Background
PRENTICE, Bridget was born on December 28, 1952. Parents: the late James Corr and Bridget Corr.
PRENTICE, Bridget was born on December 28, 1952. Parents: the late James Corr and Bridget Corr.
Our Lady and St. Francis School, Glasgow. Glasgow University; London University. Master of Arts, English literature and modem history.
Certificate of Education. Advanced Diploma, careers education and guidance. Completing Bachelor of Laws South Bank University, 1993.
Spoken languages: French.
Bridget Prentice was an unsuccessfully Parliamentary candidate in the 1987 general election when she stood for Croydon Central. She contested Lewisham East at the 1992 general election, a Conservative seat with a majority of 4,846 in the 1987 general election, taking it for Labour with a majority of 1,095, and increased the majority to 12,127 in the 1997 general election. In general elections since she has held the seat with reduced majorities of 9,003 in June 2001 and 6,751 in May 2005.
She rejoined the government in 2003 on appointment to the Government Whips Office again.
She later became a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Department for Constitutional Affairs, continuing in the role in the department"s successor, the Ministry of Justice. Within the department, she was responsible for reform of electoral administration, legal services, legal services complaints, legal services commissioner and ombudsman, asylum and immigration, devolution and regional policy.
In 2008, she was reprimanded by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards John Lyon for misusing her communications allowance. She agreed to pay back the money, which had been spent on sending party political literature to voters who were outside her constituency, but who would join it at the next election as the result of boundary changes.
In 2009, Prentice announced her decision to stand down from Parliament at the next election.
She has close ties to Bonus Pastor Secondary School in Lewisham, accepting one pupil every year for work experience, which includes work within the constituency and the Houses of Parliament. In September 2013 she was elected Chair of the Governing Body.
Roman Catholic
51st United Kingdom Parliament. 52nd United Kingdom Parliament. 53rd United Kingdom Parliament.
54th United Kingdom Parliament]
Appointed a Labour Whip in 1995 by Tony Blair, on Labour entering government in May 1997 she continued in the role into government, before becoming Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Minister for Trade (1998–1999), and then Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Lord Chancellor (1999–2001), leaving government in 2001 to become a member of the Home Affairs Select Committee (2001–2003).
Spouse Gordon Prentice, 197 5.