show name	Newsnight
genre	News and current affairs
creator	BBC News
presenter	Jeremy Paxman Kirsty Wark Gavin Esler Emily Maitlis
theme music composer	George Fenton
country	United Kingdom
language	English
producer	BBC News
editor	Peter Rippon
runtime	50 minutes
network	BBC Two
picture format	1024x576 (1980-present anamorphic 16:9)
first aired	30 January 1980
last aired	present
related	Newsnight Scotland Newsnight Review
website	http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsnight
production website	}}

''Newsnight'' is a BBC Television current affairs programme noted for its in-depth analysis and often robust cross-examination of senior politicians. Jeremy Paxman has been its main presenter for over two decades.

Several of the programme's editors over the years have gone on to senior positions within the BBC and elsewhere. Paxman's fellow presenters are Gavin Esler, Kirsty Wark and Emily Maitlis. ''Newsnight'' has been broadcast on BBC Two since 1980. It goes out on weekday evenings between 10:30pm and 11:20pm. Occasionally it may have an extended edition if there is an especially eventful event in the news - as happened on July 7 2011, when closure of News of the World led to an extended version which went on until 11: 35 p.m..Recordings are available within the UK via the BBC website. A weekly 26-minute digest edition of ''Newsnight'' is screened on the corporation's international channel, BBC World News.

History

''Newsnight'' in its current format began on 30 January 1980, although a shorter news bulletin of the same name had run in its late-night BBC2 slot during the 1970s. Its launch was delayed for four months by the Association of Broadcasting Staff, at the time the main BBC trade union. ''Newsnight'' was the first programme to be made by means of a direct collaboration between BBC News, then at Television Centre, and the current affairs department, based some distance away at the Lime Grove Studios. Staff feared job cuts.

Former presenters include Peter Snow, a regular for 17 years, Donald MacCormick, Charles Wheeler, Adam Raphael and John Tusa, later boss of the BBC World Service. In the early days each edition had an auxiliary presenter, a phenomenon pejoratively known at the time as the "Newsnight's wife syndrome." It was her job (it was usually a she) to read the news headlines and to introduce minor items. This was the most visible symptom of the dual origin of programme content in two separate BBC departments. Olivia O'Leary in 1985 became the first female presenter in the strict sense. Editions of the programme have had one single presenter since 1987. ''Newsnight'' is today wholly managed under the aegis of BBC News.

Until 1988, the start time of ''Newsnight'' was flexible, so BBC2 could screen a movie at 9:30pm to dovetail with the conclusion of the main news on BBC1. The fixed time slot of 10:30pm was established in the face of fierce objections from the then managing director of BBC TV, Bill Cotton, otherwise in charge of all scheduling decisions. The very announcement was made without his even being informed. The affair sparked a widely reported row within the corporation. One protagonist said it would "destroy the BBC".

From Monday to Thursday on BBC Two Scotland the offshoot, ''Newsnight Scotland'', presented by Gordon Brewer, replaces the final twenty minutes of the UK programme.

''Newsnight'''s signature tune was composed by George Fenton. Various arrangements have been used over the years.

Interviews

''Newsnight'' is one of the UK's most influential news programmes and often breaks major news stories.

On 13 May 1997 there occurred what became the programme's most notorious interview. Paxman pressed Michael Howard, Home Secretary, about a meeting with Derek Lewis, head of the Prison Service, about the possible dismissal of the governor of Parkhurst Prison. Faced with what he considered evasive answers, Paxman put the same question– "Did you threaten to overrule him?" (i.e. Lewis)– twelve times in succession. Later, during a twentieth anniversary edition of ''Newsnight'', Paxman told Howard that he'd simply been trying desperately to string out the interview because the next item in the running order had failed to materialize. In 2004 Paxman raised the subject again with Howard, by then leader of the Conservative Party. This time, Howard laughed it off, saying that he had not threatened to overrule the head of the Prison Service.

''Newsnight Review''

From 2000 until December 2009, on Friday evenings ''Newsnight'' gave way at 11:00pm to ''Newsnight Review'', a 35-minute consumer survey of the week's artistic and cultural highlights. Mark Lawson was the programme's main presenter in its ''Late Review'' incarnation, which began life as a strand of ''The Late Show''. He continued to chair the panel of guest reviewers when it reincarnated as ''Newsnight Review'' in 2000, up until December 2005. The programme has been presented by Kirsty Wark, Martha Kearney, John Wilson, Tim Marlow, Kwame Kwei-Armah and Hardeep Singh Kohli. Regular reviewers have included Mark Kermode, Tom Paulin, Ekow Eshun and Germaine Greer.

As part of the BBC's commitment to moving programmes out of London, ''Newsnight Review'' finished on 18 December 2009 with a special hour-long edition. The programme has been replaced by ''The Review Show'', produced from Glasgow, which started on 22 January 2010. It has the same producer as ''Newsnight Review'' and is still presented by Kirsty Wark and Martha Kearney.

Frivolity

Traditionally, there is a short stock market update at the end of each edition. In 2005, ''Newsnight's'' then editor, Peter Barron, replaced it with a 30-second weather report, arguing that the market data was available on the internet and that a weather report would be more useful. The change provoked a flurry of complaints.

Paxman on one occasion adopted a sarcastic tone and announced: "So finally and controversially, tomorrow's weather forecast. It's a veritable smorgasbord. Sun, rain, thunder, hail, snow, cold, wind. Almost worth going to work." On other occasions: "It's April, what do you expect?" and, "Take an umbrella with you tomorrow." He claimed, nonetheless, that he was happy presenting the weather. Gavin Esler also joined in, announcing: "As for the spring, you can forget about that until further notice." The programme conducted a telephone poll. Michael Fish, a former weather forecaster, was seen arguing in favour of the weather report, while Norman Lamont, a former Chancellor of the Exchequer, argued for the market update. 62% of viewers voted in favour of the markets, and the update duly returned on Monday 18 April 2005.

Other stunts include: for a week at the end of January 2006, ''Newsnight'' played over its closing credits the so-called Radio 4 UK Theme which was facing the axe; the 24 April 2006 edition played out to the signature tune of the soon-to-be-axed BBC sports programme, ''Grandstand''.

Between January and June 2006 the programme included ''Gordaq'', a spoof Stock Exchange index measuring the political performance of Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown. The index started at 100 and moved up or down depending on Brown's political situation, finishing at 101 on 30 June 2006.

International edition and other media

''Newsnight'' is available within the UK via broadband on BBC iPlayer for up to seven days after broadcast. It can be found on the ''Newsnight'' website or via a search for "Newsnight" on the BBC iPlayer. A weekly digest version of ''Newsnight'' is screened on the corporation's international news channel, BBC World News.

BBC America axed its US version of ''Newsnight'' as part of a series of changes that included dropping its daily three-hour block of international news. The BBC's commercial US channel, which is available in more than 63 million American homes via digital, cable and satellite, in the spring of 2009, dropped its daily simulcast from the BBC World News channel, which aired between 6am and 9am, because of disappointing ratings. It reinstated the three-hour block due to customer demand, and later expanded it to four hours. The special edition of ''Newsnight'', which featured a roundup of the best stories from the UK programme and was fronted by Paxman, was dropped in November 2008.

KCET, a PBS affiliate in Los Angeles, broadcasts ''Newsnight'' and sponsors the programme for PBS stations throughout the US.

Current presenters

Jeremy Paxman - from 1989

Kirsty Wark - from October 1993

Gavin Esler - from January 2003

Emily Maitlis - from March 2006

Occasionally the programme will be anchored by another presenter from BBC News. Examples have included Huw Edwards, Eddie Mair, Jon Sopel, Nick Robinson, Laura Kuenssberg, Matt Frei, Stephanie Flanders. and Mishal Husain.

The programme's political editor since April 2007 has been Michael Crick, who succeeded Martha Kearney, also an intermittent presenter of the programme until her departure to present Radio Four's weekday lunchtime news programme ''The World At One''.

Past presenters

Peter Snow, 30 January 1980–3 July 1997

John Tusa, January 1980–5 June 1986

Peter Hobday, 1980–1983

Olivia O'Leary, 17 June 1985–26 September 1986

Adam Raphael, 1987–1988

Gordon Brewer, 1993–1999, now hosts the ''Newsnight Scotland'' opt-out

Martha Kearney 1994-2010

Sarah Montague, 1998–2001

Sue Cameron

James Cox

Donald MacCormick

Fran Morrison

Francine Stock

Charles Wheeler

Jeremy Vine, 1999–2002

''Newsnight'' editors

George Carey (1980–1981)

Ron Neil (1981–1982)

David Lloyd (1982–1983)

David Dickinson (1983–1985)

Richard Tait (1985–1987)

John Morrison (1987–1990)

Tim Gardam (1990–1993)

Peter Horrocks (1994–1997)

Sian Kevill (1998–2001)

George Entwistle (2001–2004)

Peter Barron (2004–2008)

Peter Rippon (2008–present)

References

Footnotes

Newsnight 25 BBC mini-site to mark Newsnight's 25th anniversary in 2005

Newsnight at 20: the awkward squad, ''Broadcast'', 28 January 2000

External links

Paxarotti packs punch in Newsnight opera BBC News, 5 September 2003 - ''Newsnight: The Opera''

''Newsnight'' weathers storm as forecast is axed The Guardian, 15 April 2005

''Newsnight'' blogs:

*Idle Scrawl BBC Blogs

*Michael Crick's blog BBC Blogs

Category:1980 in British television Category:1980 television series debuts Category:1980s British television series Category:1990s British television series Category:2000s British television series Category:2010s British television series Category:BBC television news programmes Category:Peabody Award winning television programs

de:Newsnight nl:Newsnight

name	Steve Coogan
birth date	October 14, 1965
birth place	Middleton, Lancashire, England
birth name	Stephen John Coogan
spouse	Caroline Hickman(m. 2002–2005; divorced)
occupation	Actor, Comedian, Writer, Producer
relatives	Brendan Coogan, Martin Coogan (brothers) }}

Stephen John "Steve" Coogan (born 14 October 1965) is a British comedian, actor, writer and producer. Born in Manchester, he began his career as a standup comedian and impressionist, working as a voice artist throughout the 1980s on satirical puppet show ''Spitting Image.'' In the early nineties, Coogan began creating original comic characters which he presented in stage shows, this led to him winning the 1992 Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Fringe, for his show with long-time collaborator John Thomson. The most prominent characters he developed at this time were Paul Calf, a stereotypical lower class Mancunian and his sister the promiscuous Pauline (played by Coogan in drag).

Working with Chris Morris, Patrick Marber and Armando Iannucci for ''On The Hour'' and ''The Day Today'', Coogan developed his most popular and most developed character; Alan Partridge, a socially awkward and politically incorrect regional media personality, who developed to feature in his own eponymous television series, ''Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge'' and ''I'm Alan Partridge'', which were well received and were nominated for five BAFTAs in total. Outside the UK, Coogan is better known for his roles in films such as ''24 Hour Party People'', ''The Wind in the Willows'', ''Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief'', ''Night at the Museum'', ''Tropic Thunder'', ''Hamlet 2'', ''The Trip'', ''A Cock and Bull Story'', ''In The Loop'' and ''The Other Guys''.

On 22 November 2011, Coogan, along with Hugh Grant, gave evidence to the Leveson Inquiry on phone hacking, favouring regulation of the free press.

Early life

Coogan is one of seven children born to Kathleen (née Coonan), a homemaker, and Anthony Coogan, an IBM engineer. He was born in his parents' house and raised in Alkrington, a suburb of Middleton, north of Manchester, in an Irish working class family. Coogan was raised as a Roman Catholic. He had a happy childhood growing up with four brothers and two sisters, and in addition his parents fostered children on a short-term basis, sometimes accommodating two or three foster children at a time. Coogan had a talent for impersonation, and wanted to go to drama school, despite being advised by a teacher that it could lead to a precarious profession.

He went to five interviews for drama school in London, and then – after gaining confidence by joining a theatre company in Manchester called New Music – gained a place at the Manchester Polytechnic School of Theatre. Coogan's brother Martin was the vocalist and wrote the music for The Mock Turtles, a successful indie rock band in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Career

Coogan started out as a comic and mimic in Ipswich, as well as doing voice-over work for adverts and impressions on ''Spitting Image''. In 1988, he did impressions of Prince Charles which featured on the Urban label release "Don't Believe the Hype" by acid house artist Mista E. The impressions were also used as jingles in 1988/89 on the BBC Radio 1 FM Friday night dance music show ''Jeff Young's Big Beat''. In 1993 Coogan starred alongside Caroline Aherne and John Thomson in a one-off Granada TV sketch show ''The Dead Good Show''.

Alan Partridge

Coogan collaborated with Chris Morris and Armando Iannucci, amongst others, on the Radio 4 comedy show ''On the Hour'', where he helped give birth to his most famous creation, Alan Partridge. Alan went on to have his own radio show, as well as appearing on TV in ''The Day Today'' and his own chat show, ''Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge''. In 1997, he returned with the sitcom ''I'm Alan Partridge'', which was followed by a second series in 2002. Partridge was part of Coogan's 2008 stand-up tour, and an Alan Partridge movie is in production.

Other TV roles

''Paul Calf'' first began as a character named 'Duncan Disorderly' in Coogan's early stand-up routines. Calf first came to wider public notice in 1993, with several appearances on ''Saturday Zoo'', a late-night variety show presented by Jonathan Ross on Channel 4. Paul has appeared in two video diaries, an episode of ''Coogan's Run'', and in various stand-up performances. He is an unemployed Manchester wastrel with a particular hatred of students. His catchphrase is "Bag o' shite". Paul lives in a council house in the fictional town of Ottle with his mother and his sister, Pauline Calf (also played by Coogan). His father died some time before the first video diary was made. For a long time he was obsessed with getting back together with his ex-girlfriend, Julie. Paul's best friend is "Fat" Bob (played by John Thomson), a car mechanic who eventually married Pauline. Paul supports Manchester City and is very partial to Wagon Wheels. He wears Burton suits, sports a bleached mullet and drives a Ford Cortina.

Other Coogan creations include Tommy Saxondale, Duncan Thicket, and Portuguese Eurovision winner Tony Ferrino. Duncan Thicket has appeared in a tour of live shows. Other TV shows he has starred in include ''Coogan's Run'', ''Dr. Terrible's House of Horrible'', ''Monkey Trousers'' and ''Saxondale''. Coogan has provided voices for the animated series ''I Am Not an Animal'' and ''Bob and Margaret'', the one-off BBC2 comedy about sheep ''Combat Sheep'', two Christmas specials starring ''Robbie the Reindeer'', and an episode of the BBC Radio Four spoof sci-fi series ''Nebulous''.

During the 1989 series of The Krypton Factor, Coogan was invited to participate in a series of mini-movies for the observation round.

He starred in BBC2's ''The Private Life of Samuel Pepys'' in 2003, and ''Cruise of the Gods'' in 2002. In 2005, he had an uncredited cameo in the BBC series Nathan Barley in which he played the pornstar Rod Senseless. In 2006, he had a cameo in the ''Little Britain'' Christmas special as a pilot taking Lou and Andy to Disneyland. In 2007, Coogan played a psychiatrist on HBO's ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'', and in 2008, starred in the BBC1 drama ''Sunshine''.

In 2010, he reunited with actor Rob Brydon and director Michael Winterbottom (both of whom he had worked with on the 2006 film ''A Cock and Bull Story'' (see Film Roles below)), for the partially improvised BBC2 sitcom ''The Trip'', in which he and Brydon do a tour of northern restaurants, which he is writing up for the Observer. ''The Trip'' was nominated for a 2011 Television BAFTA for Best Situation Comedy, and Coogan won Best Male Performance in a Comedy Role.

He provided the voices of Philip Masterson-Bowie (a horse) and Mark Andrews (a sparrow) for animated comedy series ''I Am Not an Animal''. He was also the voice of Satan on ''Neighbors from Hell''.

In December 2011, Coogan voiced Roger Mellie and Tracey Tunstall of The Fat Slags in three Viz ''Comedy Blaps'' for Channel 4.

Film roles

Notable film roles include Factory Records boss Tony Wilson in the film ''24 Hour Party People'', Mole in Terry Jones' ''The Wind in the Willows'', Phileas Fogg in a remake of Jules Verne's ''Around the World in 80 Days'' with Jackie Chan, Ambassador Mercy in ''Marie Antoinette'', Bruce Tick in ''Sweet Revenge'', and Octavius in ''Night at the Museum''. He has also played himself three times on screen. First, in one of the vignettes of Jim Jarmusch's 2003 film ''Coffee and Cigarettes'', alongside Alfred Molina. Second, in 2006 Coogan starred with Rob Brydon in Michael Winterbottom's ''A Cock and Bull Story'', a self-referential film of the "unfilmable" self-referential novel ''Tristram Shandy'' by Laurence Sterne. In the film, Coogan plays a fictional, womanizing version of himself. Thirdly he played himself in the 2010 film ''The Trip''.

The first film, which he co-wrote with Henry Normal, was ''The Parole Officer''. He also acted in this alongside Ben Miller and Lena Headey. Coogan has an uncredited cameo in ''Hot Fuzz'', scripted by ''Shaun of the Dead'' writers Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright. He stars as a failed actor turned high school drama teacher in the 2008 film ''Hamlet 2'' and had a role in ''Tropic Thunder'', playing the inexperienced director. It was announced on 8 August 2007, that he is also to star in a film adaptation of the life of Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards, which is still in pre-production. In 2009, he also starred as a lying reporter in'' What Goes Up'' with Olivia Thirlby, Molly Shannon and Hilary Duff. Also recently, he appeared in ''Finding Amanda'' alongside Brittany Snow and Matthew Broderick, returned as Octavius in ''Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian'', and played Hades in ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief''.

Achievements

Coogan's show ''Steve Coogan in character with John Thomson'' was winner of the Perrier Award for best show at the 1992 Edinburgh Fringe. He has won numerous awards for his work in TV including British Comedy Awards, BAFTAs, and The South Bank Show award for comedy. In 2003, he was listed in ''The Observer'' as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy. In 2005, a poll to find ''The Comedians' Comedian'' saw him being voted amongst the top 20 greatest comedy acts ever by fellow comedians and comedy insiders.

Comeback to stand-up comedy

In March 2008, it was confirmed that Coogan would return to doing stand-up comedy as part of his first stand-up tour in ten years. The tour, named "Steve Coogan as Alan Partridge and other less successful characters", saw the return of some of his old characters including Paul Calf and Alan Partridge. Reviews of the opening night were mixed. and such reviews continued as the tour progressed. Much of the criticism focused on the apparent unrehearsed quality of much of Coogan's performance. Chortle comedy guide wrote "Steve Coogan’s stage comeback after ten years is most definitely a show of two halves: the superlative Alan Partridge plus a collection of characters that are not only less successful, but woefully less funny."

Production work

Coogan, along with writing partner Henry Normal, founded Baby Cow Productions in 1999. Together they are the executive producers for such shows as ''The Mighty Boosh'', starring Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt, ''Nighty Night'', starring Julia Davis, ''Marion and Geoff'', starring Rob Brydon, "Gavin and Stacey" starring Ruth Jones, James Corden, Joanna Page, Mathew Horne and Rob Brydon, and ''Human Remains'', starring Davis and Brydon. Baby Cow Productions' latest venture is ''Where Are the Joneses'', an online sitcom which uses wiki technology to allow the audience to upload scripts and storyline ideas.

In the media

Coogan said he "liked to keep himself private", adding; "I have never wanted to be famous, as such - fame is a by-product," He has been a popular target of the British tabloid press since 1996, whom he stated have subjected him to entrapment and blackmail, printed obvious falsehoods about him, also targeting his family and friends in attempts to extract stories from them. Coogan in some cases gave a strong denial to allegations, but in others did not contest them because he wanted to shield vulnerable friends from adverse publicity. The tabloids also published intrusive information about his relationships and the schooling of his child. Coogan has also been critical of the broadsheet press, saying they have colluded with the tabloids in the interests of selling newspapers. In 2005 he said "''The Guardian'' tends to have its cake and eat it. It waits for the tabloids to dish the dirt and then it talks about the tabloids dishing the dirt while enjoying it themselves." However Coogan later gave credit to the same newspaper for its investigation of the phone hacking scandal. Coogan said that because of the persistent intrusion into his private life, the press had effectively made him "immune" to further attack, as his "closet is empty of skeletons".

Phone hacking

Coogan became a prominent figure in the News International phone hacking scandal as one of the celebrities who took action against the British tabloids in light of these events. He was made aware by his phone service provider of "possible anomalies" on his phone around the time in 2005 and 2006 In 2010 Coogan's legal firm obtained a partially redacted version of Glenn Mulcaire's hacking notebook by a court order which showed Coogan had been targeted and his personal information was in the possession of Mulcaire. Mulcaire was forced by the High Court of Justice to disclose to Coogan's legal team who amongst the staff at the News of the World ordered him to hack phones. This information was obtained by Coogan's lawyers on the 26th August 2011. Interviewed on ''Newsnight'' on 8 July 2011, Coogan said he was "delighted" by the closure of the News of the World and said it was a "fantastic day for journalism". He said the idea of press freedom was used by the tabloids as a "smokescreen for selling papers with tittle-tattle" and said the argument against press regulation was "morally bankrupt" Coogan provided an 8-page witness statement to the Leveson Inquiry and appeared at the inquiry on November 22, 2011 to discuss the evidence. He said he was there reluctantly representing a lot of celebrities who felt they could not speak out for fear of reprisals from the tabloid press.

Personal life

One of Coogan's brothers, Brendan, is a former ''Top Gear'' presenter, and another, Martin, was the lead singer of the early 1990s band The Mock Turtles. All the brothers attended the Cardinal Langley RC High School.

Coogan married Caroline Hickman in 2002,the couple divorced in 2005. He lives in Brighton to be close to Clare, his daughter from a previous relationship. On the commentary for Series 2 of ''I'm Alan Partridge'', Coogan states that he is a socialist who enjoys paying taxes, whilst discussing the eponymous character's investigation by the Inland Revenue. Coogan reportedly has a wealth of £5 million and supports the Labour Party.

A well noted car enthusiast, he has had a succession of Ferraris, but stopped buying them after realising that the depreciation and running costs were greater than hiring a private plane. He helped Jeremy Clarkson test a Ferrari 575M against an Aston Martin Vanquish S on the fifth series of Top Gear. Coogan drives one of the final air-cooled Porsche 911 Carrera 4s.

Filmography

Year !! Film !! Role !! Notes
	1989	''Resurrected (film)	Resurrected''	Youth 2
	1995	''The Indian in the Cupboard (film)	The Indian in the Cupboard''	Tommy Atkins
	1996	''The Wind in the Willows (1996 film)	The Wind in the Willows''	Mole
	1998	Alice Through the Looking Glass (1998 film)	Alice Through the Looking Glass	Gnat
	1998	''Sweet Revenge (1998 film)	Sweet Revenge''	Bruce Tick
	2001	''The Parole Officer''	Simon Garden	Also WriterNominated – BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer
	2002	''24 Hour Party People''	Tony Wilson
	2003	''Coffee and Cigarettes''	Steve	Segment: Cousins?
		Heston the snake	Voice Only
	Phileas Fogg
		Charley
''A Cock and Bull Story''	Tristram Shandy/ Walter Shandy/ Steve Coogan
	''The Alibi''	Ray Elliot
''Night at the Museum''	Octavius
	2006-2007	''Saxondale''	Tommy Saxondale
		Graham
''Hot Fuzz''	Metropolitan Police Inspector	Uncredited
	''Finding Amanda''	Michael Henry
''Tales of the Riverbank''	Roderick	Voice Only
''Tropic Thunder''	Damien Cockburn
''Hamlet 2''	Dana Marschz
	''What Goes Up''	Campbell Babbitt	Also Producer
	Paul Michaelson	Chlotrudis Award for Best Cast
''Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian''	Octavius
	''Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief''	Hades
''The Other Guys''	David Ershon
	Raisin	Voice Only
		Steve Coogan	Limited Release
''Our Idiot Brother''	Dylan

Awards and nominations

Edinburgh Comedy Awards ''Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge (TV series) ''Pauline Calf's Wedding Video'' ''Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge'' ''I'm Alan Partridge'' ''I'm Alan Partridge'' ''I'm Alan Partridge'' ''The Parole Officer'' ''Cruise of the Gods'' ''I'm Alan Partridge'' ''I'm Alan Partridge'' ''24 Hour Party People'' ''24 Hour Party People'' ''Happy Endings (film) ''In the Loop (film) ''The Trip (2010 TV series)

Year !! Nominated For !! Award !! Category !! Result
1992	''In Character With John Thompson''	Perrier Comedy Award ||	Best Comedy Show
1994	Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge'' ||	British Comedy Awards	Best Male TV Performer
1995	|	BAFTAs	Best Comedy Performance
1995	|	BAFTAs	Best Light Entertainment Performance
1998	|	British Comedy Awards	Best TV Comedy Actor
1998	|	BAFTAs	Best Comedy Performance
1998	|	BAFTAs	Best Comedy (Programme or Series)
2002	|	BAFTAs	BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer
2003	|	British Comedy Awards	Best TV Comedy Actor
2003	|	BAFTAs	Best Comedy Performance
2003	|	Royal Television Society	Best Comedy Performance
2003	|	Empire Awards	Best British Actor
2003	|	Online Film Critics Society	Best Breakthrough Performance
2005	Happy Endings'' ||	Satellite Award	Best Supporting Actor
2010	In the Loop'' ||	Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film>Chlotrudis Award	Chlotrudis Award for Best Cast>Best Cast
2011	The Trip ||	BAFTAs	Best Male Comedy Performance

Awards and Nominations sourced from IMDb http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0176869/awards 2/12/2010

Stand-up VHS and DVDs

''Live 'N' Lewd'' (7 November 1994)

''Live – The Man Who Thinks He's It'' (9 November 1998)

''As Alan Partridge And Other Less Successful Characters – Live'' (30 November 2009)

References

External links

Coming to a cinema near you... Alan Partridge as Our Man in Tashkent

Steve Coogan: From a Partridge to 'Cock and Bull Fresh Air interview by Terry Gross

Steve Coogan on BBC Radio Desert Island Discs

Evidence to the Leveson Inquiry

Profile on Chortle

Category:1965 births Category:Alumni of Manchester Metropolitan University Category:British male comedians Category:English actors Category:English comedians Category:English film actors Category:English impressionists (entertainers) Category:English people of Irish descent Category:English socialists Category:English television actors Category:English voice actors Category:Living people Category:People from Middleton, Greater Manchester

da:Steve Coogan de:Steve Coogan es:Steve Coogan fr:Steve Coogan ga:Steve Coogan hr:Steve Coogan id:Steve Coogan it:Steve Coogan nl:Steve Coogan ja:スティーヴ・クーガン no:Steve Coogan pl:Steve Coogan pt:Steve Coogan ru:Куган, Стив simple:Steve Coogan fi:Steve Coogan sv:Steve Coogan tr:Steve Coogan

Honorific-prefix	The Right Honourable
Name	Harriet Harman
Honorific-suffix	QC (Hon.), MP
Office	Deputy Leader of the Opposition
Leader	Ed Miliband
Term start	25 September 2010
Predecessor	Michael Ancram
Office1	Shadow Secretary of State for International Development
Leader1	Ed Miliband
Term start1	8 October 2010
Predecessor1	Douglas Alexander
Successor1
Office4	Deputy Leader of the Labour Party
Leader4	Gordon BrownEd Miliband
Term start4	24 June 2007
Predecessor4	John Prescott
Office5	Leader of the Opposition
Primeminister5	David Cameron
Term start5	11 May 2010
Term end5	25 September 2010
Monarch5	Elizabeth II
Predecessor5	David Cameron
Successor5	Ed Miliband
Office6	Labour Party Chair
Leader6	Gordon Brown
Term start6	24 June 2007
Term end6	11 May 2010
Predecessor6	Hazel Blears
Successor6	Office Abolished
Office7	Leader of the House of CommonsLord Privy Seal
Primeminister7	Gordon Brown
Term start7	28 June 2007
Term end7	11 May 2010
Predecessor7	Jack Straw
Successor7	Sir George Young
Office8	Minister for Women and Equality
Primeminister8	Gordon Brown
Term start8	28 June 2007
Term end8	11 May 2010
Predecessor8	Ruth Kelly (Women)
Successor8	Theresa May (Women and Equalities)
Office9	Solicitor General
Primeminister9	Tony Blair
Term start9	11 June 2001
Term end9	10 May 2005
Predecessor9	Ross Cranston
Successor9	Mike O'Brien
Office0	Secretary of State for Social Security
Primeminister0	Tony Blair
Term start0	3 May 1997
Term end0	27 July 1998
Predecessor0	Peter Lilley
Successor0	Alastair Darling
Office11	Minister for Women
Primeminister11	Tony Blair
Term start11	3 May 1997
Term end11	27 July 1998
Predecessor11	Position established
Successor11	The Baroness Jay of Paddington
Office13	Member of Parliament for [[Camberwell and Peckham (UK Parliament constituency)|Camberwell and Peckham]]Peckham (1982–1997)
Term start13	28 October 1982
Predecessor13	Harry Lamborn
Majority13	17,187 (36.8%)
Birth date	July 30, 1950
Birth place	Marylebone, London, England
Residence	Herne Hill, London, UK
Party	Labour
Spouse	Jack Dromey (1982–present)
Children	2 sons, 1 daughter
Relations	John B. Harman (father, deceased); The Earl of Longford
Alma mater	University of York
Profession	Solicitor
Website	Official website }}

Harriet Ruth Harman QC (Hon.) (born 30 July 1950) is a British Labour Party politician, who is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Camberwell and Peckham, and was MP for the predecessor Peckham constituency from 1982 to 1997. She was the interim Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition from 11 May to 25 September 2010, until Ed Miliband took over the role.

In 2007, she was elected Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, and served in the Cabinet as Leader of the House of Commons, Lord Privy Seal, and Minister for Women and Equality from 2007 to 2010. Following the resignation of Gordon Brown as Prime Minister and Labour Leader on 11 May 2010 following his failure to win the general election (which ended in a hung parliament) five days earlier, Harman became interim Party Leader and interim Leader of the Opposition. She served in both roles until the Labour Party elected Ed Miliband Leader.

Miliband appointed her Shadow Secretary of State for International Development. She will act as stand-in Leader during Prime Minister's Questions, when Miliband is away and gets to engage during Deputy Prime Minister's Questions with current Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg. She is the current female MP with the longest period of continuous service in the House of Commons.

Early life

She was born in London to Anna Harman (née Spicer), a solicitor married to a Harley Street physician John Bishop Harman FRCP. Her parents each had non-conformist backgrounds – her grandfather Nathaniel Bishop Harman was a prominent Unitarian and the Spicer family were well known congregationalists. Her aunt was Elizabeth Pakenham, Countess of Longford, and her cousins include writers Lady Antonia Fraser, Lady Rachel Billington, and Thomas Pakenham.

Harman attended a fee-paying public school, St Paul's Girls' School and then the University of York, where she gained a BA in Politics. Between 1978 and 1982, she was legal officer for the National Council for Civil Liberties and was found in contempt of court by Mr Justice Hugh Park, see ''Harman v The Home Office'' (the conviction for contempt being upheld on appeal), before becoming MP for Peckham in a by-election in 1982. However, Harman took the case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg and successfully argued that the prosecution had breached her right to freedom of expression. In the field of public law, ''Harman v United Kingdom'' is still cited in textbooks.

Harman was later involved in a European Court of Human Rights case against MI5 after it was revealed by whistleblower Cathy Massiter in 1984 that personal files were held by MI5 on Harman and on another leading member of the NCCL – Patricia Hewitt. They successfully argued that there had been an infringement of their rights because MI5 was not a legally constituted and democratically accountable organisation, this being the minimum standard in democracy. The success of the case led to enactment of the Security Service Act 1989.

Member of Parliament

In the by-election held on 28 October 1982, she was elected Member of Parliament for Peckham with a majority of 3,931 votes.

Harman is a committed feminist, having said, "I am in the Labour Party because I am a feminist. I am in the Labour Party because I believe in equality." Because of her unabashed feminism, her detractors have given her the nickname 'Harriet Harperson' and have referred to her as the 'patron saint of equality'.

Opposition frontbench (1984–97)

In 1984, Harman became a Shadow Social Services minister and served as a Shadow Health minister in 1987. After the 1992 general election she entered the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury (1992–1994) and later served as Shadow Employment Secretary (1994–1995), Shadow Health Secretary (1995–1996) and Shadow Social Security Secretary (1996–1997).

In government

After Labour's victory in the 1997 general election, she became Secretary of State for Social Security and was given the task of reforming the Welfare State. During this time, her more notable policies included introducing a minimum income guarantee and winter fuel payments for the elderly. It was later ruled that the fuel payments policy breached European sex discrimination laws in that men had to wait five years longer to receive them than women. The policy was amended so both sexes qualified at age 60. Harman was sacked from the position in 1998. According to many in the media, this was the result of a series of public rows with junior minister Frank Field, though others also cited her decision to cut benefits to lone parents as a factor.

Harman made a return to the front bench after the 2001 general election, with her appointment to the office of Solicitor General, thus becoming the first female Solicitor General. In accordance with convention, she was appointed as Queen's Counsel, although she was never a barrister, had no rights of audience in the higher courts, did not obtain them and never presented a case during her time as Solicitor General, or at all.

After the 2005 general election, she became a Minister of State in the Department for Constitutional Affairs with responsibilities including constitutional reform, legal aid and court processes and she represented Lord Falconer in the House of Commons on the frontbench.

On 16 March 2006, Harman relinquished her ministerial responsibilities for electoral administration and reform of the House of Lords. She stated that this was to avoid any potential conflict of interest after her husband Jack Dromey, the Treasurer of the Labour Party, announced that he would be investigating a number of loans made to the Labour Party that had not been disclosed to party officers. She retained her other responsibilities.

Return to cabinet

Harman is known as a long term supporter of Gordon Brown and is regarded as a personal friend. On 28 June 2007, after she became Deputy Leader of the Labour Party and Brown became leader and was appointed Prime Minister, Harman joined Brown's Cabinet as Leader of the House of Commons, Lord Privy Seal and Minister for Women and Equality, and was also given the title of Labour Party Chair. Unlike the previous Deputy Leader, John Prescott, Harman was not given the title of 'Deputy Prime Minister'.

When Harman, as Leader of the House of Commons, stood in for Gordon Brown during Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday 2 April 2007 (due to the Prime Minister attending a NATO summit in Romania), she became the first female Labour Minister to take Prime Minister's Questions. She subsequently repeated this during Brown's absences.

Harman attacked the Conservative Party at the Labour Party Conference 2007, referring to them as the "nasty party" and suggesting that there would be little competition at the next election.

On 1 April 2008 the ''Daily Mail'' reported that Harman had decided to wear a kevlar-reinforced stab vest while touring her Peckham constituency under police guard. On 2 April ''The Guardian'' relayed information from the Metropolitan Police that "the type of Met Vest she wore over her jacket protected her from knife attacks and bullets, and, for her at least, was optional". Harman compared the decision to wearing a hard hat while touring a building site, which led the BBC's John Humphrys to respond, during an interview for BBC Radio 4, "You wear a hard hat on a building site because... there is the danger that something might drop on your head. You don't need to wear a bullet-proof vest on the streets of London, do you!" Harman told the BBC that the neighbourhood police team she was with put on their stab vests and gave her one to wear as well.

In April 2008, Harman's blog was "hacked" and changed to state that she had joined the Conservative Party. Harman later admitted when questioned by Sky News that the incident was a result of her using "Harriet" and "Harman" as her username and password.

Return to opposition

Following the resignation of Gordon Brown as Prime Minister and Leader of the Labour Party on 11 May 2010, Harman automatically became the temporary leader of the party as well as the Leader of the Opposition, entitling her to the salary and government car that come with the role. Although she was acting Leader, she was fully Leader by the terms of the party's constitution, albeit on a temporary basis, as was the case with Margaret Beckett in 1994.

After Brown's resignation, she quickly announced that she would remain Deputy Leader rather than standing for election as Leader. Her only public explanation was the assertion that: “You can’t run for leader at the same time as being deputy leader”.

She nominated Diane Abbott, MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, to prevent the election from being all male. But she nonetheless asserted her intention to remain neutral throughout the contest and said, "This is a very crucial period and we have got five fantastic candidates. All of them would make excellent leaders of the party."

Following Ed Miliband's election as leader, she returned to her role as Deputy Leader. When Miliband assigned portfolios on 8 October 2010, he appointed her Shadow Secretary of State for International Development.

Legislation

Equality Bill

As part of a proposed Equality Bill, Harman announced a consultation on changing the existing discrimination laws, which included options for Reverse discrimination in employment. Under the proposals, employers would be legally allowed to discriminate in favour of a job candidate on the basis of their race or gender where the candidates were otherwise equally qualified. Employers would not be required to use these powers, but would be able to do so without the threat of legal action for discriminatory practices. Harman has stated that this proposal would not simply involve discrimination against white males, and that men will benefit in some circumstances; for example if a school wanted to balance a predominantly female workforce by discriminating in favour of employing a male teacher. The white paper also proposed measures to end age discrimination, promote transparency in organisations and introduce a new equality duty on the public sector. These changes, if made, could face a challenge under Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, race, colour, language, religion and on several other criteria. Michael Millar, writing in The Spectator was of the opinion that, "The Equality Bill before parliament today gives employers the right to choose an ethnic minority candidate or female candidate over a white male, specifically because they are an ethnic minority or female." Some commentators, however, such as Graham Kirby, writing for the blogging site The Samosa, have defended the act as essentially meritocratic and necessary.

Harman also commissioned a report on allowing political parties to draw up all-black shortlists designed to increase the number of black MPs in Westminster. A further report proposed extended the arrangement allowing all-women shortlists beyond 2015 which will fail to have any impact in the 2010 general election. These proposals are supported by members of the three major parties, though no others allow discrimination in their shortlists. Inside the Labour Party, Harman has said she does "not agree with all-male leaderships" because men "cannot be left to run things on their own"; and that, consequently, one of Labour's top two posts should always be held by a woman.

She has backed plans for an increase in the number of homosexual MPs, and suggested that 39 openly gay MPs should be in the current Parliament. The target is based on an official estimate that six per cent of Britain is homosexual; however, such targets have been criticised for failing to take account of gay MPs who prefer to keep their sexuality private.

Voting record

Harman has supported the Labour government and voted with the party in all but a few instances. She supported the Iraq War, although during the Deputy Leadership campaign, she said that she would not have voted for it had she been in full possession of the facts, specifically about the lack of concrete evidence of weapons of mass destruction. When asked by Jeremy Paxman if the Labour Party should say sorry for what happened, Jon Cruddas said that it should and Harman replied that she agreed with his statement. Later Harman appeared to backtrack on BBC Radio 4's Today Programme and asked for evidence to be provided of where she had stated that the party should apologise.

Fathers and families

Erin Pizzey criticised the views expressed by Harman and her co-authors in the 1990 IPPR report "The Family Way". Writing in the ''Daily Mail'', Pizzey claimed the report was a "staggering attack on men and their role in modern life" as a result of its stating, "it cannot be assumed that men are bound to be an asset to family life or that the presence of fathers in families is necessarily a means to social cohesion". In May 2008 an interview she gave to think tank Civitas Harman stated that there was "no ideal type of household in which to bring up children".

In June 2008, two members of Fathers 4 Justice staged a protest on the roof of her house in Herne Hill, south east London, they had a banner that read: "A father is for life not just conception." After they climbed back off the roof they were arrested by the Metropolitan Police and bailed until 16 July 2008. On the morning of 9 July 2008, fathers for justice again climbed on Harman's roof with a banner that read, "Stop war on dads." One of the complaints of the protesters was that Harman had refused their requests for a meeting yet she denied that they had even requested such a meeting.

Deputy Leader of the Labour Party

Harman announced her intention to stand for Deputy Leadership of the Labour Party when John Prescott stood down. On 27 November 2006 Patrick Wintour reported that she had commissioned an opinion poll that had found that she would be more popular with the electorate than any of the other likely candidates. She used this point to argue that she should become the next Deputy Prime Minister in an interview with the BBC.

Harman did not have the support of any major unions, and helped to fund her campaign for deputy leadership by taking out a personal loan of £10,000 and a £40,000 extension to her mortgage. Harman failed to report some donations and loans on time, and was subject to an Electoral Commission inquiry for breaches of electoral law. The commission said that her "failure to report on time is a serious matter" though the case was not handed over to the police.

On 24 June 2007, in what was a close contest Harman was elected Deputy Leader of the Labour Party. Alan Johnson had led in all but the first of the previous rounds, but when second-preference votes had been redistributed after the fourth round, Harman stood elected with 50.43% of the vote to Johnson's 49.56%

Campaign donations

In November 2007, it emerged that property developer David Abrahams' secretary Janet Kidd had donated £5,000 to Harman's successful deputy leadership bid. After an investigation by The Mail on Sunday newspaper into other donations made by people associated with Abrahams, and Prime Minister Gordon Brown's assertion that all such monies would be returned, Harman issued a statement saying she accepted the donation on 4 July "in good faith," had registered the monies with the Electoral Commission and the Register of Members' Interests, and that she "was not aware of any funding arrangements... between David Abrahams and Janet Kidd".

Loyalty

In November 2010, The Times reported that at the end of 2009 Harman had hosted a new year's house party at her second home in Suffolk with guests including Patricia Hewitt, at "least one other minister" and another MP. It reported that she told guests that Gordon Brown was "hopeless" and that there were at least five members of the Cabinet who would tell Gordon Brown that he should resign. After the Christmas recess, Hewitt and Geoff Hoon wrote an open letter calling for a leadership election. This failed to get support from any serving minister, including Harman, and no election occurred, leading to the accusation that "Harriet bottled it".

MPs' expenses

In January 2009, Harman proposed a rule change to exempt MPs' expenses from the Freedom of Information Act. Her parliamentary order aimed to remove "most expenditure information held by either House of Parliament from the scope of the Freedom of Information Act". It meant that, under the law, journalists and members of the public would no longer be entitled to learn details of their MP's expenses. Labour MPs were to be pressured to vote for this measure by use of a three line whip. Her proposal was withdrawn when the Conservative Party said they would vote against, and an online campaign by mySociety. The failure of the motion led to the disclosure of expenses of British Members of Parliament.

In December 2010 it emerged that Harman was amongst 40 MPs who had secretly repaid wrongly claimed expenses between 2008 and 2010. Her case related to misusing Commons stationery for writing to non-constituents and she repaid £13.20. In November 2010 Harman's parliamentary private secretary Ian Lavery had blocked a motion designed to allow the repayments to be made public.

Use of statistics

During the recession of the late 2000s, and following a government report which suggested that women were twice as likely to lose their jobs as men and feared losing their jobs more than men, Harman stated: "We will not allow women to become the victims of this recession". However, some statistics contradicted her position, including the Office for National Statistics report on the issue which stated "the economic downturn in 2008 has impacted less on women in employment than men". According to the ONS, men were losing their jobs at twice the rate of women. The Government Equalities Office insisted the ONS figures did not render pointless its efforts to help women.

In June 2009, Sir Michael Scholar, head of the UK Statistics Authority, wrote to Harman to warn her that different headline figures used by the ONS and Government Equalities Office with regards to pay differentiation between men and women might undermine public trust in official statistics. The GEO's headline figure was 23%, which was based on median hourly earnings of all employees, not the 12.8%, based on median hourly earnings of full-time employees only, used by the ONS. Scholar wrote: "It is the Statistics Authority’s view that use of the 23% on its own, without qualification, risks giving a misleading quantification of the gender pay gap". The Equalities Office rejected his criticism, saying: "With women representing over three-quarters of the part-time workforce, we believe this figure gives the fullest picture of the country's gender pay gap."

Personal life

Harman married Jack Dromey in 1982 in Brent, London, after meeting him on the picket line of the Grunwick dispute in 1977; she was legal advisor to the Grunwick Strike Committee. They have two sons (born February 1983 and November 1984) and a daughter (born January 1987), with the latter having the surname "Harman". Labour colleague Patricia Hewitt is godmother to one of her children. She has a house in Suffolk, in addition to her home in Herne Hill, South London.

In 1996, Harman sent her younger son Joseph to St Olave's Grammar School, Orpington after sending her eldest son Harry to the London Oratory School, a grant-maintained school. Harman said: "This is a state school that other children in my son's class will be going to... And admission is open to every child in Southwark irrespective of money or who their parents are".

Motoring convictions

In 2003, Harman was fined £400 and banned from driving for seven days after being convicted of driving at on a motorway, above the speed limit.

In 2007, Harman was issued with a £60 fixed penalty notice and given three penalty points on her licence for driving at in a temporary zone. Harman paid the fine several months late and avoided appearing at Ipswich magistrates court. Harman was again caught breaking the speed limit the following April, this time in a 30 mph zone, receiving a further 3 points on her driving licence.

In January 2010, Harman pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention in relation to an incident on 3 July where she struck another vehicle whilst driving using a mobile phone, she admitted the offence in court becoming the first serving Cabinet minister in memory to plead guilty to a criminal offence. Harman was fined £350, ordered to pay £70 costs, a £15 victim surcharge and had three points added to her licence. Road safety organisations such as Brake condemned the leniency of the punishment and decision to drop the charge of driving whilst using a mobile phone. The judge defended the decision stating "Ms Harman’s guilty plea to driving without due care and attention included her admitting that she had been using a mobile phone at the time".

Styles

Harriet Harman (1950–1982)

Harriet Harman MP (1982–1997)

The Rt. Hon. Harriet Harman MP (1997–2005)

The Rt. Hon. Harriet Harman QC MP (2005–)

See also

Shadow Cabinet of Harriet Harman

Shadow Cabinet of Tony Blair

Shadow Cabinet of John Smith

Shadow Cabinet elections: 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, and 1996

References

Notes

Publications

''Sex Discrimination in Schools: How to Fight it'' by Harriet Harman, 1978, Civil Liberties Trust ISBN 0-901108-73-1

''Justice Deserted: Subversion of the Jury'' by Harriet Harman et al., 1979, Civil Liberties Trust ISBN 0-901108-79-0

''Violence Against Social Workers: The Implications for Practice'' by Dan Norris, foreword by Harriet Harman, Jessica Kingsley Publishers ISBN 1-85302-041-9

''The Family Way: A New Approach to Policy Making'' by Harriet Harman et al., 1990, Institute for Public Policy Research ISBN 1-872452-15-9

''The Century Gap: 20th Century Man/21st Century Woman'' by Harriet Harman, 1993, Vermilion ISBN 0-09-177819-0

''Winning for Women'' by Harriet Harman and Deborah Mattinson, 2000, Fabian Society ISBN 0-7163-0596-8

''Women with Attitude'' by Susan Vinnicombe, John Bank, foreword by Harriet Harman, 2002, Routledge ISBN 0-415-28742-1

External links

Harriet Harman ''Official constituency website''

Southwark Labour

;Video clips

Harman on Tory 'toff' campaign ''BBC News'', 18 May 2008

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cs:Harriet Harmanová cy:Harriet Harman da:Harriet Harman de:Harriet Harman es:Harriet Harman fr:Harriet Harman it:Harriet Harman la:Harriet Harman nl:Harriet Harman ja:ハリエット・ハーマン no:Harriet Harman pl:Harriet Harman pt:Harriet Harman simple:Harriet Harman fi:Harriet Harman sv:Harriet Harman

Honorific-prefix	The Right Honourable
Name	Michael Gove
Honorific-suffix	MP
Office	Secretary of State for Education
Primeminister	David Cameron
Term start	12 May 2010
Predecessor	Ed Balls (Children, Schools and Families)
Office1	Shadow Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families
Term start1	2 July 2007
Term end1	11 May 2010
Leader1	David Cameron
Predecessor1	David Willetts
Successor1	Ed Balls (Education)
Office2	Member of Parliament for Surrey Heath
Term start2	5 May 2005
Predecessor2	Nick Hawkins
Majority2	17,289 (31.8%)
Birth date	August 26, 1967
Birth place	Edinburgh, Scotland
Party	Conservative
Spouse	Sarah Vine
Profession	Journalist
Alma mater	Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford
Religion	Anglican }}

Michael Andrew Gove, MP (born 26 August 1967) is a British Conservative politician, journalist and author. He has been Member of Parliament for Surrey Heath since 2005 and Secretary of State for Education since 12 May 2010. He was formerly Shadow Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families. Gove was appointed a Privy Counsellor on 13 May 2010.

Early life and career outside Parliament

Gove was born in Edinburgh. At four months old, he was adopted by a Labour-supporting family in Aberdeen, where he was brought up. His adoptive father ran a fish processing business; his mother was a lab assistant at the University of Aberdeen before working at the Aberdeen School for the Deaf.

He was state school educated in Aberdeen, later attending the independent Robert Gordon's College, to which he won a scholarship. From 1985 to 1988 he studied English at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, where he served as President of the Oxford Union.

Gove was a trainee reporter at the ''Press and Journal'' in Aberdeen, where he spent several months on strike in a dispute over union recognition and representation. He joined ''The Times'' in 1996 as a leader writer and has been its comment editor, news editor, Saturday editor and assistant editor. He has also written a weekly column on politics and current affairs for ''The Times'' and contributed to the ''Times Literary Supplement'', ''Prospect magazine'' and ''The Spectator''. He has also written a sympathetic biography of Michael Portillo and a critical study of the Northern Ireland peace process, ''The Price of Peace'', for which he won the Charles Douglas-Home Prize. Gove was instrumental in the launch of the new centre-right magazine ''Standpoint'', and serves on its advisory board.

He has worked for the BBC's ''Today programme'', ''On The Record'', Scottish Television and the Channel 4 monologue programme ''A Stab In The Dark'', alongside David Baddiel and Tracey MacLeod, and was a regular panellist on BBC Radio 4's ''The Moral Maze'' and ''Newsnight Review'' on BBC Two.

Gove was a member of the winning team in Grampian Television's quiz show ''Top Club'', and played the school chaplain in the 1995 family comedy ''A Feast at Midnight''.

Political career

Gove joined the Conservative Party at university and was secretary of Aberdeen South Young Conservatives. He has helped to write speeches for Cabinet and Shadow Cabinet ministers, including Peter Lilley and Michael Howard. When applying for a job at the Conservative Research Department he was told he was "insufficiently political" and "insufficiently Conservative", consequently he turned to journalism.

Gove was previously chairman of Policy Exchange, a right-wing think tank launched in 2002.

Member of Parliament

Gove entered Parliament in the 2005 general election as Conservative member for the safe seat of Surrey Heath.

On 2 July 2007, he was promoted to the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (a new department set up by the Prime Minister Gordon Brown) shadowing Ed Balls, a key supporter of Brown . Prior to the 2010 General Election, most of his questions in House of Commons debates concerned children, schools and families, education, local government, Council Tax, Foreign Affairs, and the environment.

In 2008, in an attempt to split the Labour Party, Gove suggested that senior Blairites who might become isolated should their party move to the left following a general election defeat, could be offered a role in a future Conservative government.

Gove is seen as part of an influential set of young up-and-coming Tories, sometimes referred to as the 'Notting Hill Set', which includes David Cameron, George Osborne, Edward Vaizey, Nicholas Boles and Rachel Whetstone. They are perceived as modernisers on social issues, and humanitarian interventionists in foreign policy. When Cameron was elected leader in December 2005, he appointed Gove the housing spokesman shadowing the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. Michael Portillo predicted that Gove will one day lead the Conservative party.

Secretary of State for Education

Gove is the current Secretary of State for Education. Following his appointment in May 2010, he rebranded his department, announced plans to convert schools rated as 'outstanding' by Ofsted into academies, and cut the previous Government's school building programme. He was forced to apologise, however, when the list of terminated school building projects he had released was found to be inaccurate.

In July 2010, Gove said that Labour had failed in its attempt to break the link between social class and school achievement despite spending billions of pounds. Quoting research, he indicated that by the age of 6, children of low ability from affluent homes were still out-performing brighter children from poor backgrounds. In a Commons Education Select Committee he said that this separation of achievement grew larger throughout pupils' school careers, stating, "In effect, rich thick kids do better than poor clever children when they arrive at school [and] the situation as they go through gets worse,".

During the 2010 Conservative Party Conference, Gove announced that school curriculum would be restructured, and that study of authors such as Byron, Keats, Jane Austen, Dickens and Thomas Hardy would be reintroduced to English lessons as part of a plan to improve children’s grasp of English literature and language. Children who fail to write coherently and grammatically, and who are weak in spelling, would be penalised under new examinations. Historian Simon Schama would give advice to government to ensure that pupils learnt Britain’s "island story". Standards in mathematics and science would also be strengthened. He explained that this was needed because left-wing ideologues had undermined education. Their’s was the view, he thought, that schools "shouldn’t be doing anything so old-fashioned as passing on knowledge, requiring children to work hard, or immersing them in anything like dates in history or times tables in mathematics. These ideologues may have been inspired by generous ideals but the result of their approach has been countless children condemned to a prison house of ignorance."

In a November 2010 White paper, Gove declared reforms would include the compulsory study of foreign languages up to the age of 16, and a shake-up of league tables in which schools are ranked higher for the number of pupils taking GCSEs in five core subjects: English; mathematics; science; a language; and one of the humanities. He also announced that experts such as historian Simon Schama will be brought in to review the curriculum, and that targets are to be introduced for primary schools for the first time. Additionally, trainee teachers will spend more time in the classroom, there would be more assessment of teacher training applicants—including tests of character and emotional intelligence—and former troops will be offered sponsorship to retrain as teachers to improve discipline. Teachers are also expected to receive guidance on how to search pupils for more items, including mobile phones and pornography, and when they can use force.

In December 2010, in an article in the ''Daily Telegraph'', he claimed that "Like Chairman Mao, we’ve embarked on a Long March to reform our education system", apparently unaware that Mao's cultural revolution closed China's education system for ten years and led to the deaths of many teachers. Though at the time of the Long March Mao (originally a teacher himself) was making vast improvements to educational structures wherever he went.

In February 2011 a Judicial Review deemed his decision to axe Building Schools for the Future (BSF) projects in six local authority areas was unlawful as he had failed to consult before imposing the cuts. The judge also said that in five of the cases, the failure was "so unfair as to amount to an abuse of power" and that "however pressing the economic problems, there was no overriding public interest which precluded consultation or justifies the lack of any consultation". The Government will have to reconsider but it said it had won the case on substantial issues.

In March 2011 Gove was criticised for not understanding the importance of school architecture and having previously misrepresented the cost. In February 2011, he gave "not-quite-true information to Parliament" by saying that one individual made £1m in one year when the true figure was £700k for 5 advisers at different times over a 4 year period. He told a Free Schools conference that 'no one in this room is here to make architects richer' and specifically mentioned architect Richard Rogers.

In April 2011 Gove criticised schools for not studying pre-20th century classics and blamed “England’s constricted and unreformed exam system” for failing to encourage children to read. Gove also blamed an “anti knowledge culture” for reducing achievement and said children benefited when expectations were set higher.

Expenses claims

Michael Gove reportedly claimed £7,000 for furnishing a London property before 'flipping' his designated second home to a house in his constituency, a property for which he claimed around £13,000 to cover stamp duty. Around a third of the first £7,000 was spent at an interior design company owned by Gove's mother-in-law. Gove also claimed for a cot mattress, despite children's items being banned under the Commons rule. Gove said he would repay the claim for the cot mattress, but maintained that his other claims were "below the acceptable threshold costs for furniture" and that the property flipping was necessary "to effectively discharge my parliamentary duties". While he was moving between his multiple homes, he stayed at the Pennyhill Park Hotel and Spa, charging the taxpayer more than £500 per night's stay.

Political views

Unionism

Michael Gove is a Scot who believes that Scotland should remain part of the United Kingdom because Scotland's strengths complement those of other parts of the UK.

Liberty

Gove has expressed views that the state should not generally interfere in domestic affairs. He purported to campaign for personal freedom in certain matters, opposing the introduction of ID cards under the Identity Cards Act 2006, and wrote that "Section 28 is a nonsense", a reference to an enactment that prevented local authorities from providing funding for the positive portrayal of homosexuality, indicating a willingness to permit the expansion of the role of the state. He shared a flat with Conservative Ivan Massow who later defected to Labour over Section 28 and Nicholas Boles, and said "The only sustainable ethical foundation for society is a belief in the innate worth and dignity of every individual."

Education

As Shadow Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, he advocated the introduction of a Swedish-style voucher system, whereby parents can choose where their child should be educated, with the state paying what they would have cost in a state-school. He has also advocated Swedish style "free schools", to be managed by parents and funded by the state.

Foreign policy

Considered by some to be a British neo-conservative, he called for early intervention against Saddam Hussein and stated in October 2004 of Tony Blair: "I can't hold it back any more; I love Tony!" He is a signatory of the Henry Jackson Society, which advocates an active approach to the spread of democracy, and an adviser to the Atlantic Bridge, which works to affirm the Transatlantic alliance.

He was a proponent of the view that the invasion of Iraq would bring peace and democracy both to Iraq and the wider Middle East. In December 2008 Gove wrote that declarations of either victory or defeat in Iraq in 2003 were premature, and with the benefit of hindsight "The liberation of Iraq has actually been that rarest of things – a proper British foreign policy success. Next year, while the world goes into recession, Iraq is likely to enjoy 10% GDP growth. Alone in the Arab Middle East, it is now a fully functioning democracy with a free press, properly contested elections and an independent judiciary ... Sunni and Shia contend for power in parliament, not in street battles. The ingenuity, idealism and intelligence of the Iraqi people can now find an outlet in a free society rather than being deployed, as they were for decades, simply to ensure survival in a fascist republic that stank of fear. "

He has been accused of harbouring hostile attitude towards Islam and Muslims after his book ''Celsius 7/7'', despite distinguishing between 'the great historical faith' of Islam which he claims has 'brought spiritual nourishment to millions', and Islamism, a 'totalitarian ideolog[y]' which turns to 'hellish violence and oppression' like the 20th century ideologies of National Socialism and Communism.

He has mourned the First World War as a great tragedy, in which not only did millions die, but the old, largely liberal, tolerant and materially progressive order perished.

Political philosophy

During the 2008 Conservative Party Conference, he argued that Edmund Burke (a philosopher who commented on organic society and the French Revolution) was the greatest Tory ever.

Asked about those who believe 'Marx was right all along', he argued that Marxists were guilty of ignoring the systematic abuses and poverty of centrally planned economies, and criticised Eric Hobsbawm, saying that "only when Hobsbawm weeps hot tears for a life spent serving an ideology of wickedness will he ever be worth listening to."

Personal life

Gove is married to Sarah Vine, a writer on ''The Times''; they have a daughter and son. Having been raised in the Church of Scotland, he now worships in the Church of England, and regularly attends St Mary Abbots church, Kensington, London.

Gove's wealth is estimated at £1 million.

Bibliography

''Michael Portillo: The Future of the Right'' (1995) ISBN 1-85702-335-8

''The Price of Peace'' (2000) ISBN 1-903219-15-9

''A Blue Tomorrow – New Visions for Modern Conservatives'' (2001) (ed. with Edward Vaizey and Nicholas Boles) ISBN 1-84275-027-5

''Celsius 7/7'' (2006) ISBN 0-297-85146-2

Notes

External links

Michael Gove MP Official Website

Profile at the Conservative Party

Column archives in ''The Times''

|- |- |- |- ! colspan="3" style="background:#cfc;" | Order of precedence in Northern Ireland

Category:1967 births Category:Alumni of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford Category:British adoptees Category:British Anglicans Category:British Secretaries of State for Education Category:Conservative Party (UK) MPs Category:Living people Category:Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Category:Members of the United Kingdom Parliament for English constituencies Category:People from Edinburgh Category:Presidents of the Oxford Union Category:People educated at Robert Gordon's College Category:Scottish columnists Category:Scottish journalists Category:The Times people Category:UK MPs 2005–2010 Category:UK MPs 2010–

de:Michael Gove fr:Michael Gove la:Michael Gove pl:Michael Gove simple:Michael Gove

name	David Starkey
birth date	January 03, 1945
birth name	David Starkey
birth place	Kendal, Westmorland, England
occupation	Historian, television personality
partner	James Brown
nationality	British
alma mater	Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge
language	English }}

David Starkey, CBE, FSA (born 3 January 1945) is a British constitutional historian, and a radio and television presenter.

He was born the only child of Quaker parents, and attended Kendal Grammar School before entering Cambridge through a scholarship. There he specialised in Tudor history, writing a thesis on King Henry VIII's household. From Cambridge he moved to the London School of Economics, where he taught history until 1998.

Starkey is a well known radio and television personality, first appearing on the latter in 1977. While a regular contributor to the BBC Radio 4 debate programme ''The Moral Maze'', his acerbic tongue earned him the sobriquet of "rudest man in Britain"; his frequent appearances on ''Question Time'' have been received with criticism and applause. Starkey has presented several history documentaries. In 2002 he signed a £2 million contract with Channel 4 for 25 hours of programming. Recently, he was a contributor on the Channel 4 series, ''Jamie's Dream School''.

He was appointed CBE in 2007, is an honorary associate of the National Secular Society and an ardent supporter of homosexual equality. He lives with his long-time partner, James Brown, in the south of England.

Early years and education

David Starkey was born on 3 January 1945 in Kendal. He is the only child of Robert Starkey and Elsie Lyon, Quakers who had married 10 years previously in Bolton, at a Friends meeting house. Robert, the son of a cotton spinner, was a foreman in a washing-machine factory, while Elsie followed in her father's footsteps and became a cotton weaver, and later a cleaner. Starkey has described his mother as both "wonderful", in that she helped develop his ambition, and "monstrous", intellectually frustrated and living through her son. "She was a wonderful but also very frightening parent. Finally, she was a Pygmalion. She wanted a creature, she wanted something she had made." Her dominance was in sharp contrast to his father, who he said was "poetic, reflective, rather solitary. The classic weak father, if you like. He wasn't a weak man, but as a father he was weak." The two shared a much closer relationship following his mother's death in 1977.

Starkey was born with two club feet. One was fixed early, while the other had to be operated on several times. He also suffered from polio. He suffered a nervous breakdown aged 13, and was taken by his mother to a boarding house in Southport, where he spent several months recovering. Starkey blamed it on the unfamiliar experience of being in a "highly competitive environment".

He excelled during his time at Kendal Grammar School, winning debating prizes and appearing in school plays. Although he showed an early inclination toward science, he chose instead to study history. A scholarship enabled his entry into Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, where he gained a first, a PhD and a Fellowship. His doctoral supervisor was Professor Geoffrey Elton, an expert in Tudor studies. Starkey was fascinated by King Henry VIII, and his thesis centred around the Tudor monarch's inner household. He later criticised his mentor, who he says with age became "tetchy" and "arrogant". In 1983, when Elton was awarded a knighthood, Starkey derided one of his essays, ''Cromwell Redivivus''. The Professor responded by writing an "absolutely shocking" review of a collection of essays Starkey had edited. Starkey later expressed his remorse over the spat: "I regret that the thing happened at all."

Career

Starkey's move in 1972 to the London School of Economics came about through boredom with Cambridge and his attraction to London's gay scene. He claimed to be an "excessively enthusiastic advocate of promiscuity", liberating himself from his mother's intensity; she strongly disapproved of his homosexuality. A 30-year career as a teacher ended in 1998, when, blaming boredom and modern academic life, he gave it up.

Starkey entered the wider public conciousness in 1992 on the BBC Radio 4 debate programme ''The Moral Maze'', where he debated morality with fellow panellists Rabbi Julia Neuberger, Dr Roger Scruton and Janet Daley. He soon acquired a reputation for abrasiveness; he explained in 2007 that his personality possesses "a tendency towards showmanship... towards self-indulgence and explosion and repartee and occasional silliness and going over the top." The ''Daily Mail'' gave him the sobriquet of "the rudest man in Britain", although Starkey claims that his character was part of a "convenient image". He once attacked the Archdeacon of York George Austin over "his fatness, his smugness, and his pomposity", but after a nine-year stint on the programme, he left, citing his boredom with being "Dr Rude", but also its move to an evening slot. From 1995 he also spent three years at Talk Radio UK, presenting ''Starkey on Saturday'', later ''Starkey on Sunday''. An interview with Denis Healey proved to be one of his most embarrassing moments: "I mistakenly thought that he had become an amiable old buffer who would engage in amusing conversation, and he tore me limb from limb. I laugh about it now, but I didn't feel like laughing about it at the time."

His first appearance on television was in 1977, on the Granada Television series ''Behave Yourself'', with Russell Harty. He appeared as a prosecution witness in the 1984 ITV programme ''The Trial of Richard III'', whose jury ultimately acquitted the king on the grounds of insufficient evidence. His television documentaries on ''The Six Wives of Henry VIII'' and Elizabeth I were ratings successes. In 2002 he signed a £2 million contract with Channel 4 to produce 25 hours of television, which included ''Monarchy'', a chronicle of the history of English kings and queens from the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms onward. He presented the 2009 series ''Henry: Mind of a Tyrant'', which ''Independent'' reviewer Brian Viner called "highly fascinating", although AA Gill was less complimentary, calling it "Hello! history", and its presenter "a top-down historian, a nostalgic snob of the sort that collects souvenir egg cups". In an interview about the series for the ''Radio Times'', Starkey complained that too many historians had focussed on Henry's wives, and not the man himself. Referring to a "feminised history", he said: "so many of the writers who write about this are women and so much of their audience is a female audience." This prompted historian Lucy Worsley to label his comments as misogynous. More recently, he taught five history lessons in Channel 4's ''Jamie's Dream School'', following which he criticised the state education system.

He presented a documentary titled ''William and Kate: Romance and the Royals'', about which ''The Independent'' reviewer Amol Rajan was equivocal, although the ''Telegraph'''s Benji Wilson claimed he could tell that Starkey "felt that there was something a little tacky about the whole enterprise".

Starkey was in 1994 elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London. He has worked as curator on several exhibitions, including a 2003 exhibit on Elizabeth I, following which he had lunch with the queen. Several years later he told a reporter that the monarch had no interest in her predecessors, other than those who followed her great grandfather. "I don't think she's at all comfortable with anybody - I would hesitate to use the word intellectual - but it's useful. I think she's got elements a bit like Goebbels in her attitude to culture - you remember: 'every time I hear the word culture I reach for my revolver.' I think the queen reaches for her mask." His remarks were criticised by royal biographer Penny Junor and royal historian Robert Lacey.

Politics

By his own admission Starkey was raised in an austere and frugal environment of near-poverty, with his parents often unemployed for long periods of time; an environment which, he later stated, taught him "the value of money". "I suppose my politics remained essentially in the middle-of the-road Labour left until the end of the 1970s". Starkey blames the Callaghan administration for "blow[ing] the nation's finances". He bemoaned the Tories when they were in opposition, criticising Michael Howard in particular: "I knew Michael Howard was going to be a disaster as soon as he opposed top-up fees, either out of sentimentality or calculated expediency so that it might get him a bit of the student vote... Instead of backing Tony Blair, causing revolution in the Labour Party, the Conservatives have been whoring after strange gods, coming up with increasingly strange policies." He likened Gordon Brown to the fictional Kenneth Widmerpool, continuing: "it seems to me that with Brown there is a complete sense of humour and charm bypass." Starkey prefers radical changes to the UK's constitution in line with the federal system used by the USA, although in an interview with Iain Dale he expressed his support for the monarchy, the queen, and Prince Charles. In the runup to the UK Alternative Vote referendum, he was a signatory on a letter to ''The Times'', which urged people to vote against the proposals.

A supporter of the Tory campaign for homosexual equality (Torche),|group="nb"}} during one of many appearances on the BBC's ''Question Time'' he attacked Jeffrey Archer over his views on the age of homosexual consent. Mike Russell, then Scottish government minister for culture and external affairs, called on him to apologise for comments made on the programme in 2009, when he declared Scotland, Ireland and Wales "feeble little countries".

Appearing on ''Any Questions?'' in 2010, he told Caroline Flint she had "prattled on". His recent comments on the BBC's ''Newsnight'' programme, made during a discussion about the 2011 England riots, precipitated support and condemnation from several notable commentators. Starkey claimed that "the whites have become black", and that "a particular sort of violent, destructive, nihilistic, gangster culture has become the fashion". Ed Miliband called his comments "racist, frankly", although author Toby Young, blogging in the ''Telegraph'', rejected such criticism, claiming that Starkey was talking not about black culture in general, but "a 'particular form' of black culture". Writing in ''The Daily Telegraph'', Starkey argued his views had been distorted, that he referred only to a "particular sort" of 'Black' culture, and that "black educationalists" Tony Sewell and Katharine Birbalsingh supported the substance of his ''Newsnight'' comments..For Katharine Birbalsingh's comments, see .|group="nb"}}

Personal life

Starkey lives with his partner, James Brown, a publisher and book designer. The couple have two homes; a house in Highbury and a manor house in Kent. He was appointed CBE in the Queen's 2007 Birthday Honours list, for services to history. He is an Honorary Associate of the National Secular Society.

Work

;Books

''This Land of England'' (1985) (with David Souden)

''The Reign of Henry VIII: Personalities and Politics'' (1986)

''Revolution Reassessed: Revisions in the History of Tudor Government and Administration'' (1986) (Editor with Christopher Coleman)

''The English Court from the Wars of the Roses to the Civil War'' (1987)

''Rivals in Power: the Lives and Letters of the Great Tudor Dynasties'' (1990)

''Henry VIII: A European Court in England'' (1991)

''The Inventory of Henry VIII: The Transcript'', Volume 1 (1998) (with Philip Ward and Alistair Hawkyard)

''Elizabeth: Apprenticeship'' (2000) (published in North America as ''Elizabeth: The struggle for the throne'')

''The Stuart Courts'' - Foreword (2000) (Edited by Eveline Cruickshanks)

''The Inventory of Henry VIII: Essays and Illustrations'', Volume 2, (2002) (with Philip Ward and Alistair Hawkyard)

''The Inventory of Henry VIII: Essays and Illustrations'', Volume 3, (2002) (with Philip Ward and Alistair Hawkyard)

''The Six Wives: The Queens of Henry VIII'' (2003)

''Elizabeth I: The Exhibition Catalogue'' (2003)

''The Books of King Henry VIII and His Wives'' - Introduction and Preface (2004) (James P. Carley)

''The Monarchy of England: The Beginnings'' (2004)

''Monarchy: From the Middle Ages to Modernity'' (2006)

''Making History: Antiquaries in Britain, 1707-2007'' - Introduction (2007) (Edited by Sarah McCarthy, Bernard Nurse, and David Gaimster)

''Henry: Virtuous Prince'' (2008)

Introduction to ''Henry VIII; Man & Monarch'' (Susan Doran, ed. published by the British Library, 2009)

Crown and Country (Harper Press, 2010)

Introduction to ''Fatal Colours: Towton 1461 - England's Most Brutal Battle'' by George Goodwin (2011)

;Television

''Henry VIII'' (1998, revised 2001)

''Elizabeth'' (2000)

''The Six Wives of Henry VIII'' (2001)

''Edward and Mary: The Unknown Tudors'' (2002)

''David Starkey: Reinventing the Royals'' (2002)

''Monarchy by David Starkey'' (2004–2007)

''The Tudors'' (2007–2010) technical advisor

''Henry VIII: The Mind of a Tyrant'' (2009)

''Kate and William: Romance and the Royals'' (2011)

;Applications

''Kings and Queens by David Starkey'' for iPhone and iPad (2011)

References

;Footnotes

;Notes

Further reading

External links

Category:1945 births Category:Living people Category:Academics of the London School of Economics Category:Alumni of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Category:English atheists Category:English historians Category:English radio personalities Category:English television presenters Category:Fellows of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge Category:Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Category:LGBT people from England Category:LGBT television personalities Category:People from Kendal Category:University Challenge contestants

de:David Starkey fr:David Starkey no:David Starkey sv:David Starkey