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Laura Davies is a UK doctor and Labour Party politician. In may 2015 and June 2017 general elections she stood as the Labour candidate in the Shropshire constituency of Shrewsbury and Atcham.

General Elections

In 2015, Laura increased the Labour vote by 50%, bringing the party into second with over 15000 votes, achieving a 7.3% swing from the conservatives. During that campaign, Laura's opponent, Suzanne Evans, referred to her as a "silly little girl" in an interview in the independent newspaper, a comment that received widespread criticism for its sexist overtones and for which she later apologised.

In 2017, during the snap general election, Laura further increased Labour's vote share in the constituency, with a 10.5% swing giving her 22,500 votes - more than any other Labour candidate has ever received in the constituency. Laura's campaign was notable due the the presence of her newborn baby, who was just weeks old when the snap general election was called. Laura also attracted the attention of the media when pausing the campaign to resuscitate a man who had collapsed in Shrewsbury town centre.

Laura is a campaigner for women's rights, and offered her backing to calls from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health for more support for breastfeeding mothers, famously pictured feeding her own baby while discussing policy with Jeremy Corbyn.

Since the election, Laura has been invited to give the keynote speech at the Senior Women in Surgery Conference in October 2017.

Early Life and career

Laura grew up in and around Rugby Warwickshire, attending Rugby High School for Girls. Her father, an architect, died when she was 16. From here she went on to obtain her bachelors degree in Biochemistry at the University of Leicester after this she attended medical school at the university of Warwick graduating in 2007. During her medical training Laura joined the British Army, and served for ten years both in the NHS and overseas as an army medical officer. She became a member of the Royal Collage of surgeons in 2011, and became the first female neurosurgical doctor in the British Armed forces. She obtained a masters degree in trauma surgery from the university of Warwick in 2012. Eventually after reaching the rank of major she was medically retired in 2014 due to developing epilepsy.

After joining the Labour party at 15 Laura became a prominent local activist and campaigner, and was one of the youngest individuals to speak at party national conference in 1998. During her military service queens regulations prevented political activity, however soon after medical retirement Laura was selected as the Labour party parliamentary candidate for Shewsbury and Atcham at the 2015 and 2017 general elections.

Other interests

Throughout her life Laura has been a keen amateur equestrian sportsperson. Enjoying success in British eventing and showjumping competitions, notably being part of the winning army medical services team winning the queens plate for non mounted regiment at the Royal Windsor horse show 2011. Also individually reaching the final of the individual armed forces showjumping championship held at the London International horse show (Olymipia) 2009.

Laura also completed the London marathon in 2012 on behalf of the charity Headway.

General Elections

In 2015, Laura increased the Labour vote by 50%, bringing the party into second with over 15000 votes, achieving a 7.3% swing from the conservatives. During that campaign, Laura's opponent, Suzanne Evans, referred to her as a "silly little girl" in an interview in the independent newspaper, a comment that received widespread criticism for its sexist overtones and for which she later apologised.

In 2017, during the snap general election, Laura further increased Labour's vote share in the constituency, with a 10.5% swing giving her 22,500 votes - more than any other Labour candidate has ever received in the constituency. Laura's campaign was notable due the the presence of her newborn baby, who was just weeks old when the snap general election was called. Laura also attracted the attention of the media when pausing the campaign to resuscitate a man who had collapsed in Shrewsbury town centre.

Laura is a campaigner for women's rights, and offered her backing to calls from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health for more support for breastfeeding mothers, famously pictured feeding her own baby while discussing policy with Jeremy Corbyn.

Since the election, Laura has been invited to give the keynote speech at the Senior Women in Surgery Conference in October 2017.

Other Activities

During her career, Laura was featured in TV documentaries about medicine with key features in The real A&E (sky 1) and the BBC's Countryside 999.

Family

Laura is married to David, an academic neurosurgeon and has 2 young boys.