Board of Deputies Chief Executive Gillian Merron to be made a life peer

Downing Street has announced that Gillian Merron, Chief Executive of the Board of Deputies of British Jews and Member of Parliament for Lincoln from 1997-2010, is to become a life peer.

She was nominated by Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer and will join the House of Lords in the New Year.

Reacting to the news, Gillian said:

“I am deeply honoured to have been appointed. I have made it my life’s work to serve the country in whatever ways I can, whether in the trade unions, as MP for Lincoln, as a Government Minister and now alongside the outstanding lay and professional team at the Board of Deputies. I am very much looking forward to taking my place in the House of Lords.”

Marie van der Zyl, President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said:

“At the Board of Deputies, we are all absolutely delighted at the announcement that our Chief Executive Gillian Merron is to be made a peer. After decades of public service, in the trade union movement, as MP for Lincoln, as a Government Minister, and most recently as our much loved and highly respected chief executive, I can think of nobody more deserving of such an accolade. This is a great appointment which will be of great service to the whole country and we could not be prouder. Mazal Tov Gillian!”

You can view the announcement here.