Elizabeth Jarvis[1] known as Liz Jarvis, is a British Liberal Democrat politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Eastleigh since 2024, gaining the seat from the Conservatives.
Liz Jarvis | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2024 | |
| Member of Parliament for Eastleigh | |
| Assumed office 4 July 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Paul Holmes |
| Majority | 1,546 (3.3%) |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | Liberal Democrats |
| Alma mater | University of Essex |
Early life
editJarvis's mother Eileen was of Irish descent. A former secretary, she went on to become a senior social worker before gaining an Open University degree.[2] Jarvis's father Harry was a shipping fleet personnel officer from Hampshire who had served in the British Army in the Middle East.[2][3]
Her mother was a member of the Labour Party and her father voted Conservative. Jarvis has said that politics was discussed at every meal and she was taken on her first march by her mother as a toddler.[3] She and her younger sister also helped their mother volunteer at women's refuges. Jarvis's father, Harry, died suddenly before Jarvis was 21,[4] and her mother, Eileen, died aged 92 in March 2024[2] after a seven-year struggle with Alzheimer's.[2]
The first in her family to go to university, Jarvis graduated from the University of Essex in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in American literature.[5]
Journalism career
editJarvis began her career in journalism on national newspapers and had a national newspaper column by the time she was 25. She went on to work on magazines, editing three, while continuing to contribute to newspapers, and also worked closely with Southampton's cruise industry.[3] She was the editor of Cruise International magazine for eight years (2012-2020).[6]
Political career
editJarvis joined the Liberal Democrats in 2018, having been a "lifelong Labour voter".[7] She stood in Southampton Itchen in the 2019 general election, coming third with 5.3% of the vote when the seat was won by Conservative Royston Smith with a narrow majority over Labour.[8] In 2022 she was elected as an Eastleigh Borough Councillor for the Hamble and Netley ward, with a majority of over 1000.[9]
In the 2024 general election she was elected as the Liberal Democrat MP for Eastleigh,[10] winning the seat back from the Conservatives for the first time since 2015 and overturning a notional majority of 8,641 (calculated as the likely outcome of the 2019 election on the 2024 boundaries).[11] She had a majority of 1,546 (3.3%) over the Conservative candidate; there were six candidates and a turnout of 66%.[12] In September 2024, she made her maiden speech in the House of Commons during a debate on Great British Energy.[13] In October 2024 she was appointed to the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee. [14]
Personal life
editJarvis has a son who she raised as a single parent since he was aged 18 months.[15] She lives outside the Eastleigh constituency, in Hamble Valley, where she is also a councillor.[16] [17] From 2019 to 2023 she was a trustee of Home-Start Westminster, a charity supporting families in London.[6][18]
References
edit- ^ ,"No. 64465". The London Gazette. 22 July 2024. p. 14085.
- ^ a b c d Jarvis, Liz (14 April 2024). "Eileen Jarvis obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
- ^ a b c "About Liz Jarvis". Liz for Eastleigh. 9 June 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
- ^ Jarvis, Liz (12 May 2012). "Did I rob them of their father?". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
- ^ "Liz Jarvis". Policy Mogul. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
- ^ a b "Liz Jarvis". LinkedIn. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
- ^ "'A lifelong Labour voter, I've now left to join the Lib Dems – Corbyn's finally pushed me too far'". The Independent. 2 January 2019. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
- ^ "Southampton Itchen parliamentary constituency - Election 2019 - BBC News". Retrieved 5 August 2024.
- ^ "Declaration of result of poll ... Election of a Borough Councillor for Hamble & Netley" (PDF). Eastleigh Borough Council. 5 May 2022. p. 9. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
- ^ "Hampshire and Isle of Wight: Tories suffer big losses". BBC News. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
- ^ "Notional election for the constituency of Eastleigh on 12 December 2019". UK Parliament election results. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
- ^ "Eastleigh - General election results 2024". BBC News. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
- ^ "Great British Energy". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Commons. 5 September 2024. col. 483–484.
- ^ https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/378/culture-media-and-sport-committee/news/203457/culture-media-and-sport-committee-membership-appointed/
- ^ "I lost my job in the last recession. I know how difficult it will be for single parents this time". The Independent. 8 September 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
- ^ "Eastleigh's new MP bungles maiden speech with Paralympic blunder". Eastleigh News. 7 September 2024. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
- ^ "Councillor Liz Jarvis". Eastleigh Borough Council. 14 September 2024. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
- ^ "Our Trustees". Home-Start Westminster. Archived from the original on 20 January 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
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External links
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