Sarah Atherton

Sarah Elizabeth Atherton[2] (born 15 November 1967) is a British Conservative Party politician, who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wrexham since the 2019 general election.[3] She was the first Conservative to represent the Wrexham constituency since its creation in 1918. In addition, she was the first female MP elected to represent the constituency and became the first female Conservative MP elected to Westminster representing a Welsh constituency.[4]

Sarah Atherton

MP
Atherton in 2019
Member of Parliament
for Wrexham
Assumed office
12 December 2019
Preceded byIan Lucas
Majority2,131 (6.3%)
Personal details
Born (1967-11-15) 15 November 1967[1]
Chester, England
Political partyConservative
Spouse(s)Nick Corcoran
Children1
Alma materBangor University
Military service
Branch/service British Army
UnitIntelligence Corps

Early life and career

After leaving her local comprehensive school at 16, Atherton joined the army serving in the Intelligence Corps before becoming a nurse, training at Bangor University, later becoming a social worker. In addition she ran her own business, a micro brewery, based on Wrexham Industrial Estate.[5][6] Prior to being elected as the Member of Parliament for Wrexham she served on the Gresford Community Council.

Parliamentary career

Sarah Atherton was elected as the Member of Parliament for Wrexham in 2019 following a landslide victory for the Conservative Party. Wrexham was the first seat to be removed from 'Labour's Red Wall' in North Wales.

Atherton has frequently spoken up for the rights of military personnel and veterans and has called for the end of vexatious allegations against veterans.[7]

In the House of Commons, she sits on the Defence Select Committee. Atherton is a member of the Armed Forces and Beer All-Party Parliamentary Groups.

In January 2020, Atherton voted, with the majority, against an Opposition amendment "Proportional Representation to Elect MPs in the House of Commons".[8]

In February 2020, Atherton was appointed as the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Wales, Simon Hart.[9]

In February 2020, Sarah Atherton voted, with the majority, against an Opposition motion on "proper funding of public services along with robust action against tax avoidance and evasion".[10] In the same month she voted, with the majority, against an Opposition motion "a plan to eliminate a substantial majority of transport emissions by 2030".[11]

In June 2020, it was reported during the coronavirus outbreak that Sarah Atherton limited her engagement on the platform Twitter to only her followers, with Twitter contributors criticising her for a lack of engagement via all means of communication.[12] In the same month, she supported recent discussions about sexual abuse in the armed forces not being prosecuted in courts martial but in civilian courts.[13] Atherton has come into some criticism for promoting the re-opening of a McDonald's outlet in Wrexham on her Twitter account, the criticism citing childhood obesity and small independent businesses that require help. Whilst it is a locally-owned franchise, licence fees are paid to McDonald's UK subsidiary.[14]

In July 2020, Sarah Atherton voted, with the majority, against a Green Party amendment to the Trade Bill which the proposer said "would aim to protect the NHS and publicly funded health and care services in other parts of the UK from any form of control from outside the UK". [15] Quoted after the vote, Atherton said "I will continue to respect the manifesto upon which I was elected, which clearly stated that “when we are negotiating trade deals, the NHS will not be on the table. The price the NHS pays for drugs will not be on the table. The services the NHS provides will not be on the table".” [16]

References
  1. "Members' Names Data Platform query". UK Parliament. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  2. "Members Sworn". Hansard.parliament.uk. 2019-12-18. Retrieved 2020-01-28.
  3. Mosalski, Ruth (2019-12-13). "General Election 2019 result for Wrexham". walesonline. Archived from the original on 2019-12-13. Retrieved 2019-12-13.
  4. Randall, Liam. "Sarah Atherton: Wrexham elects Conservative MP for first time in history". Leader Live. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  5. "Dolphin trainer among first Welsh female Tory MPs". BBC News. December 13, 2019. Archived from the original on December 15, 2019. Retrieved December 24, 2019 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  6. "About Sarah". Sarah Atherton. Retrieved 2020-01-05.
  7. "Wrexham Leader: Calls for cut price train travel for military veterans scheme to be extended to Wales". Sarah Atherton. Retrieved 2020-03-04.
  8. "Queen's Speech — Programme for Government — Proportional Representation to Elect MPs". They Work For You. Retrieved 2020-06-24.
  9. "Parliamentary Private Secretary Appointment". Sarah Atherton. Retrieved 2020-03-04.
  10. "Proper Funding of Public Services — Tax Avoidance and Evasion". They Work For You. Retrieved 2020-06-24.
  11. "Transport — Eliminate Substantial Majority of Emissions by 2030". They Work For You. Retrieved 2020-06-24.
  12. "wrexham-mp-explains-started-limiting-twitter-replies-claiming-not-place-talk-". Leader Live. Retrieved 2020-06-24.
  13. "Sexual abuse in the armed forces should not be prosecuted by the military". The Times. Retrieved 2020-06-24.
  14. "Wrexham MP slammed for promoting McDonalds when local independent businesses are struggling". Leader Live. Retrieved 2020-06-24.
  15. "Trade Bill". The Public Whip.
  16. "Wrexham and Clwyd South MPs vote against protecting NHS in post Brexit-trade deal". Leader Live. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Ian Lucas		 Member of Parliament for Wrexham
2019–present		 Incumbent
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