Teresa Ellen Gorman (; 30 September 1931 – 28 August 2015) was a British politician. She was Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Billericay, in the county of Essex, from 1987 to 2001 when she stood down. She was a leading figure in the rebellions over the Maastricht Treaty that nearly brought down John Major's government. She worked in both education and business.
Early life
Gorman was born Teresa Ellen Moore in Putney, London, England. Her father was a demolition contractor, her mother a waitress. She was educated at Fulham County School in London, leaving the all-girls grammar school at 16, at her parents' insistence to start work. She then trained to teach at Brighton Teacher Training College, qualifying in 1951. While working as a teacher, she studied biology and zoology part-time at University College London, graduating with first class honours.
After marrying her first husband, James Gorman, whose surname she would keep throughout her life, she worked on an exchange programme in New York City. Besides teaching she ran a business selling teaching aids, Banta, The night after she was elected she appeared on a notable edition of the Channel 4 late-night discussion programme After Dark when she "stormed off the set".
In the 1990 party leadership election she voted for John Major to succeed Margaret Thatcher but four years later she was one of the Maastricht Rebels, who nearly brought down Major's government over the Maastricht Treaty.
At the 1997 general election, there was a massive swing towards her opponent, but she remained an MP, with a much-reduced majority of 1,356. Surprisingly she backed pro-Euro Kenneth Clarke in the 1997 Conservative Party leadership election when she was expected to back William Hague or John Redwood who she backed two years earlier for the party leadership, describing him as "a bad-mannered, insensitive snob whose remarks on single mothers were a disaster".
During the 2012 Local elections, it was reported that Gorman was supporting the UK Independence Party in her home area of Thurrock.
Gorman was a council member of the Freedom Association. She was interviewed about her membership of the association and the rise of Thatcherism for the BBC TV documentary series Tory! Tory! Tory! (2006).
Censure by the House of Commons Standards & Privileges Committee
Gorman was censured by the House of Commons Standards and Privileges Committee for a failure to declare a relevant interest and other breaches of the code of conduct. Clarke was a columnist for Private Eye and a wildlife activist.
She had no children. In Who's Who (2014) she did not detail her marital status beyond "married".
Gorman had Alzheimer's disease. She died from end-stage dementia on 28 August 2015 at a nursing home in Grays, Essex, England.