438. The Lightning Conductor: Baby P, the Banks and Holding the Line– Baroness Margaret Eaton

For this episode, we are joined by Baroness Eaton DBE DL, whose career in public service spans more than four decades. Beginning her professional life as a schoolteacher, she was elected to Bradford Metropolitan District Council in 1986 and became the council’s first female leader in 2000. She later made history again as the first female Chair of the Local Government Association, representing councils across England during a period marked by the Icelandic banking collapse and heightened scrutiny of children’s services.

Awarded an OBE in 2003, a DBE in 2010, and created a life peer as Baroness Eaton of Cottingley later that year, she has served as a Deputy Lieutenant for West Yorkshire since 2008 and has spent sixteen years in the House of Lords. From the classroom to local government leadership and national public service, Baroness Eaton’s journey offers a unique perspective on leadership, resilience, and public life