Julia Reid
UKIP Spokesperson for Health and Social Care
In office
11 June 2017  22 January 2018
LeaderSteve Crowther (Acting)
Henry Bolton
Preceded bySuzanne Evans
Succeeded byVacant
UKIP Spokesperson for the Environment
In office
29 November 2016  22 January 2017
LeaderPaul Nuttall
Steve Crowther[1] (Acting)
Henry Bolton
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byStuart Agnew
UKIP Spokesperson for Science
In office
24 July 2014  29 November 2016
LeaderNigel Farage
Diane James
Nigel Farage (Acting)
Member of the European Parliament
for South West England
In office
1 July 2014  1 July 2019[2][3]
Preceded byTrevor Colman
Succeeded byAnn Widdecombe
Personal details
Born
Julia Rudman

(1952-07-16) 16 July 1952
Brockley, Lewisham, London, England, UK
Political partyReform UK (2019–present)
Other political
affiliations
SDP (1981–1988)
'Continuing' SDP (1988–1990)
UKIP (1993–2018)
Independent (2018–2019)
SpouseKen Reid (m. 1987)
Alma materUniversity of Bath
Websitejuliareid.co.uk

Julia Reid (née Rudman; born 16 July 1952) is a British politician and a former Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the South West England region.

Education and early career

She was educated at Bentley Grammar School, Calne, and the University of Bath, where she graduated with a degree in biochemistry, later obtaining a PhD in pharmacology. She worked as a diabetes laboratory researcher at Bath's Royal United Hospital until being made redundant in 2009.

Political career

Reid joined the Social Democratic Party (SDP) during its inaugural year, 1981, and stayed with the party until its merger with the Liberals in 1988. Reid opposed the pro-EEC stance of the new Liberal Democrats and instead joined the continuing SDP, which turned out to be short-lived.

In 1993, Reid joined the newly founded UK Independence Party (UKIP). She was fourth on the South West region party list for the 2009 European election. In 2010, she contested the new seat of Chippenham in the general election, finishing fourth with 1,783 votes (3.4%). In 2011, she became a research assistant for UKIP MEP Trevor Colman. She was elected in 2014 for UKIP in the South West England region of the European Parliament.[4] She contested Chippenham again in 2015, coming third.[5]

Reid left UKIP in December 2018 in protest at the party's move to the right and, as the "final straw", the appointment of Tommy Robinson as an advisor.[6] She joined the new Brexit Party in February 2019.

In local government, Reid was elected to Calne town council in 2013.

References

  1. Steve Crowther (statement). "UKIP-Interim leader selected". UKIP-News and Media. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  2. "Key dates ahead". European Parliament. 20 May 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  3. "Key dates ahead". BBC News. 22 May 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  4. "vote 2014 – South West". BBC. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  5. "Chippenham | Parliamentary on Thursday 7 May 2015". Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  6. Dr Julia Reid MEP [@julia_reid] (8 December 2018). ""PRESS RELEASE: Former UKIP Health Spokesperson, Dr Julia Reid MEP, has quit the party in protest over the direction it has taken over the past few months, citing the appointment of Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (aka Tommy Robinson) as "the final straw"" (Tweet). Retrieved 8 December 2018 via Twitter.


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