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Allen was elected as the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] MP for the [[Nottingham North (UK Parliament constituency)|Nottingham North]] constituency at the [[United Kingdom general election, 1987|1987 general election]], gaining the seat from the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]]'s [[Richard Ottaway]] with a majority of 1,665 votes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge87/i15.htm|title=UK General Election results: June 1987 [Archive]|work=politicsresources.net}}</ref> His majority at the [[United Kingdom general election, 2010|2010 general election]] was 8,138.<ref name=2010election>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/election2010/results/constituency/d40.stm|title=BBC News – Election 2010 – Constituency – Nottingham North|work=bbc.co.uk}}</ref>
Allen was elected as the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] MP for the [[Nottingham North (UK Parliament constituency)|Nottingham North]] constituency at the [[United Kingdom general election, 1987|1987 general election]], gaining the seat from the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]]'s [[Richard Ottaway]] with a majority of 1,665 votes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge87/i15.htm|title=UK General Election results: June 1987 [Archive]|work=politicsresources.net}}</ref> His majority at the [[United Kingdom general election, 2010|2010 general election]] was 8,138.<ref name=2010election>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/election2010/results/constituency/d40.stm|title=BBC News – Election 2010 – Constituency – Nottingham North|work=bbc.co.uk}}</ref>


After helping to organise [[Tony Blair]]'s leadership campaign, Allen was given a series of shadow portfolios, including social security, transport and the environment.<ref name=ww /><ref name=parl>[http://www.parliament.uk/biographies/commons/graham-allen/25774 Graham Allen], www.parliament.org. Retrieved 3 January 2013.</ref> After the Labour Party came to power at the [[United Kingdom general election, 1997|1997 general election]] Allen became a government [[Whip (politics)|whip]] until after the [[United Kingdom general election, 2001|2001 general election]] when he returned to the backbenches.
After helping to organise [[Tony Blair]]'s leadership campaign, Allen was given a series of shadow portfolios, including social security, transport and the environment.<ref name=ww /><ref name=parl>[http://www.parliament.uk/biographies/commons/graham-allen/25774 Graham Allen] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130102221901/http://www.parliament.uk/biographies/commons/graham-allen/25774 |date=2 January 2013 }}, www.parliament.org. Retrieved 3 January 2013.</ref> After the Labour Party came to power at the [[United Kingdom general election, 1997|1997 general election]] Allen became a government [[Whip (politics)|whip]] until after the [[United Kingdom general election, 2001|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/2248313.stm|title=BBC NEWS - UK - Politics - MP steps up Parliament 'recall' bid|website=news.bbc.co.uk}}</ref>
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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/2248313.stm|title=BBC NEWS - UK - Politics - MP steps up Parliament 'recall' bid|website=news.bbc.co.uk}}</ref>
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===Constituency===
===Constituency===
In October 2005, Allen became the first MP to Chair a [[Local Strategic Partnership]], which was subsequently renamed One Nottingham.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ocpn.org.uk/%5Ccontent.asp?MP=59&SP=60|title=One Nottingham: The Board|publisher=}}</ref> Allen set it the mission of making Nottingham an "Early Intervention City".
In October 2005, Allen became the first MP to Chair a [[Local Strategic Partnership]], which was subsequently renamed One Nottingham.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ocpn.org.uk/%5Ccontent.asp?MP=59&SP=60|title=One Nottingham: The Board|publisher=}}{{dead link|date=November 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Allen set it the mission of making Nottingham an "Early Intervention City".


==References==
==References==
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*[http://grahamallenmp.co.uk Graham Allen's Website]
*[http://grahamallenmp.co.uk Graham Allen's Website]
*{{UK MP links | parliament = mr-graham-allen/364 | hansard = mr-graham-allen | hansardcurr = 3636 | guardian = 61/graham-allen | publicwhip = Graham_Allen | theywork = graham_allen | record = Graham-Allen/Nottingham-North/9 | bbc = 25774.stm | journalisted = graham-allen }}
*{{UK MP links | parliament = mr-graham-allen/364 | hansard = mr-graham-allen | hansardcurr = 3636 | guardian = 61/graham-allen | publicwhip = Graham_Allen | theywork = graham_allen | record = Graham-Allen/Nottingham-North/9 | bbc = 25774.stm | journalisted = graham-allen }}
*[http://yourdemocracy.newstatesman.com/profile/graham-allen Graham Allen Profile] at ''[[New Statesman]]''
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110716062531/http://yourdemocracy.newstatesman.com/profile/graham-allen Graham Allen Profile] at ''[[New Statesman]]''


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Revision as of 15:17, 28 November 2017

Graham Allen
Vice-Chamberlain of the Household
In office
27 July 1998 – 8 June 2001
Prime MinisterTony Blair
Preceded byJanet Anderson
Succeeded byGerry Sutcliffe
Member of Parliament
for Nottingham North
In office
11 June 1987 – 3 May 2017
Preceded byRichard Ottaway
Succeeded byAlex Norris
Personal details
Born (1953-01-11) 11 January 1953 (age 71)
Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England
Political partyLabour
SpouseAllyson Stewart
Alma materUniversity of Leeds, London Guildhall University
Websiteparliament..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[citation needed] 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 announced he would stand down at the 2017 general election due to ill health.[8]

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.[citation needed] He introduced a bill calling for a written constitution in the UK.[when?][citation needed]

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.[citation needed]

Early Intervention

Allen is a strong advocate of early intervention in social issues.[citation needed] 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.[9] Allen set it the mission of making Nottingham an "Early Intervention City".

References

  1. ^ "Nottingham North MP Graham Allen to stand down". ITV News. 22 April 2017. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g '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
  3. ^ "UK General Election results: June 1987 [Archive]". politicsresources.net.
  4. ^ "BBC News – Election 2010 – Constituency – Nottingham North". bbc.co.uk.
  5. ^ a b c d Graham Allen Archived 2 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine, www.parliament.org. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
  6. ^ "BBC NEWS - UK - Politics - MP steps up Parliament 'recall' bid". news.bbc.co.uk.
  7. ^ [1], www.parliament.uk Retrieved 10 December 2015.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ "One Nottingham: The Board".[permanent dead link]
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Nottingham North
1987–2017 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Vice-Chamberlain of the Household
1998–2001 		Succeeded by
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