About Vera Baird
Dame Vera Baird (née Thomas; born 13 February 1950) is a British barrister and politician who has held roles as a government minister, police and crime commissioner, and Victims' Commissioner for England and Wales. A Labour Party Member of Parliament for Redcar from 2001 to 2010, Baird was a government minister from 2006 to 2010 and the Solicitor General for England and Wales from 2007 to 2010. She served as the Police and Crime Commissioner for Northumbria Police from November 2012 to June 2019. She was appointed as Victims' Commissioner in June 2019 and resigned in September 2022, accusing government ministers of downgrading victims' interests. Baird was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to women and equality. Baird won with 7% smaller vote than Mowlam, taking the seat with a large majority. While at Newcastle Polytechnic she founded and edited a student newspaper, Polygon, and a year later was elected vice president of the Polytechnic Union.
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