Siobhan Benita
| Siobhan Benita | |
|---|---|
 in 2011. | |
| Born |
Siobhan Pook 11 October 1971 Wimbledon, London, England |
| Residence | New Malden, Borough of Kingston, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | BA in English and German (University of Warwick); MA in Modern German (University of Warwick) |
| Years active |
Civil Servant: 1996–2012 2012 London Mayoral Election Candidate: 2012[1] |
| Known for | Standing as an independent candidate in 2012 London mayoral election. |
| Political party | Liberal Democrats[2] |
| Spouse(s) | Vincent Benita (m. 1997)[3] |
| Children | two daughters[3] |
Siobhan Benita (born 1971[1]) is an English former civil servant who was an unsuccessful independent candidate in the 2012 London mayoral election.
Biography
Benita was born in 1971 in Wimbledon, south west London,[1] and grew up in the borough of Merton. Her Anglo-Indian mother came to London in 1959.[4] She worked as a home help and auxiliary nurse. Benita's English father moved to London after graduating from Loughborough University and was a local primary school teacher.[4]
Benita was educated in Roman Catholic state schools in Merton: Sacred Heart Primary School, St Catherine’s Middle School and the Ursuline High School. She went to University of Warwick where she gained a first class Bachelor of Arts Degree in English and German and a Master's Degree in Modern German.
Career
Benita joined the Civil Service as a graduate "fast streamer" in the Department for Transport in 1996.[1]
In 2006, after 10 years as a policy adviser on transport, local government and environment issues, she moved to the Cabinet Office where she worked with the then new Cabinet Secretary, Sir Gus O’Donnell,[5] to improve civil service governance, strategy and communications.[1] During her time in the Cabinet Office she established Civil Service Live,[6] in partnership with Civil Service World publisher Dods.[7] She worked on the Civil Service Awards and "Tabelle", a network for women who work in, or with, the public sector.[6]
In 2009 she joined the Department of Health as head of corporate management.[1] She left the department in January 2012 to stand as an independent candidate in the Mayor of London election.[1]
In 2016 she joined the Liberal Democrats shortly after the United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 2016 claiming it was the "only true pro-remain party".[2]
In politics
Benita stood as a candidate in the 2012 Mayor of London election. She came fifth with 3.8% of the vote, within 8,000 votes (0.36%) of fourth-placed Brian Paddick. She indicated at the time that she intended to stay in politics and hoped to run again in the 2016 London Mayor elections,[8] although she eventually decided not to.
She joined the Liberal Democrats in 2016.[9]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Ross, Matt"Interview: Siobhan Benita", Civil Service World interview, 27 January 2012. Retrieved 2012-03-13.
- 1 2 https://twitter.com/SiobhanBenita/status/747011503245656064
- 1 2 Dominiczak, Peter"Civil servant runs for Mayor to prove that 'women can do this sort of thing'", Civil servant runs for Mayor, 29 November 2011. Retrieved 2012-03-13.
- 1 2 "About Siobhan Benita", Official Siobhan Benita website for the 2012 London Mayoral election, Retrieved 2012-03-13.
- ↑ Eden, Richard"Civil Service chief Sir Gus O’Donnell goes on the run with glamorous colleague", The Telegraph, 10 July 2011. Retrieved 2012-03-14.
- 1 2 Marsh, Arun"Leading Questions: Siobhan Benita, London mayoral candidate", The Guardian, 4 January 2012. Retrieved 2012-03-14.
- ↑ Civil Service Live Network, Dods,. "About". Civil Service Live Network. Dods. Retrieved 11 March 2011.
- ↑ BBC News, "London election 2012: Siobhan Benita's 'massive result'"
- ↑ "Growing stronger by the day," Ad Lib, issue 29, September 2016, pp. 16-7