Joan Maynard, MP

Member of Parliament Joan Maynard in the early 1970s. Vera Joan Maynard was a Labour politician and member of the National Union of Agricultural Labourers. She argued for the nationalisation of all arable land in the UK. She held strong Communist views earning her the nickname 'Stalin's Grandmother'. She joined the House of Commons in 1974 and was a champion of agricultural workers serving on the Parliamentary Select Committee on Agriculture from 1975 to 1987. Her career highlights were Secretary and later Agent for the Thirst and Malten Constituency Labour Party as well as being the Chairman of the British Peace Committee.