Politics
Griffiths' political career began in 1989 when she was elected to Reading Borough Council. She sat on the Council, as a Labour member, until 1999.
Prior to the 1997 general election, Griffiths was selected as the Labour Prospective Parliamentary Candidate (PPC) for the Reading East constituency. This had been a safe Conservative seat since its creation in 1983. The retiring Tory incumbent Gerard Vaughan had a majority of 14,555. Despite this, Griffiths emerged as one of the surprise winners of the general election.
In Parliament, she established a reputation as a fervent pro-European. Andrew Roth of The Guardian described her as a "pro-EU partisan loyalist with an international outlook". As a backbench Labour MP, she was largely supportive of the Tony Blair administration. Griffiths acquired a reputation for being somewhat confrontational, voicing disagreement with Speaker Betty Boothroyd. Notably, she also called for legalized brothels.
At the 2001 general election, Griffiths increased her majority from 3,795 to 5,588. However, her disputes with her local party became much more public thereafter. In early 2002, she wrote in The Sunday Times about rampant sexism within the Parliamentary Labour Party. Subsequently, she alleged she was experiencing bullying by local Labour Party activists in Reading. This was denied by the local Party Chair. The ensuing tensions culminated in Griffiths' deselection as the candidate for the 2005 general election, a first for any MP in ten years. 'Personality issues' were cited, whilst Griffiths contended she was the victim of a conspiracy by '1970s men': her assertion was criticized as 'wild conspiracy theories' in an open letter by seventeen female members of the party. She vowed not to stand as an independent, and the seat fell to a heavy Labour defeat, with Griffiths being succeeded by Conservative Rob Wilson in 2005. In between her deselection and the end of her term, she fought off suggestions she'd defect to the Conservatives.
Read more about this topic: Jane Griffiths (politician)
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