Barry Gardiner
Encyclopedia
Barry Strachan Gardiner is a British
Labour Party
politician
who has been the Member of Parliament
(MP) for Brent North since 1997
. He served as a junior minister in the Northern Ireland Office
, the Department for Productivity, Energy and Industry, the Department of Trade and Industry and finally in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
.
and an international footballer, was born in Glasgow
, Scotland
. He was educated at the (now independent but then local authority) High School of Glasgow
and the independent Haileybury and Imperial Service College
in Hertford
before attending the University of St Andrews
where he received an MA
. He then served for two years as full-time Scottish Regional Secretary of the Student Christian Movement. In 1983, he was awarded a Kennedy Memorial Trust scholarship to study Philosophy at Harvard University
under John Rawls
, returning to research at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
for three years from 1984. He worked as a senior partner in shipping
insurance
and arbitration
for ten years before his election to parliament
.
He was elected as a councillor to Cambridge
City Council in 1988 becoming the mayor of the city in 1992, the youngest mayor in the city's 800 year history. He left the council in 1994.
seat of Brent North
at the 1997 General Election
and he defeated the sitting veteran Conservative
MP Rhodes Boyson
by 4,019 and has held the seat since. He made his maiden speech
on 4 July 1997.
he served on four select committees, the
Procedure Committee
and the Select Committee on Broadcasting, the Public Accounts Committee and the Joint Committee on Consolidation of Bills.
He was Chair of the PLP Departmental Committee for Culture, Media and Sport and Vice-chair of the PLP Departmental Committee for the Treasury.
He was the Chairman of the Labour Friends of India
, and has lectured at the Academy of National Economy in Moscow
. He is a former Vice-chair of Labour Friends of Israel.
to the Minister of State
at the Home Office
, Beverley Hughes
in 2002. In 2004 he was appointed the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Northern Ireland Office
, moving to the same position at the Department of Trade and Industry following the 2005 General Election
. He moved to DEFRA at the May 2006 reshuffle and left the Government in June 2007.
The new Prime Minister
Gordon Brown
appointed him as his special representative on forestry in July 2007. He left this role "by mutual consent" on the 13 September 2008 after joining other Labour MPs in declaring that an MP should stand against Gordon Brown. He accused Mr Brown of "vacillation, loss of international credibility and timorous political manoeuvres that the public cannot understand".
Gardiner has been described by Andrew Roth
in The Guardian
as "One of the best educated and most internationally experienced MPs,"
Gardiner claimed for a second home despite his constituency being near Westminster and his wife worked for him as an Office Manager/Executive Secretary.
New expenses rules published by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
coming into force after the 2010 General Election allow employment of one relative but replace funding for a second home with a London Allowance of £3,760 for MPs with seats within 20 miles of Westminster. Those who keep their seats and already own a second home will have profits "recouped".
The Legg Report requested that Gardiner repay £174.17 for mortgage interest overpaid in 2005-06 though he voluntarily repaid £15,404.07 by April 2009.
, Gardiner said he believed that his phone had been hacked while he was a member of the Commons Public Accounts Committee. Gardiner said "there were voicemail messages that I hadn't opened that seemed to have already been opened, the phone kept playing up. It was the only time I think I've ever actually felt under threat as an MP."
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
who has been the Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for Brent North since 1997
United Kingdom general election, 1997
The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...
. He served as a junior minister in the Northern Ireland Office
Northern Ireland Office
The Northern Ireland Office is a United Kingdom government department responsible for Northern Ireland affairs. The NIO is led by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and is based in Northern Ireland at Stormont House.-Role:...
, the Department for Productivity, Energy and Industry, the Department of Trade and Industry and finally in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is the government department responsible for environmental protection, food production and standards, agriculture, fisheries and rural communities in the United Kingdom...
.
Background
Barry Gardiner, the son of a surgeonSurgeon
In medicine, a surgeon is a specialist in surgery. Surgery is a broad category of invasive medical treatment that involves the cutting of a body, whether human or animal, for a specific reason such as the removal of diseased tissue or to repair a tear or breakage...
and an international footballer, was born in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. He was educated at the (now independent but then local authority) High School of Glasgow
High School of Glasgow
The High School of Glasgow is an independent, co-educational day school in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded as the Choir School of Glasgow Cathedral in around 1124, it is the oldest school in Scotland, and the twelfth oldest in the United Kingdom. It remained part of the Church as the city's grammar...
and the independent Haileybury and Imperial Service College
Haileybury and Imperial Service College
Haileybury and Imperial Service College, , is a prestigious British independent school founded in 1862. The school is located at Hertford Heath, near Hertford, from central London, on of parkland occupied until 1858 by the East India College...
in Hertford
Hertford
Hertford is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. Forming a civil parish, the 2001 census put the population of Hertford at about 24,180. Recent estimates are that it is now around 28,000...
before attending the University of St Andrews
University of St Andrews
The University of St Andrews, informally referred to as "St Andrews", is the oldest university in Scotland and the third oldest in the English-speaking world after Oxford and Cambridge. The university is situated in the town of St Andrews, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It was founded between...
where he received an MA
Master of Arts (Scotland)
A Master of Arts in Scotland can refer to an undergraduate academic degree in humanities and social sciences awarded by the ancient universities of Scotland – the University of St Andrews, the University of Glasgow, the University of Aberdeen and the University of Edinburgh, while the University of...
. He then served for two years as full-time Scottish Regional Secretary of the Student Christian Movement. In 1983, he was awarded a Kennedy Memorial Trust scholarship to study Philosophy at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
under John Rawls
John Rawls
John Bordley Rawls was an American philosopher and a leading figure in moral and political philosophy. He held the James Bryant Conant University Professorship at Harvard University....
, returning to research at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
Corpus Christi College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It is notable as the only college founded by Cambridge townspeople: it was established in 1352 by the Guilds of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary...
for three years from 1984. He worked as a senior partner in shipping
Shipping
Shipping has multiple meanings. It can be a physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo, by land, air, and sea. It also can describe the movement of objects by ship.Land or "ground" shipping can be by train or by truck...
insurance
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
and arbitration
Arbitration
Arbitration, a form of alternative dispute resolution , is a legal technique for the resolution of disputes outside the courts, where the parties to a dispute refer it to one or more persons , by whose decision they agree to be bound...
for ten years before his election to parliament
Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, is the meeting place of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons...
.
He was elected as a councillor to Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
City Council in 1988 becoming the mayor of the city in 1992, the youngest mayor in the city's 800 year history. He left the council in 1994.
Election
Gardiner was selected to contest the LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
seat of Brent North
Brent North
Brent North is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-History:...
at the 1997 General Election
United Kingdom general election, 1997
The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...
and he defeated the sitting veteran Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
MP Rhodes Boyson
Rhodes Boyson
Sir Rhodes Boyson is a British educator, author and politician and a former Conservative Member of Parliament for Brent North...
by 4,019 and has held the seat since. He made his maiden speech
Maiden speech
A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament.Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country...
on 4 July 1997.
Committee Work
In the House of CommonsBritish House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
he served on four select committees, the
Procedure Committee
Procedure Committee
The Procedure Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the committee is to consider the practice and procedure of the House in the conduct of public business.-Membership:...
and the Select Committee on Broadcasting, the Public Accounts Committee and the Joint Committee on Consolidation of Bills.
He was Chair of the PLP Departmental Committee for Culture, Media and Sport and Vice-chair of the PLP Departmental Committee for the Treasury.
He was the Chairman of the Labour Friends of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, and has lectured at the Academy of National Economy in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. He is a former Vice-chair of Labour Friends of Israel.
Government and Ministerial Appointments
He became the Parliamentary Private SecretaryParliamentary Private Secretary
A Parliamentary Private Secretary is a role given to a United Kingdom Member of Parliament by a senior minister in government or shadow minister to act as their contact for the House of Commons; this role is junior to that of Parliamentary Under-Secretary, which is a ministerial post, salaried by...
to the Minister of State
Minister of State
Minister of State is a title borne by politicians or officials in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a "minister of state" is a junior minister, who is assigned to assist a specific cabinet minister...
at the Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
, Beverley Hughes
Beverley Hughes
Beverley June Hughes, Baroness Hughes of Stretford is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for Stretford and Urmston from 1997 to 2010. In 2004, she was appointed to the Privy Council...
in 2002. In 2004 he was appointed the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Northern Ireland Office
Northern Ireland Office
The Northern Ireland Office is a United Kingdom government department responsible for Northern Ireland affairs. The NIO is led by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and is based in Northern Ireland at Stormont House.-Role:...
, moving to the same position at the Department of Trade and Industry following the 2005 General Election
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
. He moved to DEFRA at the May 2006 reshuffle and left the Government in June 2007.
The new Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
appointed him as his special representative on forestry in July 2007. He left this role "by mutual consent" on the 13 September 2008 after joining other Labour MPs in declaring that an MP should stand against Gordon Brown. He accused Mr Brown of "vacillation, loss of international credibility and timorous political manoeuvres that the public cannot understand".
Gardiner has been described by Andrew Roth
Andrew Roth
Andrew Roth was a biographer and journalist known for his compilation of Parliamentary Profiles, a directory of British Members of Parliament, which is available online in The Guardian...
in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
as "One of the best educated and most internationally experienced MPs,"
Expenses
Gardiner's expenses in 2008-2009 were ranked 129 out of 647 MPs whilst his 2007-2008 expenses were ranked 369.Gardiner claimed for a second home despite his constituency being near Westminster and his wife worked for him as an Office Manager/Executive Secretary.
New expenses rules published by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority is an independent body created by the Parliamentary Standards Act 2009, largely as a response to the parliamentary expenses scandal of 2009. It establishes and monitors the expenses scheme for Members of the House of Commons, and is responsible for...
coming into force after the 2010 General Election allow employment of one relative but replace funding for a second home with a London Allowance of £3,760 for MPs with seats within 20 miles of Westminster. Those who keep their seats and already own a second home will have profits "recouped".
The Legg Report requested that Gardiner repay £174.17 for mortgage interest overpaid in 2005-06 though he voluntarily repaid £15,404.07 by April 2009.
Alleged phone hacking incident
On the 30th January 2010, in an interview for BBC 1's The Politics ShowThe Politics Show
The Politics Show is an hour long BBC One television political programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on Sundays. The programme usually starts at midday, but is often earlier or later when sporting events clash in the schedules. It was launched in 2003 and was originally presented by Jeremy...
, Gardiner said he believed that his phone had been hacked while he was a member of the Commons Public Accounts Committee. Gardiner said "there were voicemail messages that I hadn't opened that seemed to have already been opened, the phone kept playing up. It was the only time I think I've ever actually felt under threat as an MP."
External links
- Barry Gardiner official site
- Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Barry Gardiner MP
- Barry Gardiner, TheyWorkForYouTheyWorkForYouTheyWorkForYou is a website run by mySociety, a project of registered charity UK Citizens Online Democracy, and is a tool for political campaigners and those interested in the Parliamentary activities of UK MPs, Lords, and Northern Ireland MLAs....
- Voting Record
- BBC Democracy Live profile
- Barry Gardiner Allowances