough's third party". Hampstead Highgate Express. Archived from the original on 7 September 2020. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  14. ^ Taylor, Harry (26 May 2019). "EU elections: Camden councillor Luisa Porritt elected MEP for London as Lib Dems take 27% of votes in capital". Hampstead Highgate Express. Archived from the original on 27 May 2019. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  15. ^ Taylor, Harry (19 June 2019). "Camden MEP Luisa Porritt elected as Liberal Democrat's European Parliament deputy leader". Hampstead Highgate Express. Archived from the original on 28 September 2020. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  16. ^ "Camden MEP brings EU resolution calling on Iran to free Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and slamming its protester crackdown". 20 December 2019. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  17. ^ Taylor, Harry (4 August 2020). "Belsize councillor Luisa Porritt 'seriously considering' Lib Dem mayoral candidate bid". Hampstead Highgate Express. Archived from the original on 6 August 2020. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  18. ^ Maguire, Patrick (14 September 2020). "Lib Dem Geeta Sidhu Robb dropped over antisemitism". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 19 November 2020. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
  19. ^ "New Lib Dem mayoral candidate calls for City of London offices to be converted into homes". 13 October 2020. Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  20. ^ "'I would reform stop and search as the city's mayor'". 23 October 2020. Archived from the original on 5 November 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  21. ^ "Luisa Porritt: New lockdown restrictions due to Government incompetence". 15 October 2020. Archived from the original on 30 October 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  22. ^ "'TfL bailout deal done to keep London's Tube and buses running'". 2 November 2020. Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  23. ^ "LibDems Still Breaking Election Lockdown Laws". Guido Fawkes. 9 March 2021. Archived from the original on 4 August 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  24. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 22 July 2021. Retrieved 22 July 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  25. ^ Osley, Richard (26 August 2021). "Haverstock Hill cycle lanes WILL go ahead as latest challenge falls". Camden New Journal. Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  26. ^ Osley, Richard (3 February 2022). "Camden Lib Dem leader Luisa Porritt to stand down at elections". Camden New Journal. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  27. ^ Stephen Oryszczuk (2 November 2020). "Lib Dem mayoral hopeful: After discovering my roots, antisemitism felt personal". Jewish News. Independent Jewish Community News Foundation. Archived from the original on 24 November 2020. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
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