Lynne Featherstone

The Baroness Featherstone
Official portrait, 2022
Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Energy and Climate Change
In office
29 July 2015 – 7 February 2019
LeaderTim Farron
Vince Cable
Preceded byEd Davey
Succeeded byWera Hobhouse
Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Home Affairs
In office
7 January 2015 – 16 July 2015
LeaderNick Clegg
Preceded byChris Huhne[a]
Succeeded byAlistair Carmichael
Minister of State for Crime Prevention
In office
4 November 2014 – 8 May 2015
Prime MinisterDavid Cameron
Preceded byNorman Baker
Succeeded byThe Lord Bates
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development
In office
4 September 2012 – 4 November 2014
Prime MinisterDavid Cameron
Preceded byStephen O'Brien
Succeeded byThe Baroness Northover
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Equalities
In office
12 May 2010 – 4 September 2012
Prime MinisterDavid Cameron
Preceded byMaria Eagle (Minister of State)
Succeeded byHelen Grant[1]
Liberal Democrat Spokesman for Youth and Equality Issues
In office
2 July 2007 – 12 May 2010
LeaderMenzies Campbell
Nick Clegg
Preceded bySusan Kramer
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
Assumed office
26 November 2015
Life Peerage
Member of Parliament
for Hornsey and Wood Green
In office
5 May 2005 – 30 March 2015
Preceded byBarbara Roche
Succeeded byCatherine West
Member of the London Assembly
as the 4th Additional Member
In office
4 May 2000 – 6 June 2005
Preceded byConstituency created
Succeeded byGeoff Pope
Personal details
Born
Lynne Choona Ryness

(1951-12-20) 20 December 1951 (age 72)
Highgate, Middlesex, England
Political partyLiberal Democrats
Spouse(s)Stephen Featherstone
1982–96 (divorced)
Children2
Residence(s)Highgate, N6
Alma materOxford Polytechnic
ProfessionBusinesswoman and subsequently Politician
a. ^ Office vacant from 12 May 2010 to 7 January 2015.

Lynne Choona Featherstone, Baroness Featherstone, PC (née Ryness; born 20 December 1951)[2] is a British politician, businesswoman and Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords.[3]

Prior to entering politics, Featherstone was a successful businesswoman owning and running a London design company. She was also a director of the Ryness chain of lighting and electrical shops.

A Member of the London Assembly (MLA) from 2000 to 2005, she was Member of Parliament (MP) for Hornsey and Wood Green between 2005 and 2015, before being nominated for a peerage in the Dissolution Peerages List 2015.[3] She was created Baroness Featherstone, of Highgate in the London Borough of Haringey on 20 October.[4]

Under the Conservative – Liberal Democrat coalition in 2010 she was appointed as a Home Office Minister with responsibility for criminal information and equalities,[5] before being promoted, in 2012, to Minister with responsibility for International Development.[6] Previously she was Liberal Democrat spokesman for Youth and Equality issues, and chair of the Liberal Democrats technology board.[7] As originator and architect of the same sex marriage law during the coalition, Featherstone launched the consultation by the UK Government on introducing same-sex marriage and was the first politician to take part in the Out4Marriage campaign,[8][9] gaining a special Ben and Jerry's ice cream tub and flavour Lynne Honeycomb[10] and returned to the Home Office as Minister of State in November 2014.[11] Featherstone is a patron of Humanists UK.[12]

  1. ^ Roberts, Scott (4 September 2012). "Lynne Featherstone moved from equalities role in UK Government reshuffle". PinkNews.co.uk. Archived from the original on 8 November 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  2. ^ "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Archived from the original on 19 October 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
  3. ^ a b "Dissolution Peerages 2015 - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  4. ^ "No. 61390". The London Gazette. 26 October 2015. p. 20046.
  5. ^ Ashton, Emily; Hughes, David (14 May 2010). "Equality Job for Lib Dem MP". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 12 March 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  6. ^ "Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for International Development – Inside Government". GOV.UK. Archived from the original on 20 July 2013. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  7. ^ "Clegg reshuffles top Lib Dem team". BBC News. BBC. 8 January 2009. Archived from the original on 16 January 2009. Retrieved 12 January 2009.
  8. ^ "Ben and Jerry's renames Equality Minister Lynne Featherstone as Lynne Honeycomb". PinkNews. 16 May 2012. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  9. ^ "Lynne Featherstone's honeycomb surprise". Libdemvoice.org. 16 May 2012. Archived from the original on 3 June 2013. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  10. ^ "'Lynne Honeycomb': Ice Cream Makers Lobby MP On Gay Marriage". HuffPost UK. 18 May 2012. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  11. ^ "Ministerial appointments: November 2014". www.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 4 November 2014. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  12. ^ "Humanists UK Patron: Lynne Featherstone". Humanists UK. Retrieved 3 August 2023.