Fleur Butler

Fleur Josephine Butler OBE (born 24 April 1967) is an English Conservative politician and novelist. A former member of the Congress of the Council of Europe and leader of Richmondshire District Council, she is president of the National Conservative Convention and a past chairman of the Conservative Women's Organisation.

Early life

Born in 1967, a daughter of the Hon. Samuel James Butler and his wife Lucilla Blanche Borthwick, Butler is also a granddaughter of the Conservative politician Rab Butler. She has two brothers and four sisters.[1]

She was educated at the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London[2] and then at Newcastle University.

Political career

In 2007, Butler was elected as a Conservative to Richmondshire District Council in North Yorkshire, representing Leyburn, and was re-elected in 2011.[3] From 2009 to 2011 she was Leader of the council and in 2012 was leader of its Conservative group.[4] In 2015 she stood in Richmond West and lost to two independents.[3]

At the European Parliament elections of 2009, Butler was an unsuccessful Conservative party list candidate in Yorkshire and the Humber.[5][6]

In 2010, Butler was appointed to the Local Chamber of the Congress of the Council of Europe and was re-appointed in 2014.[7] She took part in Congress election observation missions in Bulgaria in October 2011,[8] in Armenia in September 2012,[9] and in Georgia in June 2014.[10]

From 2007 to 2015, Butler was an appointed member of the Yorkshire Energy Partnership and served as its chairman.

In 2017, Butler wrote in The Independent of the Conservative Party's "problem with feminism", insisting that it had an imbalance between men and women in the ranks of members of parliament and councillors which needed to change. She also complained of "a shocking shortfall of 12,000 women councillors needed across all parties".[11]

In 2019, she was elected as national chairman of the Conservative Women's Organisation[12] and in 2022 as president of the National Conservative Convention.[13]

In October 2022, The Times ran an article about a call by Butler for older Conservative men in the House of Commons to make way for younger women.[14]

Personal life

On 8 December 1991, Butler married Richard Selwyn Sharpe, son of Canon Roger Sharpe and Mary Gordon Selwyn. They set up home in Exelby, North Yorkshire, and have four sons born between 1992 and 1999.[1]

Her novel Blue Murder: A Political Murder Mystery in the Yorkshire Dales was published in 2022.[15]

Notes

  1. ^ a b Burke's Peerage, vol. I (2003), p. 441
  2. ^ Report of the Governing Board (University of London School of Oriental and African Studies, 1988), p. 51
  3. ^ a b Richmondshire District Council election results, 1973–2019, richmondshire.gov.uk, accessed 22 December 2022
  4. ^ "A punitive tax on all home builds in Richmondshire is being used to fund social housing", ConservativeHome, 6 August 6, 2012
  5. ^ Michael Black, Euro election ‘set to cause upsets’, Telegraph & Argus (Bradford), 3 June 2009, accessed 22 December 2022
  6. ^ European Election 2009; UK Results; Yorkshire and The Humber, BBC News, 7 June 2009, accessed 24 October 2015
  7. ^ "Verification of new members’ credentials and new appointment procedures, 27th SESSION Strasbourg", 14-16 October 2014 CG (27) 2, 13 October 2014, coe.int, accessed 22 December 2022
  8. ^ Mihkel Juhkami, "Local elections in Bulgaria" (23 October 2011) 22nd Session CG (22) 5, 18 February 2012, coe.int, accessed 22 December 2022
  9. ^ Henry Feral, "Local by-elections in Armenia (9 and 23 September 2012)", CPL (24) 2REV, 20 March 2013, coe.int, accessed 22 December 2022
  10. ^ Jos Wienen, "Observation of local elections in Georgia (15 June 2014)" CPL (27) 5FINAL, 15 October 2014, coe.int, accessed 22 December 2022
  11. ^ Fleur Butler, "We Conservative women know the party has a problem with feminism – it's time we reclaimed it", The Independent, 6 November 2017, accessed 22 December 2022
  12. ^ "Fleur Butler – National CWO Chairman", "CWO 100 Women", conservativewomen.uk, accessed 22 December 2022
  13. ^ "Conservative Party conference opens with tributes to late Queen", Ayr Advertiser, 2 October 2022, accessed 22 December 2022
  14. ^ Geraldine Scott, Political Reporter, "Older male Conservative MPs told to make way for younger women", The Times, 10 October 2022 (subscription required)
  15. ^ Fleur Butler, Blue Murder: A Political Murder Mystery in the Yorkshire Dales (November 2022), ISBN 979-8837798825