Maureen was born in Morpeth on 21 May 1966 and has lived most of her life in Blyth.

Full statement

Maureen spent her working life in a variety of roles and has worked in the private, public and voluntary sector. She worked for a Solicitor, Building Society and Housebuilders before moving to a Credit Union and later working for North Tyneside Council. She gave up her job in early 2020 to support in the office of the Blyth Valley MP and she also works part-time for 2 MPs.

The majority of her career has been spent in people facing roles and often supporting individuals and families through difficult or stressful situations such as moving home or for debt management. During the time she worked for a Credit Union, Maureen supported those on low incomes to manage their finances and access savings and loan accounts. She worked with individuals and families as well as delivering sessions to young parents, schools and training to community groups.

Maureen married and raised a family in Blyth and understands the difficulties faced by working families around managing childcare and career. She worked part time and served as a school governor and helped with reading in classes whilst her children were in First School. She experienced the challenges of supporting a child with a learning disability through education and into employment and understands the issues and challenges faced by many parents throughout the education journey.

Maureen wants to see everyone reach their full potential and is a champion for social mobility. She is passionate about supporting young people to achieve their goals and has supported efforts to improve youth work, education and training opportunities throughout the area.

Like many around her, Maureen became angry at the neglect of her home town over many decades and she vowed to do something to change this. She is delighted at the funding that has been obtained for the regeneration of Blyth and she continues to work closely with businesses owners to support them during the regeneration of the town.

She is chair of Better Blyth and Treasurer for Blyth Constitutional Club.