Lorna Fitzsimons

Lorna Fitzsimons former head of Israel lobby group BICOM and former Labour MP for Rochdale in 2012.

Lorna Fitzsimons (born 1967) was chief executive of the Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre (BICOM) (2006-12) and the Labour MP for Rochdale (1997-2005).

Background

Fitzsimons attended Loughborough College of Art and Design (1988), where she was awarded a BA in Textile Design.

According to PR Week, Fitzsimons was "politicised when the Tory government tried to close her art college":

she started reading government education policy, despite only starting to read at 13 years of age owing to her dyslexia. 'That was when I realised the realities of democracy', she says. 'You pick which team you're on and make sure their policies are the ones you want.'

She joined the Labour Party under Neil Kinnock to 'get rid of the Trots and let common sense prevail', and it was here, mixing with Labour students, that she first visited Israel in 1989 and where she says she fell in love with the people - both Palestinians and Israelis.

NUS President

As president of the National Union of Students, she campaigned against the legislation that was threatening to ban student representation. "By the end of the two-year campaign", PRWeek reported Fitzsimons and her gang had not only won their case, but drafted the amendments.

Commercial lobbyist

As a result of her campaigning with the NUS, she was headhunted by Saatchi & Saatchi to work in the public affairs team at The Rowland Company.

In 1995 she was named the Institute of Public Relations’ first Young Communicator of the Year. The high-flying Fitzsimons reportedly took a pay cut to become an MP.

Member of Parliament

She was the Labour member of Parliament for Rochdale from 1997 until her defeat at the 2005 election by the Liberal Democrat candidate Paul Rowen. Tony Blair visited her constituency during the 2005 general election, and proclaimed Fitzsimons 'a remarkable woman... with a big future in British politics'.

BICOM

She was appointed CEO of BICOM on 29th September 2006.

In 2008, Fitzsimmons was listed as no.36 in the Jewish Chronicle's Power 100, which stated: "The former Rochdale MP is making an impact at Bicom"..

Appearances at Herzliya Conference

Fitzsimons has spoken at the Herzliya Conference, a major annual gathering of the Israeli military and political establishment, on three occasions:

• At the Tenth Annual Herzliya Conference on 1 February 2010 on 'Winning the Battle of the Narrative: Getting the Message Out'
• At the Eleventh Annual Herzliya Conference on 8 February 2011 on 'Criticism and Prejudice: The Arab-Israeli Conflict and the Assault on Israel's Legitimacy'
• At the Twelfth Herzliya Conference on 30 January 2012 on 'Advancing Israel's Diplomatic Normalization in the International Community'

Career

• 2006 - 2012: CEO, BICOM
• 2005: Visiting fellow for the United Kingdom Defence Academy
• 1997 - 2005: Labour MP for Rochdale
• 1994: Associate director, The Rowland Company/Rowland Sallingbury Casey
• 1992: President, National Union of Students

Affiliations

• Labour Friends of Israel
• BICOM – chief executive 2006-12

External Resources

• Guardian.co.uk profile Lorna Fitzsimons
• Gaby Hinsliff, "The confessions of a Blair Babe": How One of the New Labour Women Woke Up To Notoriety, Daily Mail (London), 20 October 1997, Pg. 3.
• Kavanagh, M. NEWS: Ex-NUS chief Fitzsimons wins young IPR award, PR Week, 8 December 1995.
• PR Week June 29, 2007 Ready to do battle - Lorna Fitzsimons, CEO, Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre BYLINE: Kate Magee SECTION: PROFILE; Pg. 17.
• Simpson, M., Lorna Boon, BBC News, Election 2005, 21 April 2005., accessed 02 March 2009.
• The Jewish Chronicle JC Power 100: Sacks stays on top, as new names emerge. 9th May 2008, accessed 16th August 2008.