Florence Heath

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Florence Heath is a co-founder of the Taxpayers' Alliance (TPA) with her former husband Matthew Elliott. Her father Alexander Heath is also a director of the TPA.[1] Heath works for Shell as an oil industry geologist and is a former Conservative Party activist.[2][3][4]

Conservative activism at university

Heath joined the Conservative Party when she was 18, in her final year she argued that:

Even since I joined the Conservative Party, the attitude to Tories has changed enormously...Whereas before people would saw 'Eugh, you're a Tory', now people say 'Oh, you're a Tory, why?' People are a lot more interested and a lot more questioning. I don't know many people who fit into the Tory Boy image anymore.[5]

In 2001 Heath was a co-signatory of a letter offering support for Iain Duncan Smith's leadership bid, the letter argued that 'we sincerely believe that only Iain Duncan Smith could be confident of successfully leading a united party forward'.[6] She signed the letter in her capacity as the chairman of the Imperial College Conservatives.[7]

Libyan oil

In 2009 Heath expressed her excitement at the opportunity for Shell to be able to drill for oil in Libya. She argued that:

Everybody is really upbeat, there is a huge sense of energy in the industry, the expat oil people as well as the locals [of Shell's 200 personnel, 40 are from Britain, the rest are employed locally]. It's one of the rare 'last frontier' locations for exploration in the world.[8]

Centre for Policy Studies

In 2007 Heath co-authored a report with Richard Smith for the Centre for Policy Studies entitled 'People, Not Budgets'.[9]

Affiliations

Shell | Taxpayers' Alliance | Conservative Party | Centre for Policy Studies

Notes

  1. Robert Booth, Who is behind the Taxpayers Alliance, The Guardian, 9-October-2009, Accessed 24-January-2011
  2. Nick Mead, SOCIAL SERVICES ARE FAILING FAMILIES WITH DISABLED CHILDREN', The Independent, 1-0ctober-2004
  3. Florence Heath, LETTER: GIBRALTAR'S CHOICE, The Independent, 9-November-2002
  4. Margareta Pagano, The Libyan Gold Rush and the Reasons Behind It, ocus.net, 11-September-2009, Accessed 11-April-2011
  5. David Paul and Jane Clinton, FOCUS AFTER THE BLAIR BABE COMES THE TORY TOTTY. JUST FORGET THE TWINSET; CAN YOU BELIEVE IT, IAIN? NOW GIRL POWER'S MAKING THE TORIES COOL, Sunday Express, 20-July-2003
  6. Pg 20, Students Back Duncan Smith, Sunday Telegraph, 26-August-2001
  7. Florence Heath, LETTER: GIBRALTAR'S CHOICE, The Independent, 9-November-2002
  8. Margareta Pagano, The Libyan Gold Rush and the Reasons Behind It, ocus.net, 11-September-2009, Accessed 11-April-2011
  9. Melissa Kite, Cameron plans aid for family carers, The Sunday Telegraph, 25-February-2007