About Fiona Bruce

Fiona Bruce is national winner of the Business Woman of the Year Award "Women into Business" for the founding and successful development of her Community Law Firm Fiona Bruce & Co LLP, based in Cheshire and now employing 15 lawyers and a total of some 30 staff.

Her first hand experience of running and developing a local business for over 20 years - and of experiencing the challenges and benefits this can bring, both to an individual and to a community, have inspired her support for enterprise, skills training, and productivity.

Fiona has focused throughout her professional life on developing and strengthening community projects. She founded a Free Legal Advice Clinic and has overseen this continuously for 18 years. When she stood as Parliamentary Candidate for Warrington South in the 2005 General Election, Fiona was one of the first Parliamentary Candidates to lead social action projects.  She inspired hundreds of young people - including young men from her local Young Offenders Institution - in community work such as clearing public spaces, painting park railings, relaying pathways and scrubbing graffiti - after which one young man said to her "I'll never spray graffiti again!" Fiona co-founded a Homeless Support project and most recently in 2009 co-founded an innovative High Street Advice centre "The Foundry Shop" providing practical help and advice for those experiencing relationship difficulties, legal problems, debt and drug addiction.

Fiona's grass roots style of campaigning enabled her to develop a support network of over 300 local campaigners in the 2005 General Election - most of whom had never had any political involvement before.
As a Warrington Borough Councillor for 6 years - over 3 of them as an Executive Member, for Finance and Value for Money, Fiona focused on challenging and reducing debt run up by a previous Labour administration and in delivering efficiency savings of several million pounds whilst overseeing the lowest Council tax rise for over 10 years.

Fiona has a long term relationship with and commitment to developing a school in Tanzania and in inspiring young people to partner support projects in that region of Africa.  She is married to Richard; they have two teenage sons.















Declarations of Interest

A Other paid jobs:
1 - Self employed Solicitor - Member of Fiona Bruce and Co LLP. If elected I intend to continue to hold this post, but not to have personal conduct of any client cases.
2 - Councillor on Warrington Borough Council. My term of office ends 6th May 2010, and I do not intend to stand for re - election on that date.
I do not intend to take on any further additional employment beyond my work as an MP if elected.

B The holding of positions of responsibility in some types of organisations - Patron, The Epiphany Trust; Patron - The Alsager Festival

C Relevant financial interests, reported against the following sub categories:
(i) Directorships - N/A
(ii) Clients - I have provided services to clients in respect of my paid work as declared under A above. Disclosure of details of each of these clients would be in breach of an established duty of confidentiality; nor do I consider it would be relevant to the purposes of this guidance, or in the public interest.
(iii) Land and Property -
(1) Two residential properties in Warrington; One residential property in London; Four commercial properties in Warrington; One commercial property in Knutsford; all jointly owned and from which I recieve rental income (the joint owner is my spouse) I intend to continue to hold these properties if elected.
(2) One residential property in Manchester, sold 29th March 2010.
I Do not currently intend to aquire any additional property or land if elected; if this changes, I shall revise this declaration.
(iv) Share Holdings - N/A

D Tax Matters. I support the next Conservative Government’s requirement that anyone who sits in either house will be required by law to be a full UK tax payer. I confirm that for the tax year 2008 / 9, I have not claimed to be nor been treated as not resident, not ordinarily resident or non domiciled in the UK for tax purposes.

E Any other interests - N/A

Additional Notes - N/A

Date of Declaration - 14th April 2010

Fiona Bruce.