thumb|300px|right Jayne Elisabeth Innes (born 19 August 1970) is the Labour Party candidate for Nuneaton at the forthcoming general election.
Background and education[]
The daughter of a forces family, Jayne Innes was born at Helensburgh in Scotland where her father was stationed with the Royal Navy, and moved to the West Midlands as a teenager.
The first in her family to stay on at school, Jayne studied at the universities of Warwick and Wolverhampton. She holds an MA in politics and is also a qualified schoolteacher.
Work[]
Jayne is a self-employed consultant who works mainly with charities, helping them to better reach their user groups or to secure funding. A former teacher and a long-standing trustee of the charity JobChange, Jayne has spent years helping people who want to do well for themselves. She has helped thousands of people to improve their skills and get better jobs, and more recently fight redundancy and the effects of the recession. Jayne will draw on this experience to help drive forward Nuneaton’s economy, and help local people back to work.
Jayne has worked in communications, external relations and government affairs in Westminster, Warwickshire, Staffordshire and the United States. Early in her career she worked for Geoffrey Robinson MP and has extensive experience of working with MPs, Ministers and peers, and of influencing policy.
Jayne in her own words[]
- On public services:
"If it’s not good enough for me and my family, it’s not good enough for you."
- On saving Nuneaton Fire Station:
"Closing fire stations to save money will cost lives. The Tories should be ashamed of themselves for even considering these plans."
- On protecting Nuneaton from toxic waste:
"A toxic waste plant in the middle of Nuneaton was a bad idea, but they (Tory-run Warwickshire County Council) were determined to force through their plans. I knew people in Nuneaton were furious, and I was delighted to be able to help them. The Tories were wrong from the very start, because they refused to listen to local people."
- On campaigning:
"I love meeting people and finding out what their concerns are. The most important thing is that people feel they know me and can come to me with their problems."
- On politics:
"The best thing about politics is working with people to help them find solutions to their problems." "The Tories have let Nuneaton down badly, with crazy proposals to shut the fire station and dump toxic waste. I will stand up for Nuneaton."
Selection as Nuneaton’s next Labour MP[]
Jayne Innes was selected as Nuneaton Labour Party’s candidate for the next general election in July 2007, receiving the overwhelming backing of members in the first round of voting.
At the 2005 general election Jayne was Labour’s candidate in the marginal Birmingham Yardley constituency, where she was narrowly beaten by the Liberal Democrat candidate John Hemming, who was elected at the sixth time of asking.
"The kind of politician who genuinely cares about local people"[]
Estelle Morris, the former Education Secretary, described Jayne with these words. Proving Estelle right, Jayne has enjoyed significant success with her campaigns in Nuneaton.
- Saving Nuneaton fire station
Jayne uncovered proposals by Conservative councillors to close Nuneaton and Bedworth fire stations and replace them with a single station, saying: “Tory councillors are trying their hardest to close Nuneaton’s fire station, putting lives at risk to cut costs.”
Over 5,000 people signed a petition which Jayne launched with Nuneaton MP Bill Olner and Bedworth MP Mike O’Brien, forcing Tory councillors to withdraw their proposals.
- Keeping toxic waste out of Nuneaton
Tory-run Warwickshire County Council developed a secret plan to dump toxic waste at the Judkins site in Tuttle Hill, driving it into Nuneaton from all over the Midlands and beyond.
Incensed by the proposal affecting one of the poorest parts of Warwickshire, Jayne leapt into action and joined forces with local campaigners and the Nuneaton Tribune to launch the ‘Dump It!’ campaign.
Over 9,000 people signed the petition, hundreds joined demonstrations and online groups, and the Tories were forced to listen to the people and dump their plans. Nuneaton Tribune recently accepted the Campaign of the Year 2009 award for ‘Dump It!’ at the Midlands Media Awards.
Personal life[]
Jayne has been married since 1992 to Professor Matthew Innes, the historian and author who is Pro Vice Master at Birkbeck College, London. They have twin sons aged seven.
Background in the Labour Party[]
A lifelong Labour activist, Jayne is formerly one of two members of the National Policy Forum elected to represent the West Midlands, and has held every post at local party level. She is regularly invited to speak for the Labour Party at local, regional and national level, both at party events and in the media.
Memberships and affiliations[]
Jayne is a member of the Fabian Society, the GMB, the Co-operative Party and the Socialist Health Association.