Joanne Cash

Joanne Cash (born 28 December 1969) is a media barrister. She was the unsuccessful Conservative Party candidate for Westminster North in the 2010 general election.

Joanne Cash
Born (1969-12-28) 28 December 1969
Northern Ireland
EducationBanbridge Academy
Oxford University
OccupationMedia barrister

Early life and education

Cash was born in Northern Ireland. Her mother was a newsagent, while her father held various jobs, sometimes up to three at once. She has a brother who is an NHS doctor, and a sister who is a teacher.[1] Cash was educated at Tandragee Primary and Banbridge Academy[2] (both state schools).[1] She read English Literature at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford University.[1][3] Cash was elected Librarian of the Oxford Union, but failed in her bid for its presidency.

Cash qualified as a barrister after graduating. She was called to the Bar in 1994 as a member of Gray's Inn, and became a tenant at Farrars' Building. In 2000, she joined One Brick Court to specialise in libel, privacy and freedom of expression work.

In 2005, Cash successfully represented an innocent man dubbed “the lotto rapist” in error by the Sunday Mirror winning her client considerable damages.[4] Cash has spoken out strongly for strengthening freedom of the press,[5] arguing that the Reynolds defence should be strengthened and that the Sullivan defence (derived from the 1964 US case New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, allowing the press to write about public figures) should be introduced to the UK.[6] Cash hosted a debate for Policy Exchange on libel reform, believing that libel tourism ought to be curbed.[7]

Cash has represented a number of clients,[8] including Elle Macpherson and Trudie Styler.[8][9]

She was called a “freedom fighter” in an Observer article in 2009.[5] For her legal work, the British edition of Vogue includes Cash as one of the 50 women of the age, alongside the likes of Michelle Obama and the Queen.[9]

Conservative candidacy

As a member of the Society of Conservative Lawyers, Cash assisted the Shadow Cabinet on legal issues.[3] She also worked with Policy Exchange the centre-right think tank to formulate policy proposals and to provide input on media issues, and enlisted governmental support from then Shadow Justice Secretary Dominic Grieve for libel reform.[10] She is a key Tory activist for libel reform and free speech.[11]

In February 2006, she applied to become a Conservative candidate[1] and was placed on the A-list. She was selected to fight her local seat, Westminster North, the first and only seat she had applied for, in November 2006, four months before she met her husband Octavius.

In September 2008, Tatler featured Cash as one of ten top up-and-coming Tories, tipping her as a future Housing Minister. Cash spoke to the magazine about welfare reform, arguing that teenagers need more welfare support for staying in education, not for getting pregnant.[12] Cash was described by The Times in February 2009 as “one to watch”.[3] In September 2009, she was profiled in a list of “rising stars” of the Conservative party for The Daily Telegraph, who described her as a "Eurosceptic with a sharp mind".[10] An article in The Sunday Telegraph in October 2009 reported "Some high-profile women are already installed in winnable seats: Louise Bagshawe, Annunziata Rees-Mogg, Priti Patel, Laura Sandys and Joanne Cash will all make colourful additions to the Tory benches."[13]

In February 2010, Cash disagreed with members of her constituency association over strategies to win the seat, with the result that David Cameron, the leader of the party but not yet prime minister, intervened to sack Amanda Sayers, chair of the Westminster North Conservative Association. Cash then commented on her Twitter page that her opponents were “dinosaurs”. Shortly afterwards Cash tendered her resignation as candidate, but the Conservatives did not accept it, and she continued to campaign for Westminster North until the election in May.[9]

Cash failed to gain the new seat from the incumbent Labour member for Regent's Park and Kensington North, Karen Buck. When she failed to secure the seat, she accused the media of lying about her and her husband.[14]

Mind Gym

Fighting an inner London marginal seat inspired Cash to co-found Parent Gym, the philanthropic programme of Mind Gym, which runs workshops aimed at increasing parents' skills and confidence, and therefore improving the wellbeing of their children.

On the back of the success of Parent Gym, Cash became a board director of Mind Gym in 2012 before becoming chair of the board in 2014.

Personal life

In December 2007, Cash married Octavius Black, the founder and managing director of The Mind Gym. Friends who attended their exchange of vows "included Ed Vaizey and Michael Gove, Viscount and Viscountess Rothermere, Stuart Rose and Kirstie Allsopp".[15] Black was educated at Eton College at the same time as David Cameron;[16] the two men have stayed close, and they and their wives socialise together.[15]

The couple are reported to live in Notting Hill.[17] They have a daughter.

Notes
  1. Bowcott, Owen (18 February 2010). "Tory Joanne Cash says she is no closer to Cameron than any other candidate". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media.
  2. How the candidates from NI fared across the water BBC News, 9 May 2010
  3. Oakeshott, Isabel; Oliver, Jonathan (26 July 2009). "Young, gifted and Tory". Times Online.
  4. Day, Julia (2 June 2005). "Sunday Mirror pays out over rapist gaffe". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media.
  5. McCrum, Robert (22 February 2009). "Meet the new freedom fighters". The Observer. Guardian News and Media.
  6. Geary, Aidan (28 February 2009). "What next for press freedom?". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media.
  7. Bright, Martin (16 July 2008). "Libel Tourism in the UK". New Statesman.
  8. Gordon, Victor (15 February 2010). "Cameron-backed Ulster barrister rocking Tories". News Letter. Johnston Publishing.
  9. "Rising stars: new face of the Conservatives". The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. 10 September 2009.
  10. Nick, Boles; Montgomerie, Tim; Cash, Joanne (4 October 2009). "My big idea to fix politics". The Guardian.
  11. Bennett, Catherine (14 September 2008). "The rich get all the good press. Now let's hear it for the poor". The Observer. Guardian News and Media.
  12. Melissa Kite "The softly, softly fight for the women's vote at the general election" The Telegraph, 25 October 2009
  13. "Joanne Cash concedes defeat with rant at the press". Evening Standard. ESI Media. 7 May 2010. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  14. Eden, Richard (7 February 2009). "David Cameron finds new 'guru'". The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  15. Sherwood, Bob (7 April 2010). "Affluent enclave sitting on political front line". Financial Times. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  16. "Joanne Cash concedes defeat with rant at the press". Evening Standard. 7 May 2010. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
gollark: Oh, good. Please remind me tomorrow. Bye.
gollark: Which repository?
gollark: I could probably PR in a bit more documentation for the websocket bit, though, good idea.
gollark: I'm just saying that because that documentation exists, it's fine, but it's not "self-documenting".
gollark: Having documentation there clears it up, though.
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