beat and witnessing first hand the cycle of those caught in poverty turning to crime that turned her into a socialist. In 1971, she was working in the West Hampstead division when she met and married PC Paul Green, resigning from the force in 1974 five months before the birth of her first child. Paul Green went on to become Chief Superintendent Green, borough commander for Brent, and was awarded the Queen's Police Medal in the 1999 New Year's Honours before retiring in 2000. He and Green divorced in 2003. Whilst staying at home to look after her two children (a son and a daughter), Green studied for a degree from the Open University. She then spent two full-time years studying at the LSE for an MSc (Econ) in Comparative Government. She spent two years between 1982 and 1984 as a lecturer at Barnet College of Further Education, before becoming an assistant teacher at a Special Educational Unit. During this period Green was increasing active in local politics, becoming secretary and then chair of the Chipping Barnet Labour Party, before standing in (and losing) the elections for a seat on the area's council in 1986. In 1985, she left her teaching career to become Parliamentary Advisor on European Affairs to the Co-operative Union, a position which she left in 1989 as her political career began. Political career Early career Due to the changing political landscape, Green found that her job increasingly saw her lobbying to Brussels, with her particular interest being a directive backed by the co-operative movement creating common standards for food hygiene across Europe. In June 1989, she announced her intention to stand for a seat in the European elections to help ensure the adoption of the draft directive. She visited "most of the 65 local branches" of the constituency of London North and won the seat with a majority of 5,387. She was re-elected to the seat in 1994 with a majority of 48,348. Green was elected Leader of the European Parliamentary Labour Party (EPLP) in 1993, beating incumbent leader Glyn Ford. She only served for one year, however, after having been chosen and championed by then Labour leader John Smith to become the new leader of the PES. At the 1994 Party Leaders' Conference in Corfu, a "package deal" was agreed to fill the upcoming political posts, and it was agreed that Green would take the