George Freeman, the Life Sciences Minister, whose great aunt was Mabel Philipson, the first woman MP for Berwick-upon-Tweed, has visited the constituency to lend his support to Anne-Marie Trevelyan's bid to become the second.
During a talk in the Town Hall in Berwick, George Freeman explained how the indomitable Mabel Philipson took over the Berwick seat from her husband, and his great uncle, Hilton Philipson; "she decided to take on the liberal establishment, and was elected, shortly after Nancy Astor, becoming the third Woman elected as an MP and the first Conservative woman MP", he added; "She served two terms as a doughty campaigner for disability and was a pioneer for children's rights before retiring to look after her disabled son". Speaking in support of the Conservative parliamentary candidate for Berwick, Anne-Marie Trevelyan he said; "I very much hope Anne-Marie Trevelyan is elected on May 7th and joins me in the house of commons, I see that indomitable Mabel Philipson spirit in Anne-Marie Trevelyan and believe that she will achieve a lot for the area."
George Freeman's illustrious political ancestry also includes Gladstone who was the great uncle of his maternal grandmother. He spoke of, what he described, as the philisophical connection between true liberalism and the Conservative party and of the non-conformist, Gladstonian-style tradition which he sees existing in places like Berwick and in his own constituency in Norfolk and how the idea of "responsibility" was as the heart of his political ideology. Anne-Marie Trevelyan said; "it was fantastic to have George Freeman come to Berwick to talk about his great aunt, Mabel Philipson and hear his views on that core Conservative principle of personal responsibility."