1. Sarah Elizabeth Atherton was born on 15 November 1967 and is a former British Conservative Party politician, who served as the Member of Parliament for Wrexham between 2019 and 2024.
18 Facts About Sarah Atherton
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Sarah Atherton served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence People, Veterans and Service Families from September to October 2022.
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Sarah Atherton was the first Conservative to represent the Wrexham constituency since its creation in 1918.
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Sarah Atherton left Christleton High School in Chester, a local comprehensive school, at the age of 16.
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Sarah Atherton joined the army, serving in the Intelligence Corps, before training at Bangor University and becoming a Registered General Nurse.
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Sarah Atherton studied at Manchester Metropolitan University, receiving a BSc in Community Health, and at the University of Liverpool, where she obtained a Masters in Social Work.
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Sarah Atherton has worked as a nurse, district nurse and social worker.
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Sarah Atherton is a member of the Royal British Legion.
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Sarah Atherton was elected as the Member of Parliament for Wrexham in December 2019.
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Sarah Atherton became the first Conservative to represent the constituency since its inception in 1918, turning a Labour majority of 1,832 into a Conservative majority of 2,131.
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Sarah Atherton is the first woman to represent Wrexham but the first female Conservative MP elected to Westminster from a Welsh constituency.
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Sarah Atherton was a member of the Defence Select Committee, backing a report into the experiences of women in the armed forces.
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Sarah Atherton was a member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Veterans, serving as Vice-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Veterans, as well as contributing to contributes to other defence-focused APPGs, such as for the Armed Forces and the Armed Forces Covenant.
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Sarah Atherton served as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Defence from 20 September 2022 to 27 October 2022.
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Sarah Atherton was criticised on social media for promoting the re-opening of a McDonald's outlet in Wrexham on her Twitter account, citing childhood obesity and small independent businesses which require help, defending her support with the claim that it was locally franchised and actively involved in community engagement programmes.
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In January 2020, Sarah Atherton voted, with the majority of MPs, against an Opposition amendment, "Proportional Representation to Elect MPs in the House of Commons", on the subject of electoral reform and PR.
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In February 2020, Sarah Atherton voted with the majority of MPs against an Opposition motion on "proper funding of public services along with robust action against tax avoidance and evasion".
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In July 2020, Sarah Atherton voted with the majority of MPs against a Green Party amendment to the Trade Bill, which the proposer said "would aim to protect the NHS and publicly funded health and care services in other parts of the UK from any form of control from outside the UK".