Honorific Prefix: | Councillor |
Manuela Perteghella | |
Parliament: | United Kingdom |
Constituency Mp: | Stratford-on-Avon |
Term Start: | 4 July 2024 |
Predecessor: | Nadhim Zahawi |
Majority: | 7,122 (13.5%) |
Birth Place: | Italy |
Party: | Liberal Democrats |
Alma Mater: | |
Spouse: | Bruce Horton |
Children: | 3 |
Manuela Perteghella (born)[1] is an Italian-born British Liberal Democrat politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Stratford-on-Avon since 2024.
Perteghella was born in Italy. She graduated from the University of North London with a Bachelor of Arts in English and theatre studies, and then pursued a master's in literary translation and a PhD in theatre and translation, both from the University of East Anglia.[2]
Perteghella is a former university lecturer and a former school governor.[3] From 2006 to 2012, she was a senior lecturer at London Metropolitan University. She has also worked as a curator of community arts projects, published research in literary translation and been a principal tutor at the University of Warwick, a contributing artist and researcher at King's College London, and an associate lecturer for the Open University.[4] [5]
Despite having lived in the United Kingdom for 30 years, Perteghella was not permitted to vote in the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum as she was not a British citizen at the time. She cited as her inspiration for entering politics her "feeling of being (quite literally) disenfranchised [which] was, through engaging with politics itself, transformed into a sense of empowerment".[6]
In the 2024 United Kingdom general election, Perteghella won the constituency of Stratford-on-Avon, garnering 23,450 votes.[7] Her majority was 7,122. She is the first non-Conservative MP for the area since 1950 and the first female MP of the constituency.[8] [9] Perteghella has served as a Stratford-on-Avon district councillor, representing the ward of Welford-on-Avon since a 2020 by-election.
Perteghella is married to Dr Bruce Horton, who is an environmental economist, and they have three children together.[10] She lives with her family in Welford.