About Harriett
Harriett was elected as the Member of Parliament for West Worcestershire in May 2010, where she has lived since 2006.
Harriett was born in Hertfordshire and spent her early childhood in Cyprus. Harriett grew up in the village of Felsted in the heart of rural Essex, where her father, Tony Eggleston OBE, was headmaster of the local school. Harriett read Modern Languages (French and Russian) at Oxford, receiving First Class Honours and obtained an MBA from McGill University in Canada.
Harriett is married to Jim Baldwin, a businessman and television producer. Jim is also a social and industrial historian whose interests include canals, bridges and steam trains. Between them, they have two daughters and a son, the youngest of whom was born in 1995.
Harriett's Experience
Harriett has enjoyed a successful 20 year career in finance, specialising in currency markets for pension funds. She was on the National Council of Business for Sterling. She fought Stockton North for the Conservatives in 2005, gaining a 3.6% swing. Her motivation for going into politics was that she could see that Gordon Brown as Chancellor had set Britain on an unsustainable financial path.
Harriett champions a range of charities that help Make Poverty History by giving communities the chance to help themselves. Two examples are Opportunity International which is active in micro-finance in poor countries and CAMFED which helps educate African girls at secondary level. She is Vice Chair of the Board of the Social Investment Business and Chairs the Investment Committee. The Social Investment Business helps charities and social enterprises with finance.
Harriett supports many local charities. She has been a Home-Start volunteer, is a Friend of Community Action, the Nora Parsons Day Centre, the League of Friends of Malvern, Tenbury and Pershore hospitals, a member of local Civic Societies and FOAG, to name a few. She is also Vice Chair of the Governors at Hallow Church of England Primary School.
Harriett has always worked to encourage more women to get involved in politics and to work in financial services. She was a Changemaker for the charity "Working Families", which campaigns for more workplace flexibility.
In 2005, Harriett helped to publish a study for the Centre for Policy Studies - "Leviathan is still at large" - on the impact of regulation by the Financial Services Agency on the City. Harriett is also a supporter and fundraiser for the Centre for Social Justice, which works with charities that fight poverty in the UK. She has also helped to write Conservative policy on the social enterprise sector and has chaired ACEVO's response.
Working for West Worcestershire
Harriett campaigns on your behalf for better NHS services in the constituency. A major campaign success for local people has been the new Malvern Hospital and a new radiotherapy facility at Worcestershire Royal Hospital, both due to open in the next 12 months. As an enthusiast for all aspects of country life, Harriett works on behalf of local farmers and constituents concerned about the environment, so important in this area of natural beauty with its low-lying flood plains. She has actively fought against the imposition of 25,500 homes on South Worcestershire in the Regional Spatial Strategy and is delighted that one of the first acts of the new coalition government is to abolish this top-down approach to housing. She is working with the Environment Agency and local councils for better flood defences at Upton-upon-Severn, Kempsey, Pershore, Tenbury Wells, Powick and Sedgeberrow.
