Alex Phillips (Green politician)
Alex Phillips | |
---|---|
![]() Phillips in a 2019 political announcement | |
Member of the European Parliament for South East England | |
In office 2 July 2019[1] – 31 January 2020 | |
Preceded by | Keith Taylor |
Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
Mayor of Brighton and Hove | |
In office 22 May 2019 – 15 May 2020 | |
Preceded by | Dee Simson |
Succeeded by | Alan Robins |
Personal details | |
Born | Liverpool, England, UK | 9 July 1985
Political party | Green Party of England and Wales (since 2003) |
Other political affiliations | Labour Party (2001–2003) |
Spouse | Tom Druitt |
Children | 2 |
Residence | Brighton |
Alma mater | University of London Institute in Paris UCL Institute of Education |
Occupation | Politician |
Alexandra Louise Rosenfield Phillips (born 9 July 1985) is a British politician. She served as a Green Party Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for South East England from 2019 to 2020. She was Mayor of Brighton and Hove from May 2019 to May 2020; the youngest person to hold the office. Phillips was a Brighton and Hove City councillor between 2009 and 2023.
Early life and local political career
[edit]Phillips was born on 9 July 1985 in Liverpool, Merseyside, to Roger Phillips and Margaret Rosenfield.[2][3] She is of Jewish heritage.[4] Her father worked as a presenter for BBC Radio Merseyside for 42 years before retiring in 2020.[5] Her younger sister, Ellie Phillips, works as a television presenter and journalist.[6][7]
Brought up in Liverpool, Phillips was initially a Labour Party activist with her mother, joining the party at the age of 16.[8] In 2003 she resigned from Labour and joined the Green Party as a result of the then Labour government's decision to invade Iraq.[9] She holds a bachelor's degree in French Studies from the University of London Institute in Paris and a PGCE from the UCL Institute of Education.[10]
Phillips moved to Brighton in 2008.[11] She was elected to represent the Goldsmid ward on Brighton and Hove City Council in a 2009 by-election,[12] and re-elected in 2011.[13] In subsequent council elections she contested the Regency ward, winning a seat in both 2015 and 2019.[14][15] She became Brighton's youngest mayor in 2019 after being selected for the role by her fellow councillors.[16][17][18] She finished her term as mayor in May 2020.[19] Outside of her council roles, she has worked as the policy lead at the HIV and sexual health charity, Terrence Higgins Trust, and as a French and German language secondary school teacher in Croydon, London, and later Hampshire.[10][17][20] In 2022, Phillips announced that she and her husband were stepping down as councillors ahead of the May 2023 elections.[21]
European Parliament
[edit]In the 2014 European parliamentary election, Phillips stood as a candidate in the South East England constituency. She was second on her party's list after Keith Taylor (Green Party MEP since 2010).[22][23] In the election, the Green Party won just one seat in South East England which therefore went to Taylor as their first-placed candidate.[24] Phillips worked as Senior Campaigns Coordinator for Green Party MP Caroline Lucas's successful general election campaigns in 2010 and 2015.[25] She supported the United Kingdom remaining within the European Union (EU) in the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum.[26]
Phillips contested the 2019 European Parliament election in the South East England constituency. This time she was first on her party's list, Taylor having chosen not to seek re-election.[27] In the same constituency, another candidate called Alexandra Phillips also stood as a candidate but for the Brexit Party.[28] In the election, both were elected as MEPs.[29] In the European Parliament, she was a member of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, and part of the delegation to the ACP–EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly.[2]
House of Commons bid
[edit]Phillips was the Green Party candidate for Brighton Kemptown at the 2019 general election. She finished fourth out of five candidates.[30]
Personal life
[edit]Phillips is married to Tom Druitt, a fellow Green Party Brighton and Hove councillor and managing director of The Big Lemon (a bus and coach operator in Brighton). They both hold shares in the company which has a contract with the city council.[31] They have two children.[32]
References
[edit]- ^ "After the European Parliament elections – what happens next?". European Parliament. 13 June 2019. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
- ^ a b "Alexandra Louise Rosenfield Phillips". European Parliament. 9 July 1985. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
- ^ Tansley, Janet (13 April 2016). "I emailed myself to say: If I die tonight my boyfriend did it". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
- ^ Phillips, Alexandra [@alexforeurope] (18 September 2019). "My 3rd #Strasbourg session and I'm still learning... I wasn't able to do an 'explanation of vote' video in the end - which would have been in the hemicycle itself. So have done a standard video instead which covers what I wanted to say in the plenary debate" (Tweet). Retrieved 19 September 2019 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Roger Phillips: BBC boss Tony Hall leads tributes to radio 'legend'". BBC News. 28 August 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
- ^ "Manchester born but made in Liverpool". Liverpool Echo. 11 December 2003. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
- ^ "Ellie Phillips". Muck Rack. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
- ^ "Meet Alex Phillips". Green European Foundation. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
- ^ "Alex Phillips is first candidate for Green Party Deputy Leader". Bright Green. 31 May 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
- ^ a b "Alexandra Phillips, MEP candidate for SE England". Green Party. Archived from the original on 23 May 2019. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
- ^ "South East: Alexandra Phillips". Green World. Green Party. 16 May 2019. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
- ^ "Election results for Goldsmid". Brighton and Hove City Council. 23 July 2009. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
- ^ "Election results for Goldsmid". Brighton and Hove City Council. 5 May 2011. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
- ^ "Election results for Regency". Brighton and Hove City Council. 7 May 2015. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
- ^ "Election results for Regency". Brighton and Hove City Council. 2 May 2019. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
- ^ "Cllr Alexandra Phillips: New Mayor of Brighton & Hove". Brighton and Hove City Council. 22 May 2019. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
- ^ a b de Luc, Frank (16 December 2017). "Youngest ever mayor chosen for Brighton and Hove". Brighton and Hove News. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
- ^ Bullmore, Harry (23 May 2019). "Council leader, opposition leader and committee chairs announced". The Argus. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
- ^ Bullmore, Harry (16 May 2020). "Cllr Alan Robins elected Brighton and Hove mayor". The Argus. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
- ^ "Declaration of Members' Financial Interests" (PDF). European Parliament. p. 1. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
- ^ Green, Daniel (12 January 2022). "Green councillors Tom Druitt and Alex Phillips announce they will not stand in 2023". The Argus. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
- ^ "Vote 2014: European election candidates for the South East". BBC News. 28 April 2014. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
- ^ "Declaration of return as a member of the European Parliament" (PDF). Adur and Worthing Council. 1 June 2010. p. 1. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
- ^ "Results of the 2014 European Parliament elections in the UK". European Parliament. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
- ^ "Alexandra Phillips". South East England Green Party. Archived from the original on 28 March 2022. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
- ^ Snaith, Emma (27 May 2019). "These two MEPs both called Alexandra Phillips with opposite views won in the same region". The Independent. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
- ^ "2019 European elections: List of candidates for the South East". BBC News. 28 April 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
- ^ le Duc, Frank (7 May 2019). "Two candidates called Alexandra Phillips in European elections". Brighton and Hove News. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
- ^ "Alexandra Phillips: Confusion as South East elects two MEPs with same name". The Irish News. 27 May 2019. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
- ^ "Brighton, Kemptown (Constituency) 2019 results". UK Parliament. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
- ^ "Register of Interests". Brighton and Hove City Council. 22 October 2018. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
- ^ Booker-Lewis, Sarah (25 June 2022). "Audit into councillor Alex Phillips's expenses finds overpayments". The Argus. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
External links
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Councillor Alex Phillips[permanent dead link] at Brighton and Hove City Council
- Alex Phillips Archived 28 March 2022 at the Wayback Machine at South East Greens
- MEP at European Parliament
- 1985 births
- Living people
- Green Party of England and Wales MEPs
- MEPs for England 2019–2020
- 21st-century women MEPs for England
- Councillors in East Sussex
- Green Party of England and Wales councillors
- Green Party of England and Wales parliamentary candidates
- Jewish British politicians
- Labour Party (UK) people
- Mayors of places in East Sussex
- Politicians from Liverpool
- Women councillors in England