Tag Archives: Frances Alexander

The Voice

Lib Dem legend Frances Alexander remembered in the Guardian

By The Voice | Sat 19th December 2020 - 2:14 pm

You may remember that former Lib Dem Mayor of High Wycombe sadly died in September. Members of her family wrote a beautiful obituary for us. 

Today, her daughter Louise writes in the Guardian about her mother’s life.

While listening to the debate on the 1967 abortion bill in the House of Commons, Frances heard only men’s voices. No one was telling the stories of the botched abortions that she had seen the results of as a nurse and she knew that parliament needed more women. She joined the Liberal party and stood for parliament three times between 1974 and 1979. She was a founding member in 1980 of the 300 Group for equal numbers of female MPs.

The family had moved to Wycombe in 1970, after which Frances taught first aid, health education and childcare at a local secondary school, Wellesbourne, and went on to be a careers adviser.

In 1991, she was elected to Wycombe district council, going on to become chairman of the council (1997-98) and mayor of High Wycombe (1998-99). Her achievements on the council included pedestrianisation of the high street, protecting a local nature reserve and setting up a charity that gives furniture to recently homed families.

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged | 1 Comment

Dr Frances Alexander (1935-2020)

By Cecilia Alexander and Gary Bricklebank | Tue 22nd September 2020 - 1:38 pm

This is a longer piece than we would usually publish, but we feel that it is important that Frances’ contribution to her community and wider society is marked.

Dr Frances Alexander, the former Lib Dem mayor of High Wycombe, died last week aged 84. Frances made things happen.

Things she cared passionately about: new organisations, new practical solutions in High Wycombe, groups for the advancement of women, ways to address environmental damage, events to bring her family together. She embodied the idea of ‘Think Global, Act Local’. Her achievements are wide and resounding, and she touched the lives of very many …

Continue reading »
Posted in Obituaries | 1 Comment
Advert

Recent Comments

  • Dan Falchikov
    Well said: "David Howarth’s Being Liberal explores the Liberal disposition: open-minded, suspicious of abuses of power, uncomfortable with hierarchy, treatin...
  • Pawel Urbanski
    This is the clearest statement of the case I have read in a while, and "competence is not a destination" is the line worth repeating. One worked example from ...
  • Simon McGrath
    @jennie "“Liberals have always been suspicious of too much power in too few hands.” *looks at direction of travel of internal party mechanisms the last fiv...
  • Jack Nicholls
    Roz, I can't think of anything you ever write that I don't heartily agree with, frequently in letter and always in spirit. We've started (literally just started...
  • Peter Dunphy
    The challenge of empowering local communities/councils etc is not that this will allow the house building or wind farms or railway lines that we need - they wil...