{{short description|British politician (born 1947)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2023}} {{Use British English|date=June 2013}} {{Infobox officeholder | image = <!-- only free-content images are allowed for depicting living people – see WP:NONFREE --> | honorific_prefix = Dr | name = Phyllis Starkey | honorific_suffix = | office = Member of Parliament <br /> for Milton Keynes South West | parliament = | majority = | predecessor = Barry Legg | successor = Iain Stewart | term_start = 1 May 1997 | term_end = 12 April 2010 | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1947|01|4|df=yes}} | birth_place = Ipswich, Suffolk, England | death_date = | death_place = | spouse = Hugh Walton Starkey | party = Labour | relations = | children = 2 daughters | alma_mater = Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford<br />Clare Hall, Cambridge | occupation = | profession = | signature = | website = | footnotes = }} '''Phyllis Margaret Starkey''' (née '''Williams'''; born 4 January 1947) is a British Labour party politician, who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Milton Keynes South West from 1997 to 2010. She had previously served as Leader of Oxford City Council.
==Early life== She was the daughter of Dr John Williams, a food chemist, and Catherine Hooson Williams. She attended the independent Perse School for Girls in Cambridge then read for a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biochemistry at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, graduating in 1970.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.lmh.ox.ac.uk/Alumni/Prominent-alumni.aspx | title=LMH, Oxford – Prominent Alumni|accessdate=22 May 2015}}</ref> In 1974, as a graduate student of Clare Hall, Cambridge, she was awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy by the University of Cambridge.
==Early career== Before she entered Parliament, Starkey's career was in biomedical research. Her early work with Alan Barrett at the University of Cambridge was in the field of biochemistry, and included formulating the trap hypothesis of peptidase inhibition.<ref name="biochemist">[http://www.biochemist.com/bio/02803/0046/028030046.pdf Salvesen GS, Murphy G, Nagase H. The trap hypothesis: α<sub>2</sub>M and protease inhibition ''The Biochemist'' (June 2006) 46–48] (accessed 2 October 2007)</ref> From 1974 to 1981, she was at the Strangeways Laboratory<ref>[http://www.srl.cam.ac.uk/ Strangeways Laboratory] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100302021016/http://www.srl.cam.ac.uk/ |date=2 March 2010 }}, University of Cambridge, UK.</ref> in Cambridge. She later headed a group at the University of Oxford researching problems of pregnancy.<ref name="official-website-biography2">[http://www.phyllisstarkey.co.uk/biography Phyllis Starkey, MP for Milton Keynes South West: About Phyllis] (accessed 30 December 2007)</ref> She was at the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology in Oxford from 1981 to 1984. She lectured in Obstetrics at the University of Oxford and was a fellow of Somerville College, Oxford, from 1984 to 1993.
Subsequently, she worked as an expert in science and technology policy and bioethics for the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council from 1993 to 1997. From 1997 to 1998 she was a fellow of St Antony's College, Oxford.
Starkey joined the Labour Party in 1974 and became a councillor on Oxford City Council in 1983.<ref name="bbc-election97-candidates">[https://www.bbc.co.uk/election97/candidates/816.htm Phyllis Starkey, BBC Election 1997 candidate page] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041029042810/http://www.bbc.co.uk/election97/candidates/816.htm |date=29 October 2004 }} (accessed 30 December 2007)</ref> She held various positions on the council, including that of Leader of the council (1990–93) and Chair of the Finance Committee (1988–90 and 1993–96).
==Parliamentary career== Starkey was selected to stand for election for Labour through an all-women shortlist.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/seats-with-labour-candidates-from-allfemale-shortlists-1323052.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220526/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/seats-with-labour-candidates-from-allfemale-shortlists-1323052.html |archive-date=26 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Seats with Labour candidates from all-female shortlists |work=The Independent |date=9 January 1996 | location=London | accessdate=22 May 2010}}</ref> As a female entrant to Parliament after the 1997 general election, Starkey was part of the intake dubbed 'The Blair Babes' by the UK media following a photoshoot by the Labour Party to show off how many women MPs were in the new government. Her Parliamentary voting record showed she was a staunch supporter of the legislation introduced by the Labour governments, including the occasional contentious issues within her party. Such were her Blairite credentials that Ken Livingstone, Labour's Mayor of London, dubbed her "Phyllis Stasi"<ref>[http://www.publicwhip.org.uk/mp.php?mpc=Milton_Keynes_South_West The Public Whip – Voting Record: Phyllis Starkey MP].</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Russell |first=Ben |title=What became of Blair's Babes? Ben Russell charts the chequered careers of the class of 1997 – UK Politics, UK |work=The Independent |location=London |accessdate=2015-04-19 |date=2004-02-26 |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/what-became-of-blairs-babes-571239.html |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20091028155028/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/what-became-of-blairs-babes-571239.html |archivedate=28 October 2009 }}</ref>
===On the backbenches (1997–2001)=== Starkey was a Member of the Select Committee on the Modernisation of the House of Commons between 1997 and 1999,<ref name="official-website-biography2"/> during which time significant changes to parliamentary procedures were introduced, including the establishment of the Westminster Hall debating chamber and the beginning of alterations to sitting hours of Parliament to make them more 'family friendly'.<ref name="modernisation-committee">[https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199899/cmselect/cmmodern/60/6015.htm Modernisation Committee] ''Select Committee on Modernisation of the House of Commons First Report, Appendix 1'' 2 December 1998 (accessed 30 December 2007).</ref>
In 1998 Starkey highlighted the need for a national register for door supervisors (bouncers) to protect young people's safety while clubbing, and introduced a Private Members Bill to Parliament to establish one.<ref name="door-supervisors-bill">[https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199798/cmhansrd/vo980128/debtext/80128-21.htm#80128-21_head1 Hansard, 28 January 1998] ''Hansard – Door Supervisors (Registration)'' 28 January 1998 (accessed 30 December 2007).</ref> Whilst her Bill did not succeed, the Government was persuaded of the need for a register, and it was incorporated into the Private Security Industry Act 2001 which led to the formation of the Security Industry Authority in 2003.
Between 1999 and 2001, Starkey was a member of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee.
===Parliamentary Private Secretary (2001–2005)=== After the 2001 general election Starkey was subsequently appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to junior Foreign Office Ministers Denis MacShane and Ben Bradshaw and from May–October 2002 was PPS to Denis MacShane and Mike O'Brien. In November 2002 she transferred to become PPS to Denis MacShane in his new role as Minister of State for Europe.
===Select committee chair (2005–2010)=== After the general election in May 2005, Starkey was appointed chair of the Committee on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. Following the reorganisation of Government Departments announced on 5 May 2006, the committee was renamed the Communities and Local Government Select Committee, though its role and the majority of its remit remained the same.<ref name="odpm-comm">[http://www.parliament.uk/documents/upload/ODPMmgcnote.pdf ODPM Committee Note] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061121033958/http://www.parliament.uk/documents/upload/ODPMmgcnote.pdf |date=21 November 2006 }} ''The ODPM Select Committee and the Department for Communities and Local Government'' 22 May 2006 (accessed 30 December 2007).</ref>
In 2006, there were some notable examples of Starkey becoming increasingly critical of the Prime Minister Tony Blair. In March she used a tough line of questioning during PMQs regarding the tensions between Israel and the Palestinian Authority,<ref name="PMQs-2006">[https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200506/cmhansrd/vo060315/debtext/60315-04.htm#60315-04_spnew4 Hansard, 15 March 2006] ''Hansard – Questions to the Prime Minister'' 15 March 2006 (accessed 30 December 2007).</ref> and in July during a Liaison Committee session with the PM she raised concerns in relation to the Government's work on education and employment for the Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities of Britain.<ref name="liaisoncomm2004">[http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.com/pa/cm200506/cmselect/cmliaisn/709/6070405.htm Liaison Committee – Minutes of Evidence] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071006134058/http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.com/pa/cm200506/cmselect/cmliaisn/709/6070405.htm |date=6 October 2007 }} ''House of Commons Liaison Committee'' 4 July 2006 (accessed 30 June 2007).</ref>
In 2007 Starkey along with Jeffrey Donaldson MP called for an investigation into the private security and military services firm ArmorGroup, who held contracts with the British Government for police training in Iraq and Afghanistan.<ref name="ArmorGroup">[https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2007/dec/24/uk.iraq Guardian Newspaper] ''Iraq cover-up claims: MPs call for inquiry'' 24 December 2007 (accessed 30 December 2007).</ref> She has also pressed the Government to regulate nail bars and for a ban on a potentially harmful chemical glue used in some outlets to affix fake nails.<ref name="nail-bars">[https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7162624.stm BBC News Website] ''Call for UK ban on fake-nail glue'' 30 December 2007 (accessed 30 December 2007).</ref>
Starkey took a close interest in the political situation in the Middle East in her last Parliament, and travelled to both Palestine and Lebanon. Her outspoken opinion on the Israeli incursion into Lebanon in 2006 was firmly at odds with the Labour leadership.<ref name="independent-newspaper-comment">[http://comment.independent.co.uk/commentators/article1209724.ece The Independent – Comment Pages] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016160002/http://comment.independent.co.uk/commentators/article1209724.ece |date=16 October 2007 }} ''Phyllis Starkey: I could support Blair on Iraq, but not over this'' 2 August 2006 (accessed 30 December 2007).</ref> In a pop quiz of MPs involved in Middle East issues run by ''The Sunday Times'' newspaper in 2007, Starkey was commended along with Conservative MP Andrew Rosindell for getting the highest score, with all but one answer correct.<ref name="sunday-times">[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2534980,00.html Sunday Times]{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} ''MPs don’t know their Sunnis from Shi’ites'' 7 January 2007 (accessed 30 December 2007).</ref>
Starkey was comparatively untroubled by ''The Daily Telegraph'''s investigation of the MPs' expenses scandal in 2009,<ref>{{cite news |title=MPs' expenses: Full list of MPs investigated by The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/5297606/MPs-expenses-Full-list-of-MPs-investigated-by-the-Telegraph.html |date=8 May 2009 |work=The Daily Telegraph|accessdate=8 July 2009 | location=London}}</ref> though she was one of the MPs to have travelled abroad as a guest of the British Council, a taxpayer-funded organisation, which became the subject of controversy when the Speaker Michael Martin withheld information relating to the declaration of the hospitality provided.<ref name="brit-council">{{Cite news|last=Hastings|first=Chris|title=Speaker Michael Martin in secrecy row over British Council trips|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/4550620/Speaker-Michael-Martin-in-secrecy-row-over-British-Council-trips.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211151401/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/4550620/Speaker-Michael-Martin-in-secrecy-row-over-British-Council-trips.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 February 2009|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=7 February 2009|accessdate=30 June 2009 | location=London}}</ref> Starkey said she could not remember if she had spoken to the Registrar about her trip, but was of the opinion she did not have to declare a trip that was effectively paid for by the Government and the taxpayer; a position endorsed by the Commons Registrar of Members' Interests.<ref name=brit-council />
===Defeat=== At the 2010 general election, Starkey ran in the redrawn seat of Milton Keynes South but lost to Conservative candidate Iain Stewart, whom she had previously defeated in 2001 and 2005.
==Personal life== She married Hugh Walton Starkey on 6 September 1969. They have two daughters.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/vote2001/candidates/candidates/4/40604.stm | publisher=BBC News | title=BBC NEWS – VOTE 2001 – CANDIDATES}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20010517125133/http://politics.guardian.co.uk/person/0,9290,-4963,00.html Guardian Unlimited Politics – Ask Aristotle: Phyllis Starkey MP] * [https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/phyllis_starkey/milton_keynes_south_west TheyWorkForYou.com – Phyllis Starkey MP] * [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/mpdb/html/406.stm BBC Politics]{{dead link|date=September 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
===News items=== * [https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7446445.stm BBC News – MPs take on the cistern] 10 June 2008 * [https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7162624.stm BBC News – Call for UK ban on fake-nail glue] 30 December 2007 * [https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/cornwall/6427105.stm BBC News – MP praises 'surf capital' Newquay] 7 March 2007
{{s-start}} {{s-par|uk}} {{s-bef|before=Barry Legg}} {{s-ttl |title = Member of Parliament for Milton Keynes South West | years = 1997–2010 }} {{s-non|reason=Constituency abolished}} {{s-end}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Starkey, Phyllis}} Category:1947 births Category:Living people Category:Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Category:Alumni of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford Category:Alumni of Clare Hall, Cambridge Category:Members of Oxford City Council Category:Politicians from Ipswich Category:Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Category:English biochemists Category:Fellows of Somerville College, Oxford Category:Fellows of St Antony's College, Oxford Category:UK MPs 1997–2001 Category:UK MPs 2001–2005 Category:UK MPs 2005–2010 Category:Politics of Milton Keynes Category:People educated at the Perse School for Girls Category:20th-century British women scientists Category:20th-century English women politicians Category:21st-century English women politicians Category:Women councillors in England Category:Scientists from Ipswich