Sarah Ludford, Baroness Ludford

Sarah Ann Ludford, Baroness Ludford (born 14 March 1951) is a British-Irish Liberal Democrat politician and member of the House of Lords. She served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for London from 1999 until 2014.

The Right Honourable The Baroness Ludford
Official portrait, 2024
Member of the European Parliament for London
In office 10 June 1999 – 22 May 2014
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Seb Dance
Islington Borough Councillor for Clerkenwell Ward
In office 7 November 1991 – 10 June 1999
Preceded by	Paul Matthews
Succeeded by	Isabelle Humphreys
Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal
Incumbent
Assumed office 30 September 1997 Life Peerage
Personal details
Born	(1951-03-14) 14 March 1951 (age 74) Halesworth, East Suffolk, England
Nationality	British • Irish
Political party	Liberal Democrat
Spouse	Steve Hitchins
Residence	London
Alma mater	LSE

Early life and education

Ludworth was born in the Blyth Rural District of East Suffolk to an English father and an Irish mother and grew up in Hampshire.^[1][2] On a scholarship, she attended the independent Portsmouth High School. She went on to graduate with a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science, both from the London School of Economics. She subsequently qualified as a barrister, joining Gray's Inn in 1979.^[3]

Political career

Ludford was created a life peer as Baroness Ludford, of Clerkenwell in the London Borough of Islington on 30 September 1997,^[4] after serving as a Councillor for the London Borough of Islington 1991–99. She was elected MEP for London at the European Parliament election in 1999 and returned in 2004 and 2009, before losing her seat in 2014.^[5]

A 2008 rule change by the European Parliament initially prevented Ludford (like other Eurodeputies) from taking her seat in the House of Lords in the UK Parliament due to her re-election to the European Parliament in the 2009 election.^[6]

She remains a member of the Liberal Democrat groups Friends of Israel and Friends of Turkey.^[7]

Political positions

A longstanding opponent of capital punishment, Baroness Ludford has been pressing European drug companies not to supply executioners in the United States with sedatives.^[8] Ludford has expressed support for LGB Alliance.^[9]

Other activities

• Fair Trials International, Patron
• JUSTICE, Vice President^[10]

Personal life

Ludford lives in Islington.^[11] She was married to Steve Hitchins, Leader of Islington Borough Council (2000–06),^[12][13] until his death in September 2019.