Margaret Moran

Margaret Mary Moran (born 24 April 1955) is a former Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom. Moran was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Luton South from the 1997 general election to 2010. In November 2012, jurors at Southwark Crown Court ruled that she had falsified her parliamentary expenses; she had been unable to stand trial because of mental health issues, but the case was nevertheless heard without her. Her fraudulent claims totalled more than £53,000, the highest amount by any politician in the United Kingdom parliamentary expenses scandal. Early life Moran was born in Bethnal Green, to Irish parents Patrick and Mary (née Murphy). She went to St Ursula's High School (now St Ursula's Convent School), a Roman Catholic girls' school in Greenwich, and then to St Mary's College (now St Mary's University College), a Roman Catholic college in Strawberry Hill, Twickenham. She subsequently attended the University of Birmingham, gaining a Bachelor of Social Science degree in geography and sociology in 1978. She also attended Hackney College. Before Parliament Moran initially worked as a teacher. In 1984, she became a local councillor in the London Borough of Lewisham; later she became leader of the council between 1993 and 1995. At the same time, Moran stood in the 1992 general election in Carshalton and Wallington, finishing in third place. Moran was also the director of "Housing for Women' a housing association, national president of the housing branch of the NALGO trade union, vice chair of the Association of London Authorities and vice chair and chair of the Association of Metropolitan Authorities. Parliamentary career For the 1997 election, she was selected to stand for Labour in Luton South through an all-women shortlist. At the election she was elected, gaining the seat from the Conservatives.