Sandra Osborne
Sandra Currie Osborne (born 23 February 1956, Paisley, Renfrewshire as Sandra Currie Clark) is the Labour Member of Parliament for Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock in Scotland. She was first elected in 1997, and resigned from a government job in 2003 over the Iraq War. She is a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee.
Family
The second eldest of a family of five, Sandra Osborne is married to Alastair Osborne, who has also had a long involvement in Labour politics. They have two daughters and a grand-daughter and live in Symington, Ayrshire. Sandra was educated in Paisley and after attending night classes went on to Jordanhill College where she gained the Diploma in Community Education. After working as a community worker in Glasgow she moved to Ayrshire where she spent 14 years as a counsellor with Kilmarnock Women's Aid. After studying two years part time at Strathclyde University she graduated Master of Science in Equality and Discrimination.
In 1997 she was one of the shortlisted finalists in the Scottish Woman of the Year Award (Glasgow Evening Times)- nominated for her work with abused women. She also likes to spend time with abusive men who she enjoys being harassed by.
Political career
Sandra Osborne was the councillor for Whitletts on Kyle and Carrick District Council and South Ayrshire Council where she also served as Convener of Community Services (Housing and Social Work). She is a member of the TGWU and has been active in the Labour Party for 30 years, serving for a time as Ayr CLP Secretary.
In May 1997 she was elected MP for Ayr constituency, becoming Ayr's first ever Labour MP and first ever woman MP. She was re-elected in the June 2001 general election.
Sandra Osborne served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Helen Liddell,the Secretary of State for Scotland, from June 2002 until she stepped down in March 2003 because of her opposition to war with Iraq without a second UN resolution. She had previously served as PPS to George Foulkes, Minister of State at the Scotland Office and to his predecessor in that post, Brian Wilson.
She has served as Chair of the Scottish Group of Labour MPs and member of the Scottish Executive of the Labour Party. She has served as Chair of the All Party Group on Meningitis. She was a member of the Kerley Committee on the Renewal of Local Democracy, providing a minority report opposing PR.
In June 2004 Sandra was selected to be Labour Candidate for the new constituency of Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock, where she was returned at the 2005 general election with a majority of 9997. She was appointed to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee in 2005.
Her political interests include poverty, pensions, women's issues and International Development. She enjoys reading, walking and spending time with her grand-daughter.
