{{Short description|English politician (born 1946)}} {{BLP sources|date=August 2019}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2022}} {{Use British English|date=March 2012}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = Rosie Barnes | honorific_suffix = [[Order of the British Empire|OBE]] | image = | caption = | birth_name = Rosemary Susan Allen | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1946|05|16|df=yes}} | birth_place = [[Nottingham]], England | office = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] <br /> for [[Greenwich (UK Parliament constituency)|Greenwich]] | term_start = 26 February 1987 | term_end = 16 March 1992 | predecessor = [[Guy Barnett (British politician)|Guy Barnett]] | successor = [[Nick Raynsford]] | parliament = United Kingdom | party = [[Independent politician|Independent]] (after 1990) | other_party = [[Social Democratic Party (UK)|SDP]] (1981–1988)<br/>[[Social Democratic Party (UK, 1988–1990)|'Continuing' SDP]] (1988–1990) }} '''Rosemary Susan Barnes''', [[Order of the British Empire|OBE]] (''née'' '''Allen'''; born 16 May 1946) is an English charity organiser and former politician. She became nationally known when she won a by-election in 1987 for the [[Social Democratic Party (UK)|Social Democratic Party]].
==Early life== Rosemary Allen was born in [[Nottingham]] to Alan Allen and Kathleen Allen and was educated at Bilborough Grammar School ([[Bilborough College]] since 1975), gaining seven O-levels, and three A-levels. She is a cousin of Labour MP [[Graham Allen (politician)|Graham Allen]].<ref>''Nottingham Evening Post'' Tuesday 3 March 1987, page 3</ref>
At the [[University of Birmingham]] she graduated in Social Sciences and History in 1967. The same year she married Graham Barnes, an old school friend from Bilborough Grammar School, who later became an accountant and investment company director. They have two sons and one daughter. After briefly becoming a teacher, she worked as a freelance market research consultant. In the late 1960s she lived in [[Balham]] and [[Streatham]].
==Political activity== Having been a [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] voter, although never a member, when the [[Social Democratic Party (UK)|Social Democratic Party]] (SDP) was formed in 1981 Barnes and her husband joined it as founder members because they were opposed to the Labour Party's leftward move. She served on the Council for Social Democracy from 1982 as the delegate from Greenwich, and was an SDP candidate in [[Woolwich (UK Parliament constituency)|Woolwich]] in the [[Inner London Education Authority]] elections in May 1986.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.election.demon.co.uk/glc/ilea.html|title=Inner London Education Authority Results – 1986–1990|last=Boothroyd|first=David|work=United Kingdom Election Results|accessdate=27 January 2012}}</ref>
==Parliamentary candidature== Barnes was selected as SDP candidate for [[Greenwich (UK Parliament constituency)|Greenwich]] in December 1986 after the previous candidate stood down, saying he did not want to be a "paper candidate" because the local SDP had decided to concentrate its efforts on keeping [[John Cartwright (British politician)|John Cartwright]]'s seat in Woolwich. On Christmas Eve 1986, the Labour MP for the constituency ([[Guy Barnett (British politician)|Guy Barnett]]) died, precipitating a [[by-election]].<ref>{{cite news|title=MP's death causes critical by-election|last=Fletcher|first=Martin|date=27 December 1986|work=The Times}}</ref> The local Labour Party selected a left-wing candidate, and the [[1987 Greenwich by-election|Greenwich by-election]] held in February 1987 saw a deluge of canvassers, including many members of the [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal Party]], come from near and far to help her win the seat. Her husband, who in 1986 had become an SDP local councillor in Greenwich, acted as her agent at the subsequent [[1987 United Kingdom general election|1987 general election]] four months later when she was returned.{{Citation needed|date=January 2012}}
==National figure== Becoming a political star at the general election by virtue of her 'non-partisan' appeal,{{citation needed|date=August 2019}} the SDP decided to use Barnes prominently in its campaign. She was shown in soft focus in a [[Party political broadcast]] teaching her son the way to stroke a rabbit, an appearance which was heavily ridiculed{{by whom|date=August 2019}}. She retained her seat with a lower majority. Following the election, with the SDP split over whether to merge with the Liberal Party, Barnes strongly supported [[David Owen]] in his resistance to merger.{{Citation needed|date=January 2012}}
==Role in SDP== Rosie Barnes became a member of Dr Owen's [[Social Democratic Party (UK, 1988–1990)|'continuing' SDP]], but when the party was disbanded in 1990 she continued to sit in Parliament as an 'Independent Social Democrat'. In the [[1992 United Kingdom general election|1992 general election]], despite being actively aided by the local Liberal Democrat party who did not put up a candidate against her and canvassed for her, she lost her seat to [[Nick Raynsford]] of the Labour Party.
==After Parliament== After leaving politics Barnes became a charity director, first for the [[Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists]] at Birthright (which she renamed WellBeing), and subsequently as Chief Executive of the [[Cystic Fibrosis Trust]] which she joined in October 1996 and from which she retired in August 2010.{{Citation needed|date=January 2012}}<ref>{{Cite web |year=2010 |title=Annual Review 2010 |url=https://www.cysticfibrosis.org.uk/sites/default/files/2020-11/Annual_Review_2010.pdf |access-date=6 July 2024 |website=Cystic Fibrosis Trust }}</ref> In 2011 she accepted an invitation to become Patron of [[Child Health International]], a charity dedicated to helping families affected by [[cystic fibrosis]] in former [[Soviet bloc]] countries.{{citation needed|date=August 2019}}
==Honours== Barnes was appointed [[Order of the British Empire|OBE]] for services to health care in 2011.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2011-06-11 |title=Queens Birthday Honors 6/11/11 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-telegraph-queens-birthday-hono/150799039/ |access-date=2024-07-06 |work=The Daily Telegraph |pages=26}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{Hansard-contribs|mrs-rosie-barnes|Rosie Barnes}} * {{History of Modern Biomedicine Research Group ID}}
{{s-start}} {{s-par|uk}} {{succession box | title = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Greenwich (UK Parliament constituency)|Greenwich]] | years = [[1987 Greenwich by-election|1987]] – [[1992 United Kingdom general election|1992]] | before = [[Guy Barnett (British politician)|Guy Barnett]] | after = [[Nick Raynsford]] }} {{s-end}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Rosie}} [[Category:1946 births]] [[Category:20th-century English women politicians]] [[Category:20th-century English politicians]] [[Category:Alumni of the University of Birmingham]] [[Category:English marketing people]] [[Category:Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies]] [[Category:Independent members of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom]] [[Category:Independent politicians in England]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire]] [[Category:Politicians from Nottingham]] [[Category:Social Democratic Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies]] [[Category:Social Democratic Party (UK, 1988–1990) MPs]] [[Category:UK MPs 1983–1987]] [[Category:UK MPs 1987–1992]]