Dawn Primarolo (born 2 May 1954) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bristol South since 1987. She was Minister of State for Children, Young People and Families at the Department for Children, Schools and Families from June 2009 to May 2010 and has been a Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons since 2010. In November 2011 she announced her intention to stand down from Parliament at the next general election.^[1]

Education[link]

Primarolo was educated at Thomas Bennett comprehensive school in Crawley, before continuing her education at the Bristol Polytechnic and the University of Bristol, gaining a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Science.^[2]

Early political career[link]

Primarolo joined the Labour Party in 1973 and was first elected to Parliament at the 1987 general election, after the constituency party de-selected Michael Cocks, the sitting MP.

At the time of her election, she was regarded as a hard left-winger and is still often referred to by the media as "Red Dawn", but became a New Labour loyalist and "absolutely loyal to New Labour",^[3] leading Andrew Roth of The Guardian newspaper to say she has "changed from 'Red Dawn' to 'Rosy Pink'";^[4] as part of this change, she has moved from support of CND, the rise of which originally encouraged her into politics, to voting for the renewal of Britain's Trident nuclear defence.^[5] She also unsuccessfully lobbied the Soviet government of Mikhail Gorbachev to rehabilitate Leon Trotsky.^[6] She is a former member of Avon County Council.

Frontbench[link]

Dawn Primarolo has held the following positions:

• 1992–1994: Opposition Spokesman for Health
• 1994–1997: Opposition Spokesman for the Treasury
• 1997–1999: Financial Secretary to the Treasury
• 1999–2007: Paymaster General
• 2007–2009: Minister of State for Public Health
• 2009–2010: Minister of State Children and Young People

Despite campaigning against the first Gulf War in 1991, she voted in favour of the Iraq War in 2003, and against any investigation into the invasion after it had taken place.^[3][7] On other 'key issues' (as described by TheyWorkForYou), she has voted in favour of ID cards and increased university tuition fees.^[7]

As Paymaster General, Dawn Primarolo was responsible for the administration of the Tax Credits system, intended to provide working families with financial support. However, the administration of this system has received significant criticism, including allegations that some families have been left less well off as a result.^[8] In 2003, a Treasury select committee member accused her of "losing control of [her] department"^[9] after it became known that Inland Revenue buildings under Primarolo's purview had been sold to tax-haven companies.^[9] This came shortly after she had "insisted ... the Child tax credit scheme was a 'success'", despite Inland Revenue staff walking out in protest against the pressure they were being placed under.^[9][10] She was also responsible for introducing the controversial^[why?] IR35 tax rules.^{[citation needed]} Primarolo was also the longest serving Paymaster General in the office's 200 year history.^{[citation needed]}

In 2005, PM Tony Blair was forced to apologise after a report by the Parliamentary Ombudsman that Primarolo had failed to give Parliament accurate information. Primarolo admitted at the same time that she had been fully aware "about the extent of the problems".^[11]

As Minister of State for Public Health she was responsible for health improvement and health protection issues including such areas as tobacco, obesity, drugs and sexual health, as well as international business, pharmacy and research and development.^[12]

On 5 June 2009, Primarolo was moved again, this time succeeding Beverley Hughes as Minister of State for Children, Young People and Families at the Department for Children, Schools and Families. This gave her the right to attend cabinet when her responsibilities were on the agenda.^[13]

Primarolo's abilities as a minister have been questioned, with former Prime Minister Tony Blair revealing in his autobiography A Journey that he did not think she was "right for government" but had to give her a job because she was one of Gordon Brown's key allies;^[14] and political commentator Danny Finkelstein arguing that she was "contender no. 1" for title of "Labour's worst Minister".^[15]

Primarolo joined the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Minister for Children when Labour entered opposition in May 2010.^[16]

Personal life[link]

Primarolo married UNISON regional secretary Ian Ducat in Bristol in 1990.^[17] On 13 May 2007, it was alleged that John Reid "sexually harassed" Primarolo during her early years in Parliament.^[18]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Bristol South Labour Party
• Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Contributions in Parliament at Hansard 1803–2005
• Current session contributions in Parliament at Hansard
• Electoral history and profile at The Guardian
• Voting record at PublicWhip.org
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou.com
• Profile at Westminster Parliamentary Record
• Profile at BBC News Democracy Live
• The Rt Hon Dawn Primarolo MP Department of Health (archived)

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Betty Boothroyd, Baroness Boothroyd, OM, PC (born 8 October 1929) is a British politician, who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for West Bromwich and West Bromwich West from 1973 to 2000, initially for the Labour Party and, from 1992 to 2000, as Speaker of the House of Commons. She was the first, and to date only, female Speaker.

Early life[link]

Boothroyd was born in Dewsbury, Yorkshire, in 1929, to Archibald and Mary Boothroyd, textile workers. She was educated at council schools and went on to study at Dewsbury College of Commerce and Art. In the 1940s, she enjoyed a career as a dancer, as a member of the Tiller Girls dancing troupe.^[1]

In 1960, she travelled to the United States to see the Kennedy campaign. She subsequently began work in Washington as a legislative assistant for an American Congressman, Silvio Conte, between 1960 and 1962. When she returned to London she continued her work as secretary and political assistant to various senior Labour politicians. In 1965 she was elected to a seat on Hammersmith Borough Council, in Gibbs Green ward, where she remained until 1968.

Member of Parliament[link]

Running for the Labour Party, she contested several seats – Leicester South East in 1957, Peterborough in 1959, Nelson and Colne in 1968, and Rossendale in 1970 – before being elected Member of Parliament (MP) for West Bromwich in a by-election in 1973.

Boothroyd's career then flourished. In 1974 she was appointed an assistant Government Whip and she was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 1975-1977. In 1979 she became a member of the Select Committee on Foreign Affairs, until 1981, and of the Speaker's Panel of Chairmen, until 1987. She was also a member of the Labour Party National Executive Committee (NEC) from 1981–1987 and the House of Commons Commission from 1983-1987.

Deputy Speaker and Speaker[link]

She became a Deputy Speaker in 1987. In 1992 she was elected Speaker, being the first woman ever to hold the position. She was not the first woman to sit in the Speaker's Chair, however; that honour fell to Betty Harvie Anderson, a Deputy Speaker from 1970 to 1973. There was some debate as to whether or not Boothroyd should wear the traditional Speaker's wig upon her election. She chose not to but also stated that any subsequent Speakers would be free to choose to wear the wig.^[2] so far none has chosen to do so. In 1993, the Social Chapter of the Maastricht Treaty was carried due to the casting of her vote. However, the casting of her vote turned out to be not in fact required, as the votes of ordinary MPs had been previously miscounted.^[3] Boothroyd was keen to get young people interested in politics, and in the 1990s even made an appearance as a special guest on the BBCs Saturday morning children's programe Live & Kicking.

Life Peerage and recent activity[link]

On 23 Oct 2000 Boothroyd accepted the post of Crown Steward and Bailiff of the three Chiltern Hundreds of Stoke, Desborough and Burnham, hence resigning as an MP and was succeeded by Michael Martin as Speaker.

Boothroyd was Chancellor of the Open University from 1994 until October 2006 and has donated some of her personal papers to the University's archives. She is an Honorary Fellow of St Hugh's College, Oxford. In March 1995 she was awarded an Honorary Degree from the Open University as Doctor of the University.

In 2001 she was created a Life Peer, taking as her title Baroness Boothroyd, of Sandwell in the County of West Midlands,^[4] and her autobiography was published in the same year. In April 2005 she was appointed the Order of Merit, an honour in the personal gift of the Queen.

Betty Boothroyd is a Vice President of the Industry and Parliament Trust and the Patron of the Jo Richardson Community School in Dagenham, East London, England, as well as being President of the National Benevolent Fund for the Aged.

Baroness Boothroyd in January 2011 said the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg's plans for some members to the upper house to be directly elected could leave Britain in constitutional disarray. Clegg is working on a draft bill setting out proposed changes to the House of Lords, plans that are expected to include provisions for at least some of its members to be directly elected. Lady Boothroyd said the plans were poorly thought-out and harmful. “It is wantonly destructive. It is destruction that hasn’t been thought through properly,” she said. Lady Boothroyd said she was concerned that an elected Lords would rival the Commons, risking power-struggles between the two.^[5]

Personal life[link]

She is unmarried and has no children. She has remained physically active, taking up paragliding while on holiday in Cyprus in her sixties. She has described the hobby as both "lovely and peaceful" and "exhilarating". She has long held an interest in lighting and became an Honorary Fellow of the Society of Light & Lighting (SLL) in 2009. She is a supporter of West Bromwich Albion Football Club.

Footnotes[link]

References[link]

• Betty Boothroyd: The Autobiography. Publisher: Century (4 Oct 2001). ISBN 0-7126-7948-0

External links[link]

• Archives Hub - Papers of Betty Boothroyd (Biography)
• Brief biography by BBC News, October 2000
• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Betty Boothroyd

Offices held[link]

v t e Speakers of the House of Commons House of Commons of England 14th century Hungerford · De la Mare · Pickering · Guildesborough · Waldegrave · Pickering · Bussy · Cheney · Doreward · Savage · Redford 15th century Esturmy · Tiptoft · Chaucer · Stourton · Hungerford · Chaucer · Redman · Beauchamp · Flower · Hunt · Chaucer · Baynard · Russell · Walton · Vernon  · Tyrell · Alington · Bowes · Burley · Tresham · Say · Popham · Oldhall · Thorpe · Charlton · Wenlock · Tresham · Green · Strangeways · Wood · Catesby · Lovell · Mordaunt · Fitzwilliam · Empson · Drury · Englefield 16th century Dudley · Sheffield · Nevill · More · Audley · Wingfield · Rich · Hare · Moyle · Baker · Dyer · Pollard · Broke · Higham · Cordell · Gargrave · Williams · Onslow · Wray · Bell · Popham · Puckering · Snagge · Coke · Yelverton 17th century Croke · Phelips · Crewe · Richardson · Crewe · Finch · Finch · Glanville · Lenthall · Pelham · Rous (Barebones Parliament) · Widdrington (2nd Protectorate Parliament) · Chute (3rd Protectorate Parliament) · Long (3rd Protectorate Parliament) · Bampfield (3rd Protectorate Parliament) · Grimston · Turnour · Charlton · Seymour · Sawyer · Gregory · Williams · Trevor · Powle · Foley · Littleton 18th century Harley · Smith House of Commons of Great Britain 18th century Smith · Onslow · Bromley · Hanmer · Compton · Onslow · Cust · Norton · Cornwall · Grenville · Addington House of Commons of the United Kingdom 19th century Addington · Mitford · Abbot · Manners-Sutton · Abercromby · Shaw-Lefevre · Denison · Brand · Peel · Gully 20th century Lowther · Whitley · FitzRoy · Brown · Morrison · Hylton-Foster · King · Lloyd · Thomas · Weatherill · Boothroyd · Martin 21st century Bercow

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Sir Alan Gordon Barraclough Haselhurst (born 23 June 1937) is a British Conservative politician who is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Saffron Walden and was Chairman of Ways and Means from 14 May 1997 to 8 June 2010.^[1]

Early life, education and career[link]

Alan Haselhurst was born in South Elmsall, near Hemsworth, Yorkshire, and was educated at the King Edward's School, Birmingham, Cheltenham College, Gloucestershire, and Oriel College, Oxford. Whilst in Oxford he was the President of the Oxford University Conservative Association in 1958 and served as both the secretary and treasurer for two years with the Oxford Union from 1959. Before his election to Parliament, he worked in management in the chemicals industry and became an unremunerated director when his father's pharmacy was incorporated. He was the Chairman of the Manchester Youth and Community Service from 1974 until he was re-elected to Parliament.

Political career[link]

He worked as an election agent for the Conservative MP for Hertford Robin Balniel at both the 1964 and 1966 general elections. Beginning in 1964, he served for two years as the Chairman of the National Young Conservatives. He was elected to the House of Commons at the 1970 general election for the Lancashire seat of Middleton and Prestwich, defeating the Labour MP Denis Coe by 1,042 votes. Haselhurst lost the seat at the next February 1974 general election to Labour's Jim Callaghan by just 517 votes (this is not the same James (Jim) Callaghan who later became Prime Minister, and later still Lord Callaghan of Cardiff). The Conservative MP for the Essex seat of Saffron Walden, Peter Kirk, died on 17 April 1977, and Haselhurst was selected to contest the subsequent by-election on 7 July. Alan Haselhurst won the seat with a majority of 12,437 and has remained the MP there since.

In Parliament, he served as the Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Home Secretary Robert Carr from 1973 until his defeat at the February 1974 general election. He also served as the PPS to the Secretary of State for Education and Science Mark Carlisle for two years from 1979. He served on the European Legislation Select Committee for fifteen years from 1982, and was a member of the Transport Select Committee from 1992 to 1997. He asked the first question in Margaret Thatcher's final Prime Minister's Question Time on 27 November 1990.^[2]

Following the 1997 general election, he was appointed Chairman of Ways and Means (Deputy Speaker), remaining in that post under successive Speakers Betty Boothroyd, Michael Martin, and John Bercow until May 2010.

Alan Haselhurst was considered a strong contender to succeed Martin at the announcement of his resignation as speaker on 19 May 2009. However, he was entangled in the MPs' expenses controversy and was accused by The Daily Telegraph of claiming £12,000 for gardening expenses over 4 years, claiming £249 every month—£1 below the threshold which meant he was not required to provide receipts.^[3] In an attempt to wipe his slate clean, he later paid back the gardening expenses "out of respect to his constituents".^[4]

He withdrew from the race after getting 66 votes in the first round of voting and 57 in the second.^[5]

Sir Alan Haselhurst chose not to seek re-election as a Deputy Speaker after the 2010 general election. As the Chairman of Ways and Means must come from a different party than the Speaker was formerly a member of, he would have had to stand for 1st Deputy Chairman, a lesser position. However, he was entrusted to continue as a temporary Deputy Speaker chairing debates in the period between the State Opening of Parliament and the election of Deputy Speakers.

In July 2010, Haselhurst was appointed Chairman of the House of Commons Administration Committee,^[6] having earlier been defeated in the election for chair of the Backbench Business Committee by Natascha Engel. He turned down an offer of a Life Peerage and continues to represent his Saffron Walden constituents in the House of Commons.

Commonwealth[link]

Sir Alan has always had a strong passion for the Commonwealth. Between the years of 1978-1981 he was Chair of the Commonwealth Youth Exchange Council. In July 2010 Sir Alan was elected Chair of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association UK Branch and the following year at the Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in London in July 2011, Sir Alan Haselhurst was elected Chairperson of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association's Executive Committee.^[7]

Personal life[link]

Alan Haselhurst married Angela Margaret Bailey on 16 April 1977, and they have two sons and a daughter. He is a very vocal supporter of community-based projects and was for a time a director of Turning Point, a charity working with socially excluded young people, for five years from 1981. He is seen as a Wet Tory, and has been a supporter of Kenneth Clarke. He was knighted in 1995 and sworn of the Privy Council in 1999. He is the secretary of the All-Party group on cricket and was a member of the Executive Council of Essex County Cricket Club from 1996 to 2008 and is a member of MCC.

Publications[link]

• Occasionally Cricket: The Unpredictable Performances of the Outcasts CC by Alan Haselhurst, 1999, Queen Anne Press, ISBN 1-85291-622-2
• Eventually Cricket by Alan Haselhurst, 2001, Queen Anne Press ISBN 1-85291-637-0
• Incidentally Cricket by Alan Haselhurst, 2003, Queen Anne Press ISBN 1-85291-655-9
• Accidentally Cricket by Alan Haselhurst, 2009, The Professional & Higher Partnership Ltd, ISBN 978-1-907076-00-8
• Unusually Cricket by Alan Haselhurst, 2011, The Professional & Higher Partnership Ltd

References[link]

Sources[link]

• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs ^{[self-published source?][better source needed]}

External links[link]

• Sir Alan Haselhurst official site
• Debrett's
• Contributions in Parliament at Hansard 1803–2005
• Electoral history and profile at The Guardian
• Voting record at PublicWhip.org
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou.com
• Profile at Westminster Parliamentary Record
• Profile at BBC News Democracy Live
• Saffron Walden Conservatives
• Official Conservatives biography
• Commonwealth Parliamentary Association

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