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Caroline joined Parliament in 1997 as one of only 34 new Conservative MPs elected when she won the West Midlands seat of Meriden.
Born in 1958, she was educated at Herts and Essex Grammar School before reading European Studies at Queen Mary College, University of London.
Fluent in French and German, she lived in Paris for six years where she worked in the sugar beet industry.
It was while Caroline was living in Paris that she met her husband Mark, a partner at Accenture. They have three teenage children, Eleanor, David and Jonny. She fought the Parliamentary seat of Bassetlaw in 1992 whilst four months pregnant with her second child and with her first child in a pushchair. She also wrote a book on bio-fuels whilst on maternity leave with her first child.
A natural supporter of David Cameron’s family friendly approach and the importance of family, Caroline has always been determined to balance her work life with her family and to that end her diary can cover the spectrum of Shadow Cabinet meetings, school parents’ evenings, public speaking engagements and standing on the touchline at sports matches in any one day.
On the rare occasions Caroline has free time she is a keen gardener, an enthusiastic cook and an avid fan of cricket and rugby. She is a regular at Westminster Gym where her exercise of choice is spinning.
Caroline has helped set up two charities; one which helps rehabilitate people with drug addictions through training and employment opportunities, and another which provides a refuge and support facility for victims of domestic abuse.
POSITIONS HELD:
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Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for the Bassetlaw constituency in the 1992 election
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Member of Parliament for Meriden, May 1997 -
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Conservative Party Whip, June 1998-June 1999
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Conservative Party Spokesman on Health and Women’s Issues, June 1999-September 2001
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Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment and Shadow Minister for Women, 2003-2004
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Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, 2004-2007
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Chairman of the Conservative Party, 2007- 2009
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Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, 2009 -
PROUDEST POLITICAL ACHIEVEMENT:
“The part I played in helping bring a young boy called Ali Ismael Abbas out of Iraq when he was left orphaned and critically injured in a missile attack. I worked closely with an inspirational man called Zafar Khan who is Chairman of the Limbless Association and we helped bring him to the UK for treatment.”
INTERESTS OUTSIDE OF POLITICS:
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Gardening
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Rugby- in fact most sports!
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Parliamentary Choir
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Languages
FAMILY LIFE:
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Married to Mark Spelman
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Three children: Eleanor, David and Jonny