Biography
Margaret Jay, Baroness Jay of Paddington, is a Former Leader of the House of Lords and Minister
for Women. A Labour politician and former BBC television producer and presenter, she
is a pioneer of women’s issues and has longstanding interests in health and constitutional
affairs. Baroness Jay was a journalist for more than 20 years before becoming a force
in British government. In 1992, she was appointed a “working peer” to the House of
Lords by the Labour Party. In 1998, she became Leader of the House of Lords, and was
also named Minister for Women, a position from which she pushed for changes in government
policy. Today, Baroness Jay serves on committees in the House of Lords focusing on
health, communications and international issues. In 2016, she delivered a Stony Brook
University Presidential Lecture on the new populism in America and Britain.
