Elaine Kellett-Bowman

Dame Elaine Kellett-Bowman DBE
Member of Parliament for Lancaster
In office 18 June 1970 – 11 May 1997
Preceded by	Stanley Henig
Succeeded by	Constituency abolished, see Lancaster and Wyre
Member of the European Parliament for Cumbria
In office 7 June 1979 – 14 June 1984
Succeeded by	Sheila Faith for Cumbria and Lancashire North
Personal details
Born	(1923-07-08)8 July 1923
Died
Nationality	British
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Charles Norman Kellett (1945–1959; his death) Edward Bowman (1971–2014)
Children	4 (to Charles Norman Kellett)

Dame Mary Elaine Kellett-Bowman, DBE (8 July 1923 – 4 March 2014) was a British Conservative politician, serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of Lancaster for 27 years from 1970.

Life and career

Born Mary Elaine Kay to Walter and Edith (née Leather) Kay, she was educated at The Mount School, York, St Anne's College, Oxford, and Barnett House, Oxford, and became a barrister, called to the bar by Middle Temple in 1964. She served as a councillor on Denbigh Borough Council, 1952-55, and the London Borough of Camden, 1968-74. She was also a governor of Culford School, 1963–2003.

As Mary Kellett, she contested Nelson and Colne in 1955, South West Norfolk twice in 1959 (including a by-election), and Buckingham in 1964 and 1966. She was MP for Lancaster from 1970 until her retirement in 1997. She also served as a Member of the European Parliament in the British delegation from 1975, and was then elected for Cumbria in 1979. She remained an MEP until 1984, when she stepped down in order to concentrate on her seat in the British Parliament.

Capital Gay arson attack

In 1987, the paper Capital Gay's offices were targeted in an arson attack. Tony Banks said "On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. I heard the hon. Member for Lancaster (Mrs. Kellett-Bowman) say that it was quite right that Capital Gay should have been fire—" Ms Kellett-Bowman said "I am quite prepared to affirm that it is quite right that there should be an intolerance of evil."

Personal life

She had four children with her first husband, Charles Norman Kellett, but was widowed in December 1959; her husband died in a car accident in which she suffered head injuries and memory loss.

She remarried Edward Bowman in June 1971; the couple served alongside each other on Camden Borough Council and as Members of the European Parliament; both took the shared surname of Kellett-Bowman.

Sources

• Times Guide to the House of Commons, Times Newspapers Ltd, 1955, 1966, 1992 and 1997 editions.
• Who's Who, 2007 edition
• Wikipedia article Capital Gay

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Elaine Kellett-Bowman

European Parliament
Preceded by New creation	Member of the European Parliament for Cumbria 1979–1984	Constituency abolished see Cumbria and Lancashire North
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Stanley Henig	Member of Parliament for Lancaster 1970–1997	Constituency abolished see Lancaster and Wyre