Michelle's experience
Before studying to be a doctor, Michelle worked with the Prince's Trust to give underprivileged youth groups the opportunity to record demo tapes for the music industry.
After qualifying as a doctor, Michelle completed the rigorous junior doctor training demanded by her profession. During this time, she served as a front-line doctor in a busy city teaching hospital. She worked in Accident and Emergency, vascular surgery, and global infectious diseases. Following that, Michelle spent seven years specialising in psychiatric care. She continues to work as an NHS psychiatrist.
Michelle has many academic publications and is also a published author. She co-authored 'Why Lawyers Should Surf'; reviewed by The Independent as a book that 'subtly restores a sense of poetry' to 'become a better human being.' She edited 'The Future of the NHS', leading a team of over fifty authors; this book is now recognised as a Parliamentary reference text.
Michelle's political experience
Michelle has contributed papers and specialist advice to think tanks such as the Centre for Policy Studies and the Centre for Social Justice. Andrew Lansley MP, the Shadow Secretary of State for Health, has been able to draw on Michelle's first-hand experience of the challenges facing the NHS, to aid understanding of the real life impact of Government policy. Michelle helped organise 'You Talk: We Listen' conferences for Andrew.
Michelle has been involved in the Coningsby Club, a Conservative discussion organisation, since 1992. She was elected as the club Chairman for the 2007 term and was the first female to hold this position since the club formed in 1921.
As a lifelong Conservative, Michelle is an experienced campaigner at Parliamentary, county and local elections. Most recently, she was directly involved in the successful by-elections in Henley and Crewe & Nantwich. In 2005 Michelle was an integral part of a working party branding group, chaired by a Board Member directly under David Cameron's scrutiny. In 2007 she stood as a Council Candidate for the King's Hedges ward, Cambridge, and gained an 8% swing to the Conservatives.
Michelle's family
Michelle believes that the family is the bedrock of society. Her mother is a Geordie, and Michelle has many happy memories of the time spent with her grandmother and relatives living in Newcastle and Durham. Michelle's family still live in Hunstanworth and Newcastle, and she feels very fortunate to have never lost her ties and love for the North East.
Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for North West Durham