Heather was born in 1959. She moved to the Midlands in 1986 on her marriage to Bob and they have a daughter aged 22. She is qualified as an Associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute. For 10 years she had a successful career in the City of London specialising in Professional Indemnity insurance, particularly for Chartered Surveyors.
She is Leader of the Conservative run South Derbyshire District Council and lives in Bretby.
Outside of politics she has wide-ranging interests, foremost her family, watching sport, DIY and listening to the Archers.
Heather's Experience
In 1982 she was elected onto Wandsworth Council at the age of 22 and to South Derbyshire District Council in 1995. Heather has been Leader of the Conservative Councillors since 2002. In May 2007 Conservatives took control of the Council for the first time in its 34 year history and she is now Leader of the Council. In 2001 and 2005 she fought vigorous general election campaigns in Coventry South increasing the Conservative share of the vote.
At an "Open Primary" in November 2006 members of the public as well as Party members voted for Heather to be the Parliamentary Candidate for South Derbyshire.
She said "South Derbyshire matters to me. My family and I have lived here for over 20 years. I want to see South Derbyshire as a beautiful place to live, work and enjoy life. It must become a safe place to live, a place where you can get a good education, where there is access to good NHS services and where there are interesting things for the young and the elderly to do and where you can get a good job.
"Over the last 13 years Labour has let down our towns and villages. Only a strong voice for South Derbyshire will restore our services and protect us."
She has 13 years experience in Urban Regeneration Projects. Her special political interests include introducing measures to combat economic and environmental urban decay: she has been at the forefront of schemes to limit anti-social behaviour, especially amongst young people and was instrumental in the opening of a Domestic Abuse Refuge in the East Midlands.