Graham Allen (politician)
Graham Allen | |
---|---|
Vice-Chamberlain of the Household | |
In office 27 July 1998 – 8 June 2001 | |
Prime Minister | Tony Blair |
Preceded by | Janet Anderson |
Succeeded by | Gerry Sutcliffe |
Member of Parliament for Nottingham North | |
In office 11 June 1987 – 3 May 2017 | |
Preceded by | Richard Ottaway |
Succeeded by | Alex Norris |
Personal details | |
Born |
Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England | 11 January 1953
Nationality | British |
Political party | Labour |
Spouse(s) | Allyson Stewart |
Alma mater | University of Leeds, London Guildhall University |
Website | parliament..graham-allen |
Graham William Allen (born 11 January 1953) is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Nottingham North from 1987 to 2017. He stood down at the 2017 general election.[1]
Early life
Born in 1953 in Nottingham, he was educated at the local Robert Shaw Primary School in Aspley, Nottingham and Forest Fields Grammar School in Forest Fields.[2] He graduated from City of London Polytechnic, and received an MA from the University of Leeds.[2]
He joined the Labour Party in 1971 whilst working as a warehouse worker. He worked from 1978 to 1983 as a Research Officer with the Labour Party.[2] In 1982 he was elected as a councillor to the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which he served until 1986. He was a local government officer at the Greater London Council between 1983 and 1984, before working for the trade union movement, running the first political fund ballots, and then with the GMB until his election in 1987.[2]
Parliamentary career
Allen was elected as the Labour MP for the Nottingham North constituency at the 1987 general election, gaining the seat from the Conservative's Richard Ottaway with a majority of 1,665 votes.[3] His majority at the 2010 general election was 8,138.[4]
After helping to organise Tony Blair's leadership campaign, Allen was given a series of shadow portfolios, including social security, transport and the environment.[2][5] After the Labour Party came to power at the 1997 general election Allen became a government whip until after the 2001 general election when he returned to the backbenches.
He opposed the Iraq War, and was at the forefront of a successful campaign to recall Parliament in September 2002, attempting to organise an unofficial recall if the House would not formally sit.[6]
Allen sat on a number of parliamentary select committees and was the Chair of the Political and Constitutional Reform Select Committee in the House of Commons from 2010 to 2015[7] He is also a member of the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission.[5]
Allen is a patron of Humanists UK (formerly British Humanist Association) and has campaigned against faith schools in the United Kingdom.[8]
Allen announced he would stand down at the 2017 general election due to ill health.[9]
Democratic Reform
Allen is a proponent of democratic reform[5] and supports independent local government, some proportional representation and a fully elected House of Lords. He introduced a bill calling for a written constitution in the UK.
In 1995, he wrote "Reinventing Democracy"[2] and in November 2002 he published The Last Prime Minister: Being Honest About the UK Presidency,[2] claiming that the UK effectively had a presidency. He argued that the Prime Minister (or 'President', as he referred to the office throughout the book) should be directly and separately elected in order for a better separation of powers. This new arrangement, he argued, would be best spelled out "in plain English" in a written constitution.
Early Intervention
Allen is a strong advocate of early intervention in social issues. He wrote "Early Intervention, good parents, great kids, better citizens" with Iain Duncan Smith in 2009.[5] He wrote two reports for the government on the topic in 2011.
Constituency
In October 2005, Allen became the first MP to Chair a Local Strategic Partnership, which was subsequently renamed One Nottingham.[10] Allen set it the mission of making Nottingham an "Early Intervention City".
References
- ↑ "Nottingham North MP Graham Allen to stand down". ITV News. 22 April 2017. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 'ALLEN, Graham William', Who's Who 2013, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2013; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2012 ; online edn, Nov 2012 accessed 3 Jan 2013
- ↑ "UK General Election results: June 1987 [Archive]". politicsresources.net.
- ↑ "BBC News – Election 2010 – Constituency – Nottingham North". bbc.co.uk.
- 1 2 3 4 Graham Allen Archived 2 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine., www.parliament.org. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
- ↑ "BBC NEWS - UK - Politics - MP steps up Parliament 'recall' bid". news.bbc.co.uk.
- ↑ , www.parliament.uk Retrieved 10 December 2015.
- ↑ "GRAHAM ALLEN". Humanists UK. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
- ↑ Stone, Jon (22 April 2017). "Eric Pickles announces he will stand down as an MP at the general election". The Independent. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
- ↑ "One Nottingham: The Board".
External links
- Graham Allen's Website
- Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
- Contributions in Parliament at Hansard 2010–present
- Contributions in Parliament during 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 at Hansard Archives
- Contributions in Parliament at Hansard 1803–2005
- Voting record at Public Whip
- Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou
- Profile at Westminster Parliamentary Record
- Articles authored at Journalisted
- Graham Allen Profile at New Statesman
Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by Richard Ottaway |
Member of Parliament for Nottingham North 1987–2017 |
Succeeded by Alex Norris |
Political offices | ||
Preceded by Janet Anderson |
Vice-Chamberlain of the Household 1998–2001 |
Succeeded by Gerry Sutcliffe |