Joan Humble, born Jovanka Piplica on 3 March 1951, is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament for Blackpool North and Fleetwood from 1997 to 2010. She married Paul Humble in 1972 in Halifax. Her working life began in a delicatessen before she pursued higher education at Keighley Girls’ School (now Greenhead High School) and Lancaster University, where she earned a BA in History in 1972. She then joined the civil service, working at the Department of Health and Social Security in 1972 before moving to the Inland Revenue in 1973. She left the civil service in 1977 to raise her two daughters and became actively involved in local education, serving as a school governor for 15 years from 1982.
Humble entered politics in 1985 when she was elected as a councillor for Lancashire County Council, a role she held until her election to Parliament. At the 1997 general election, she won the newly created Blackpool North and Fleetwood constituency, defeating sitting Conservative MP Harold Elletson by a margin of 8,946 votes. During her time in Parliament, she served on the Social Security Select Committee from 1998 to 2001 and later on its successor, the Work and Pensions Select Committee. She also chaired several All-Party Parliamentary Groups, including those on Childcare, Social Care, Myodil, and Army Deaths.
Although initially selected as Labour’s candidate for the newly formed Blackpool North and Cleveleys constituency in the 2010 general election, Humble announced in February 2010 that she would not stand. The seat was won by Conservative candidate Paul Maynard on a 6.9% swing. Following her parliamentary career, she became involved in civic and heritage initiatives. She was appointed chair of Blackpool Civic Trust and, in 2014, became a trustee of Civic Voice, the national charity for the civic movement. In 2016, she succeeded Freddie Gick as chair of Civic Voice, taking over after his three-year tenure.
