Vera Baird

Vera Baird
Baird in 2013
Victims' Commissioner for England and Wales
In office
15 June 2019 – 30 September 2022
Preceded byThe Baroness Newlove
Succeeded byThe Baroness Newlove (Acting)
Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner
In office
22 November 2012 – 7 June 2019
Preceded byOffice created
Succeeded byKim McGuinness
Solicitor General for England and Wales
In office
29 June 2007 – 11 May 2010
Prime MinisterGordon Brown
Preceded byMike O'Brien
Succeeded byEdward Garnier
Member of Parliament
for Redcar
In office
7 June 2001 – 12 April 2010
Preceded byMo Mowlam
Succeeded byIan Swales
Personal details
Born
Vera Thomas

(1950-02-13) 13 February 1950 (age 74)
Chadderton, Lancashire, England
Political partyLabour
Spouses
David Taylor-Gooby
(m. 1972; div. 1978)
Robert Baird
(m. 1978; died 1979)
Residence(s)South Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Alma materNewcastle Polytechnic
Open University,[1]
London Guildhall University
University of Teesside

Dame Vera Baird DBE KC (née Thomas; born 13 February 1950)[2] is a British barrister and politician who has held roles as a government minister, police and crime commissioner, and Victims' Commissioner for England and Wales.[3]

A Labour Party Member of Parliament for Redcar from 2001 to 2010, Baird was a government minister from 2006 to 2010 and the Solicitor General for England and Wales from 2007 to 2010. She served as the Police and Crime Commissioner for Northumbria Police from November 2012 to June 2019. She was appointed as Victim's Commissioner in June 2019 and resigned in September 2022, accusing government ministers of downgrading victims' interests.

Baird was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to women and equality.[4]

  1. ^ "BAIRD, Vera". Who's Who. Oxford University Press. 2009.
  2. ^ "UKBMD Summary Page". Ukbmdsearch.org.uk. Retrieved 18 December 2010.
  3. ^ "Dame Vera Baird QC". Victims' Commissioner. 2019. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  4. ^ "No. 61803". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2016. p. N8.