Phil Hope
Encyclopedia
Philip Ian "Phil" Hope (born 19 April 1955) is a British
Labour Co-operative
politician who was the Member of Parliament
(MP) for Corby
from 1997
until 2010, when he lost his seat to the Conservatives
. He held several ministerial roles during his time as an MP. Since his defeat, he is working as a consultant for Age UK.
, the son of A.G. Hope, a Metropolitan Police
commander, and Grace Thorogood. He was educated at Wandsworth Comprehensive School (became Sutherland Grove School, now knocked down and turned into a development of flats) on Sutherland Grove in Southfields
and St Lukes College, Exeter where he was awarded a BEd
(1st) degree in 1978. On leaving university in Exeter
, he taught
science for a year at Kettering
School for Boys, before joining the National Council for Voluntary Organisations
in 1979 as a youth policy advisor. He was appointed as the head of the Young Volunteers Resource Unit at the National Youth Bureau in 1982, before becoming a management consultant from Framework in 1985, becoming the Director of the Framework in Print Publishing Co-operative.
Council in 1983, becoming the deputy Labour group leader in 1986, before leaving the council in 1987. He unsuccessfully contested Kettering
at the 1992 General Election
where he came second to the sitting Conservative Party
transport
minister
Roger Freeman
by 11,154 votes. He was elected to the Northamptonshire County Council in 1993, becoming the chairman of the Labour group in the same year, before standing down in 1997. He was elected to the House of Commons at the 1997 General Election
for Corby
, defeating the Conservative MP William Powell
by 11,860 votes and remained the MP there until the 2010 election. He made his maiden speech
on 14 May 1997.http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199798/cmhansrd/vo970514/debtext/70514-23.htm#70514-23_spnew5
In parliament he was appointed as the Parliamentary Private Secretary
(PPS) to the Minister of State
at the former Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions
Nick Raynsford
in 1999, and after the 2001 General Election
he became the PPS to the Deputy Prime Minister
John Prescott
. He was promoted to the government of Tony Blair
in 2003 as the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State under his old boss at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. He served as the Parliamentary Under Secretary at the Department for Education and Skills from the 2005 general election
as the minister for vocational education
until the department was disbanded in the reshuffle on 28 June 2007. He then moved to become a Parliamentary Secretary
based in the Cabinet Office
. Following a reshuffle on 24 January 2008 he took on additional responsibility as Minister for the East Midlands
. He retained the latter role but moved from the Cabinet Office to become a Minister of State in the Department of Health following a reshuffle in October 2008.
report published 2 years later, whilst tightening the rules, confirmed that a member may employ one relative subject to general conditions relating to expenses.
Following this announcement there were calls on other MPs to take Hope's lead.
Despite refurbishing, the overall cost of his flat i.e. 'Staying away from main home' during the last 8 years was never higher than 166th out of 647 MPs whilst his 2008-2009 costs were ranked 467.
and they have a son (born February 1984) and a daughter (born September 1986). He once appeared on the 1970s television drama series Z-Cars
and can also both tap dance
and juggle
. Hope has recently been diagnosed with Hodgkins Disease
. This is a cancer of the lymphatic system
and requires treatment which includes 4 months of chemotherapy
followed by 4 weeks of radiotherapy. He has been given the all-clear after successful treatment at Kettering and Northampton General Hospitals. He has been a governor of Park Junior School and Montagu Secondary School in Kettering.
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 Co-operative
Labour Co-operative
Labour and Co-operative describes those candidates in British elections standing on behalf of both the Labour Party and the Co-operative Party, based on a national agreement between the two parties....
politician who was 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 Corby
Corby (UK Parliament constituency)
Corby is a county 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 voting system, and is currently a marginal seat between Labour and the Conservatives....
from 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...
until 2010, when he lost his seat to the Conservatives
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...
. He held several ministerial roles during his time as an MP. Since his defeat, he is working as a consultant for Age UK.
Early life
Phil Hope was born in BatterseaBattersea
Battersea is an area of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is an inner-city district of South London, situated on the south side of the River Thames, 2.9 miles south-west of Charing Cross. Battersea spans from Fairfield in the west to Queenstown in the east...
, the son of A.G. Hope, a Metropolitan Police
Metropolitan Police Service
The Metropolitan Police Service is the territorial police force responsible for Greater London, excluding the "square mile" of the City of London which is the responsibility of the City of London Police...
commander, and Grace Thorogood. He was educated at Wandsworth Comprehensive School (became Sutherland Grove School, now knocked down and turned into a development of flats) on Sutherland Grove in Southfields
Southfields
Southfields is a suburban district in the London Borough of Wandsworth, England, situated 5.6 miles south-west of Charing Cross where Serena Frazer lives. Southfields is located partly in the SW18 postcode area and partly in SW19....
and St Lukes College, Exeter where he was awarded a BEd
Bachelor of Education
A Bachelor of Education is an undergraduate academic degree which qualifies the graduate as a teacher in schools.-North America:...
(1st) degree in 1978. On leaving university in Exeter
Exeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
, he taught
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
science for a year at Kettering
Kettering
Kettering is a market town in the Borough of Kettering, Northamptonshire, England. It is situated about from London. Kettering is mainly situated on the west side of the River Ise, a tributary of the River Nene which meets at Wellingborough...
School for Boys, before joining the National Council for Voluntary Organisations
National Council for Voluntary Organisations
The National Council for Voluntary Organisations is the umbrella body for the voluntary and community sector in England. NCVO works to support the voluntary and community sector and to create an environment in which an independent civil society can flourish...
in 1979 as a youth policy advisor. He was appointed as the head of the Young Volunteers Resource Unit at the National Youth Bureau in 1982, before becoming a management consultant from Framework in 1985, becoming the Director of the Framework in Print Publishing Co-operative.
Parliamentary career
He joined the Labour Party in 1978, and the Co-operative party in 1982. He was elected as a councillor to the Kettering BoroughKettering (borough)
Kettering is a local government district and borough in Northamptonshire, England. It is named after its main town Kettering where the council is based. It borders onto the District of Harborough in the neighbouring county of Leicestershire, the Borough of Corby, the District of East...
Council in 1983, becoming the deputy Labour group leader in 1986, before leaving the council in 1987. He unsuccessfully contested Kettering
Kettering (UK Parliament constituency)
Kettering is a county constituency in Northamptonshire which returns one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
at the 1992 General Election
United Kingdom general election, 1992
The United Kingdom general election of 1992 was held on 9 April 1992, and was the fourth consecutive victory for the Conservative Party. This election result was one of the biggest surprises in 20th Century politics, as polling leading up to the day of the election showed Labour under leader Neil...
where he came second to the sitting Conservative Party
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...
transport
Department for Transport
In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...
minister
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...
Roger Freeman
Roger Freeman, Baron Freeman
Roger Norman Freeman, Baron Freeman, PC , is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in the Cabinet of Prime Minister John Major from 1995 to 1997...
by 11,154 votes. He was elected to the Northamptonshire County Council in 1993, becoming the chairman of the Labour group in the same year, before standing down in 1997. He was elected to the House of Commons 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...
for Corby
Corby (UK Parliament constituency)
Corby is a county 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 voting system, and is currently a marginal seat between Labour and the Conservatives....
, defeating the Conservative MP William Powell
William Powell (UK politician)
William Rhys Powell is a British Conservative politician. A barrister, he was MP for Corby from 1983 to 1997, when he lost the seat to Labour's Phil Hope...
by 11,860 votes and remained the MP there until the 2010 election. 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 14 May 1997.http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199798/cmhansrd/vo970514/debtext/70514-23.htm#70514-23_spnew5
In parliament he was appointed as the Parliamentary Private Secretary
Parliamentary 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...
(PPS) 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 former Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions
Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions
The Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions was a UK Cabinet position created in 1997, with responsibility for the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions ....
Nick Raynsford
Nick Raynsford
Wyvill Richard Nicolls Raynsford , known as Nick Raynsford, is a British Labour Party politician. A government minister from 1997 to 2005, he has been the Member of Parliament for Greenwich & Woolwich since 1997, having previously been MP for Greenwich from 1992 to 1997, and for Fulham from 1986...
in 1999, and after the 2001 General Election
United Kingdom general election, 2001
The United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats...
he became the PPS to the Deputy Prime Minister
Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a senior member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. The office of the Deputy Prime Minister is not a permanent position, existing only at the discretion of the Prime Minister, who may appoint to other offices...
John Prescott
John Prescott
John Leslie Prescott, Baron Prescott is a British politician who was Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007. Born in Prestatyn, Wales, he represented Hull East as the Labour Member of Parliament from 1970 to 2010...
. He was promoted to the government of Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
in 2003 as the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State under his old boss at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. He served as the Parliamentary Under Secretary at the Department for Education and Skills from 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....
as the minister for vocational education
Vocational education
Vocational education or vocational education and training is an education that prepares trainees for jobs that are based on manual or practical activities, traditionally non-academic, and totally related to a specific trade, occupation, or vocation...
until the department was disbanded in the reshuffle on 28 June 2007. He then moved to become a Parliamentary Secretary
Parliamentary Secretary
A Parliamentary Secretary is a member of a Parliament in the Westminster system who assists a more senior minister with his or her duties.In the parliamentary systems of several Commonwealth countries, such as the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, it is customary for the prime minister to...
based in the Cabinet Office
Cabinet Office
The Cabinet Office is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for supporting the Prime Minister and Cabinet of the United Kingdom....
. Following a reshuffle on 24 January 2008 he took on additional responsibility as Minister for the East Midlands
East Midlands
The East Midlands is one of the regions of England, consisting of most of the eastern half of the traditional region of the Midlands. It encompasses the combined area of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Northamptonshire and most of Lincolnshire...
. He retained the latter role but moved from the Cabinet Office to become a Minister of State in the Department of Health following a reshuffle in October 2008.
Employment of Children during University Holidays
In 2008, following the Investigation and withdrawal of the whip from MP Derek Conway the Telegraph revealed that Hope had 'admitted' employing his children, both Politics students, at unspecified times during University holidays. Hope was one of at least 177 MPs employing family members and the Independent Parliamentary Standards AuthorityIndependent 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...
report published 2 years later, whilst tightening the rules, confirmed that a member may employ one relative subject to general conditions relating to expenses.
Expenses Controversy
In May 2009, Hope was criticised for claiming £37,000 in expenses from the taxpayer over 4 years for a London flat. The Daily Telegraph claimed that the total size of the items claimed for would have difficulty fitting inside the small flat. Less than a week after this revelation, Hope voluntarily agreed to return £41,709 to the taxpayer, despite claiming that he 'kept to the rules laid down by Parliament'.Following this announcement there were calls on other MPs to take Hope's lead.
Despite refurbishing, the overall cost of his flat i.e. 'Staying away from main home' during the last 8 years was never higher than 166th out of 647 MPs whilst his 2008-2009 costs were ranked 467.
Personal life
He married Allison Butt on 25 July 1980 in Chipping SodburyChipping Sodbury
Chipping Sodbury is a market town in the county of South Gloucestershire, south-west England, founded in the 12th century by William Crassus . The villages of Old Sodbury and Little Sodbury are nearby...
and they have a son (born February 1984) and a daughter (born September 1986). He once appeared on the 1970s television drama series Z-Cars
Z-Cars
Z-Cars is a British television drama series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby in the outskirts of Liverpool in Merseyside. Produced by the BBC, it debuted in January 1962 and ran until September 1978.-Origins:The series was developed by...
and can also both tap dance
Tap dance
Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sound of one's tap shoes hitting the floor as a percussive instrument. As such, it is also commonly considered to be a form of music. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses more on the...
and juggle
Juggling
Juggling is a skill involving moving objects for entertainment or sport. The most recognizable form of juggling is toss juggling, in which the juggler throws objects up to catch and toss up again. This may be one object or many objects, at the same time with one or many hands. Jugglers often refer...
. Hope has recently been diagnosed with Hodgkins Disease
Hodgkin's lymphoma
Hodgkin's lymphoma, previously known as Hodgkin's disease, is a type of lymphoma, which is a cancer originating from white blood cells called lymphocytes...
. This is a cancer of the lymphatic system
Lymphatic system
The lymphoid system is the part of the immune system comprising a network of conduits called lymphatic vessels that carry a clear fluid called lymph unidirectionally toward the heart. Lymphoid tissue is found in many organs, particularly the lymph nodes, and in the lymphoid follicles associated...
and requires treatment which includes 4 months of chemotherapy
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with an antineoplastic drug or with a combination of such drugs into a standardized treatment regimen....
followed by 4 weeks of radiotherapy. He has been given the all-clear after successful treatment at Kettering and Northampton General Hospitals. He has been a governor of Park Junior School and Montagu Secondary School in Kettering.
Publications
- Ideas into Action: Handbook on Project Planning for Youth and Community Workers by Philip Hope, 1987, National Council for Voluntary Youth Services, ISBN 0-907518-29-X
- Making the Break: Choices and Decisions Facing Young People Leaving Home by Philip Hope, 1989, CVS Advisory Service, ISBN 0907829570
- Education for Citizenship: Resource Pack for Schools" by Philip Hope, 1991, The Children's Society, ISBN 0-907324-59-2
- View to Learn by Philip Hope and Warren Feek, 1991, ITV and Channel Four Community Education
- Making Best Use of Consultants by Philip Hope, 1992, Financial Times Prentice Hall, ISBN 0-582-09824-6
- Diagnosis, Data Collection and Feedback in Consultancy by Philip Hope, 1994, Open University
- Education for Parenthood: A Resource Pack for Young People by Philip Hope, 1994, The Children's Society, ISBN 0-907324-75-4
- Analysis and Action on Youth Health by Philip Hope, 1995, Commonwealth Youth Programme
- Performance Appraisal: A Handbook for Managers in Public Organisations by Philip Hope and Tim Pickles, 1995, Russell House Press, ISBN 1-898924-45-7
- Tomorrow's Parents: Developing Parenthood Education in Schools by Philip Hope and Penny Sharland, 1997, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, ISBN 0-903319-79-9
- User Involvement by Philip Hope and Sarah Hargreaves, 1997, Framework in Print
- Education for Parenthood: A Resource Pack for Young People by Philip Hope, 1998, ISBN 1-899783-10-5