Tag Archives: emma nicholson

News came through yesterday that Baroness Zahida Manzoor, has quit the party as she is opposed to our policy following the EU Referendum: This comes after Emma Nicholson apparently left us for the same reasons last month. Politics Home has the details.

A Liberal Democrat spokesperson told PoliticsHome: “Baroness Manzoor has resigned the whip as she disagrees with our view that we should be at the heart of Europe.

“We are disappointed with her decision as it is the Liberal Democrats who are standing up for hope and unity in the face of Brexit.

“More than 18,000 new members take the opposite view and have joined the Liberal Democrats since the EU referendum because of our position on Europe.”

Emma Nicholson’s decision was revealed by The Times last month, with the response from the party headquarters: “Emma who?”

She was elected as Conservative MP for Torridge and West Devon in 1987 and served as vice-chair of the Tory party before defecting in 1995. She joined the House of Lords in 1997.

Baroness Manzoor, who was ennobled less than three years ago, has also resigned her frontbench post as Liberal Democrat work and pensions spokeswoman.

Last year she took a leading role in the Lords’ battle against tax credits.

There is some speculation that Baroness Manzoor may join the Conservative Party. Nick Clegg’s decision to give her a peerage surprised people in 2013 as few had been aware that she had any connection to the party or commitment to it. It would be very strange if she were to join the Tories after she was so pivotal in forcing that u-turn on tax credits. She apparently stunned colleagues by announcing that she was leaving on the last day before the parliamentary recess.

The Tories’ opposition to the EU was one of the reasons Emma Nicholson joined us in the first place, and she served as MEP for a decade. This Herald profile of her from 1995 looks at her life and career.