Bristol’s Baroness Officially a BNOC

Iconic BBC Radio 4 show Woman’s Hour has placed Baroness Hale, Chancellor of the University of Bristol, in the Top 5 of their Woman’s Hour Power List.

Baroness Hale – Big Name On Campus

Trumped only by the Queen, Theresa May and boss of Santander Ana Botin, Brenda Hale (formally known at the Rt Hon. Baroness Hale of Richmond) became the first, and only, woman to sit in the House of Lords in 2004.

She now sits on the Supreme Court, as the most powerful female judge in British history.

The Top 100 – compiled by Eve Pollard, the second ever woman Editor of a national newspaper, Labour peer Oona King, Tory MP Priti Patel and popular crime novelist Val McDermid – boasts a host of famous faces.

Adele no match for Brenda
Photo: IMDb

Ranked according to their perceived impact on British politics, society, culture and the economy, JK Rowling, Elisabeth Murdoch and Harriet Harman were amongst those who made the top 20.

Perhaps more surprisingly given the amount of time spent state-side rubbing shoulders with scientologists, Spice Girl-turned-fashion-designer Victoria Beckham also squeezed her way into the top 100.

Vocal powerhouse Adele was another notable entry.

In all, Bristol alumni did commendably, with five graduates making their mark on the list, including Jasmine Whitbread – CEO of Save the Children – and Clare Foges, David Cameron’s speechwriter.