The Centre may refer to:

• Government of the Soviet Union, was commonly referred to as "the centre"
• downtown, a central business district
• The Centre (Evansville), convention center and auditorium in Evansville, Indiana
• The Centre, fictional organization in the American television series The Pretender
• The Centre or Dinosaur Island, fictional place in DC Comics
• The Centre (Saskatoon), shopping mall in Saskatoon
• The Centre (Livingston), shopping mall in Livingston, Scotland
• The Centre (Bristol), a public open space and transport interchange in Bristol, England
• "The Centre", sixth episode of the 1965 Doctor Who serial The Web Planet

The Centre may also refer to:

• The Center, a skyscraper in Hong Kong.

See also[link]

• Center (disambiguation)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Israel Houghton
Background information
Also known as	Israel & New Breed
Born	(1971-05-19) May 19, 1971 (age 41) Oceanside, California, United States
Genres	Contemporary Christian, gospel, contemporary worship
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, producer, arranger
Instruments	Guitar, piano
Years active	1997—present
Labels	Integrity
Associated acts	Cindy Cruse-Ratcliff, CeCe Winans, Michael W. Smith
Website	israelhoughton.net

Israel Houghton (pronounced, hoh’-tin) (born May 19, 1971) is an American Christian singer and worship leader, mostly known for his cross-cultural style of Christian music that fuses elements from gospel, jazz and rock. Houghton is usually credited as Israel & New Breed and currently signed to Integrity Music. Houghton is a worship leader at Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas. "All Around" is on the Digital Praise PC game Guitar Praise.

Musical career[link]

Recording career[link]

He has earned two gold-selling albums, six Dove Awards, two Stellar Awards, a Soul Train Award, and four Grammy® Awards—for "Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album" for The Power of One, “Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album” for A Deeper Level, “Best Traditional Gospel Album” for Alive In South Africa, and “Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album” for Love God, Love People.

Production career[link]

Israel produced an album by Michael Gungor called "Bigger Than My Imagination". This album was described as "one of the year's best worship albums" in a 2003 Christianity Today review.^[1]

Other performances[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (February 2009)

He has served as worship leader for the Promise Keepers and Champions for Christ events, as well as the Hillsong Conference 2006—2010, and Hillsong Conference Europe 2008-2010. Israel currently serves as a worship leader (alongside Cindy Cruse-Ratcliff, Steve Crawford and Da'dra Crawford-Greathouse) at Lakewood Church in Houston, TX, pastored by Joel Osteen.

Israel and New Breed accompanied Alicia Keys at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards for a performance of George Michael's "Freedom '90."

Israel and New Breed performed at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards, taking part in a segment saluting Gospel music, alongside the likes of Aretha Franklin and BeBe Winans.

Israel also sang with Michael W Smith on his 2008 Album, "A New Hallelujah", recorded at Lakewood Church in Houston, TX.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Other recordings[link]

• "Champions for Christ" - Hi5 (Worship Leader, 2002)
• "Where Are the Fathers?" from He-Motions (EMI Gospel, 2004)
• "Send Me to the Nations" from A Wing & A Prayer (EMI Gospel, 2003)
• Lakewood Live: We Speak to Nations (Integrity, 2002)
• Lakewood Live: Cover the Earth (Integrity, 2004)
• Lakewood Live: The Gift
• Lakewood Live: Free to Worship
• Free Chapel Live: Moving Forward
• Lakewood Live: Hope for Today Worship^[2]
• Free Chapel Live: Power of the Cross (Integrity, 2009)
• New Breed Live: Generation Love (2009)
• Free Chapel Live: Echo

Awards[link]

Personal life[link]

He is of mixed heritage, Jamaican and French-as told by him personally-and was raised in a Mexican-American neighborhood. He and his wife Meleasa, and his three children, Mariah, Israel 'Sonny Boy' and Milan 'Lillie' currently reside in Houston, Texas.^{[citation needed]}

References[link]

• "Dove Award Recipients for 2005". Published by the Gospel Music Association. Retrieved 2007-02-06.
• "Dove Award Recipients for 2006". Published by the Gospel Music Association. Retrieved 2007-02-06.
• "38th Annual Dove Award Recipients". Published by the Gospel Music Association. Retrieved 26 April 2007.
• "49th Annual GRAMMY Awards Winners List". Published by The Recording Academy. Retrieved 2007-02-13.
• Powell, Mark Allan (2002). Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music (First printing ed.). Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers. p. 438. ISBN 1-56563-679-1. 

External links[link]

• Israel Houghton's website
• Biography by Israel's Label
• CBN Interview with Israel Houghton
• Israel & New Breed at Allmusic
• Israel Houghton at the Internet Movie Database
• Israel Houghton at the Two Days of Hope conference

Rick Wakeman
Rick Wakeman in 2003.
Background information
Birth name	Richard Christopher Wakeman
Born	(1949-05-18) 18 May 1949 (age 63) Perivale, London, England
Genres	Rock, progressive rock, pop, electronica, jazz fusion, classical, Christian music
Occupations	Musician, songwriter
Instruments	Keyboards, piano, synthesiser
Years active	1969–present
Labels	A&M, Charisma, President Records, Voiceprint, Griffin, EMI, Music Fusion, Hot Productions, Studio T
Associated acts	Yes, Strawbs, ABWH, David Bowie, Warhorse, Black Sabbath, Cat Stevens
Website	www.rwcc.com

Richard Christopher Wakeman (born 18 May 1949) is an English keyboard player, composer and songwriter best known for being the former keyboardist in the progressive rock band Yes. He is also known for his solo albums, contributing to the BBC comedy series Grumpy Old Men and for Rick's Place, his former radio show on Planet Rock that aired until December 2010.

Wakeman was born in West London. He purchased his first electronic keyboard at 12 years of age. In 1968, he studied the piano, clarinet, orchestration and modern music at the Royal College of Music before leaving after a year in favour of session music work. He went on to feature on songs by artists including Black Sabbath,^[1] David Bowie, T. Rex, Elton John and Cat Stevens. Wakeman joined the folk group Strawbs in 1969 and played on three of their albums. He first joined Yes in 1971 to replace Tony Kaye, and left the group in 1974 to work on his solo career. He returned in 1976 before leaving with lead vocalist Jon Anderson in 1980. Wakeman was part of the side project Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe, a group of ex-Yes members formed in 1989, and the eight-member Yes line-up that followed until his third departure in 1992. He returned for two years in 1995 and once more in 2002, where he was part of the band's 35th anniversary tour until its end in 2004.

Wakeman began his solo career during his first run with Yes. His perhaps most known records being his first three, The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1973), Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1974) and The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table (1975). He has produced over 100 solo albums that have sold more than 50 million copies.^[2] In November 2010, Wakeman was awarded the Spirit of Prog award at the annual Marshall Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards.^[3]

Early life[link]

Rick Wakeman was born on 18 May 1949 in the west London suburb of Northolt to Cyril Frank and Mildred Helen Wakeman.^[4][5] He attended Wood End Infants School in 1954, followed by Drayton Manor Grammar School in 1959.^[6] He started playing the piano at the age of 5 and purchased his first electronic keyboard at the age of 12.^[7] In 1968, Wakeman secured a place at the Royal College of Music, where he studied piano, clarinet, orchestration and modern music. He left a year later in favour of session music work.

Music career[link]

Rick Wakeman photographic portrait by Augusto De Luca

Session work and the Strawbs (1969–1971)[link]

Wakeman became an active session musician. In June 1969, he played Mellotron on David Bowie's single "Space Oddity" for a session fee of £9.^[8] He went on to play piano for Bowie's "Life on Mars?", "Changes" and "Oh! You Pretty Things" in April 1971 and "Absolute Beginners" in 1985. He also played the piano on the Cat Stevens' hit "Morning Has Broken". In 1971 he acquired an early Minimoog synthesiser, purchasing it at half price from actor Jack Wild who believed that it was defective because it only played one note at a time.^[7][9]

In 1970 and 1971, Wakeman was part of the folk rock group Strawbs. His first appearance on an album sleeve was on Dragonfly, the group's second studio album released in February 1970. The band held a concert at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London on 11 July 1970 where Wakeman performed a solo piano piece named "Temparament of Mind". He received a standing ovation for his performance, and the track appeared on the band's live record released that year, Just a Collection of Antiques and Curios.^[10] Wakeman appeared on the front page of Melody Maker soon after, which called him "Tomorrow's Superstar",^[11] and composed the theme music to the television show Ask Aspel.^[12] He remained in the Strawbs for a third album, From the Witchwood, but left the group in mid-1971.

Joining Yes and start of solo career (1971–1975)[link]

In 1971, Wakeman joined the progressive rock band Yes, replacing their organist Tony Kaye. His first concert with the group took place in Leicester on 30 September 1971.^[13] He worked on the group's fourth, fifth and sixth studio albums – Fragile (1971), Close to the Edge (1972), and Tales from Topographic Oceans (1973). Wakeman, however, felt Tales from Topographic Oceans was pretentious and – despite its ambition – insubstantial. He disliked performing the album on tour, feeling the length of the songs prevented the band from playing their more popular tracks. Following the tour, as the band began work on what would become Relayer (1974), Wakeman felt further alienated from the group. Disenchanted with the direction in which Yes was going, and already into a successful solo career, he left.^{[citation needed]}

Wakeman produced his first three solo albums during his first run with Yes. On 23 January 1973,^[14] he released The Six Wives of Henry VIII, an instrumental concept album based on his interpretations of the musical characteristics of the wives of Henry VIII, using keyboard instruments. The album was overall well received by critics. TIME magazine named the record one of the best pop albums of 1973.^[15] In October 1975, the album was certified Gold.^[16]

On 18 January 1974, Wakeman performed Journey to the Centre of the Earth, a forty-minute piece based on the Jules Verne novel of the same name, at the Royal Festival Hall in London. Combining rock with an orchestra and choir, the concert was recorded and released on 18 May, where it topped the UK album charts on entry for one week. The record became a multi-million dollar seller in six weeks.^[17] The album was certified Gold in September 1974.^[16]

In May 1975, Wakeman released The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, with the album was performed live at the Empire Pool on ice. The show was well received but expensive to produce, consuming much of the income from sales of the album.^[7][18] The album was also a worldwide success, reaching No.21 in the United States while going Gold (the third time a Wakeman record had achieved this) in Brazil, Japan and Australia.^[19] The album has sold 12 million copies.^[20]

In 1975, Wakeman produced the first of two soundtracks for films by Ken Russell, that being Lisztomania; Wakeman would go on to create the soundtrack for Crimes of Passion in 1984. In 1976, Wakeman produced and created the album No Earthly Connection in France.

Rejoining Yes (1976–1980)[link]

Wakeman returned to Yes for their 1977 album Going for the One. He remained until their next album, Tormato, a year later. He is reputed to have given the album its name by throwing a tomato at a showing of the art used for the album's cover.^[21][22]

Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe and Yes (1989–1992)[link]

In 1989, he joined with three fellow ex-Yes members to form Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe ("ABWH"). After ABWH's first album, some of the completed tracks for a planned second album were merged with tracks from an in-progress Yes album to create the album Union. Wakeman, along with the combined members of both bands then joined to form a Yes supergroup (made up of past and present members of Yes) for the subsequent tour in 1991. When the tour ended a year later, Wakeman left again.

Fourth run with Yes (1995–1997)[link]

He then returned in 1996 for the Keys to Ascension albums but left before the band could tour.

Fifth run with Yes and Hampton Court (2002–2009)[link]

In 2002, he rejoined Yes and stayed with the band until their 2008 In The Present Tour. For the group's 40th anniversary tour, Wakeman was replaced by his son, Oliver Wakeman.

In 2008, Wakeman toured with a solo show named Rick Wakeman's Grumpy Old Picture Show, featuring an evening of music and stories.

In May 2009, Wakeman performed The Six Wives of Henry VIII live at Hampton Court Palace for the first time, for two nights. The performance was recorded and released as The Six Wives of Henry VIII Live at Hampton Court Palace.

Instruments[link]

Wakeman performing at the Royal Albert Hall in aid of the Performing Right Society for Music Members' Benevolent Fund in 2009.

Although Wakeman is a noted player of the grand piano, electric piano, Hammond organ, Minimoog and many later models of synthesiser, he is well known as an exponent (for a time) of the Mellotron – an analogue electronic musical instrument that uses a bank of pre-recorded magnetic tape strips, each of which is activated by a separate key on its keyboard and lasts approximately 8 seconds. Wakeman featured playing this instrument, to varying degrees, on the David Bowie track "Space Oddity", the Yes albums Fragile, Close to the Edge and Tales From Topographic Oceans, as well as the solo albums The Six Wives of Henry VIII and White Rock. It proved too unwieldy and unreliable for regular touring, and he eventually doused the last Mellotron that he owned in petrol and set fire to it in a field.^[23] Undeterred, he worked with David Biro to develop the Birotron, which used the then popular 8-track cassette format rather than tape strips. Because of the advent of digital keyboards at that time, and also because the cassette tape format could not reproduce the attack and decay of musical notes (which the tape strips of the Mellotron could reproduce), the Birotron was never a commercial or technical success. Only 35 Birotrons were produced, and Wakeman eventually threw his across the stage after it broke down mid-concert, an action he now regrets as there are only six remaining examples.^[23]

Recent years[link]

Wakeman's track "Arthur" has been used as the theme tune to the BBC's Election Night Coverage since 1979, with the exception of 2001 and 2010. Wakeman's album Fields of Green '97 features the track "Election '97/Arthur" which was used by the BBC for their coverage of the 1997 General Election. The music was revamped for the BBC's 2005 general election night coverage.

His TV career was launched in 1982 when he hosted Gastank on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom. The show featured a mix of interviews with 1970s musicians and impromptu performances where the guest artist would join Wakeman and his house band in playing re-arranged versions of their classic songs or entirely new pieces created for the show. Wakeman hosted the ITV comedy show Live at Jongleurs for 8 years.

Wakeman is a contributor to the BBC Two show Grumpy Old Men. He has also appeared in a number of episodes of Countdown. He has also appeared on the satirical panel shows Never Mind the Buzzcocks (4 appearances) and Have I Got News For You. Between September 2005 and December 2010, Wakeman presented Rick's Place, a weekly radio show on Planet Rock with David 'Kid' Jensen. Wakeman appeared as himself in "Journey to the Centre of Rick Wakeman", the season two finale of Mitch Benn's Crimes Against Music, a BBC Radio 4 comedy programme. The episode detailed a fictional war between England and Wales in 2009 which only Wakeman could stop. Wakeman provided piano for Benn's 2008 single "Sing Like an Angel", which was released on iTunes. In December 2006, Wakeman was the guest host for an episode of The Personality Test on Radio 4. He also appeared on Top Gear and set a race track lap time of 1'55.26. Wakeman made his debut appearance on Just a Minute on Radio 4 on 7 February 2011.^[24]

In October 2007, Wakeman commenced a new tour 'Rick Wakeman's Grumpy Old Picture Show', where he accompanies video performers such as Gordon Giltrap and the English Rock Ensemble (Ashley Holt, Lee Pomeroy, Dave Colquhoun and Tony Fernandez). A Freemason, he is a member of Chelsea Lodge No. 3098, the membership of which is made up of entertainers.^[25] In 2009, Wakeman became a Patron of Tech Music Schools.

In 2011, Wakeman, alongside Fiaba's drummer Bruno Rubino, has been recording and arranging the debut full-length studio album of the Italian singer Valentina Blanca.^{[citation needed]}

In January 2012, Wakeman appeared as part of a group backing Jasper Carrott on BBC 1's The One Jasper Carrott.

Personal life[link]

On 28 March 1970, Wakeman married his first wife Rosaline Woolford at twenty years of age^[26] and had two sons, Oliver (b. 26 February 1972) and Adam (b. 11 March 1974). Rick and Rosaline divorced in 1977, and Wakeman married studio secretary Danielle Corminboeuf in January 1980 in the West Indies,^[27] with whom he had one son, Benjamin (b. 1978).^[28] He had a daughter, Jemma Kiera (b. 21 February 1983), with former Page 3 model Nina Carter^[29] and the two married in 1984 followed by the birth of their son, Oscar (b. 14 May 1986).^[30] He has had a renewal of his Christian faith,^[31] which began around the time of his marriage to Nina Carter.^[32] Nina and Rick divorced in December 2004.^[33]

Rick Wakeman had a daughter Manda (b. 9 May 1986) with his long time friend, designer and seamstress Denise Gandrup, whom he first met in 1972. Denise designed much of Wakeman's stage outfits including his famous capes.^[34][35]

In his twenties, Wakeman suffered three heart attacks.^[21] The first occurred after a performance of Journey to the Centre of the Earth at the Crystal Palace Bowl on 27 July 1974.

In 1980 he was mis-diagnosed as having rheumatoid arthritis in his hands. He only found out in 2008 that the pain he was suffering was just due to sudden overwork after a period of lack of keyboard practice.^[36]

A passionate football fan, Wakeman has supported Brentford F.C. since he was a child, and later on he also became a director of the West London club. After a disagreement with the board^{[citation needed]}, he moved on to Manchester City F.C. but maintained his allegiance to Brentford. He was involved in the ownership of the American soccer club Philadelphia Fury in the late '70s, along with other rock celebrities such as Peter Frampton and Paul Simon.

He is a strong supporter of the UK's Conservative Party, and performed a concert in September 2004 for the benefit of the party.^{[citation needed]}

Wakeman has been president of the show business charity The Heritage Foundation. The charity erects blue plaques on the homes and/or work-places of late entertainers and sportspeople. He is also Honorary President of the Classic Rock Society, a UK-based organisation helping to promote classic and progressive rock.

Discography[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Wakeman, Rick (1995). Say Yes! An Autobiography. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 978-0-340-62151-6. 
• Wakeman, Rick (2008). Grumpy Old Rockstar: and Other Wondrous Stories. Preface Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84809-004-0. 
• Wakeman, Rick (2010). Further Adventures of a Grumpy Old Rockstar. Arrow. ISBN 978-1-84809-176-4. 

References[link]

• Wooding, Dan (1979). Rick Wakeman: The Caped Crusader. Granada Publishing Limited. ISBN 978-0-586-04853-5. 
• Wakeman, Rick (1995). Say Yes! An Autobiography. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 978-0-340-62151-6. 
• Welch, Chris (2008). Close to the Edge - The Story of Yes. Music Sales. ISBN 978-1-84772-132-7. 

External links[link]

• Rick Wakeman's Communication Centre
• Rick Wakeman's Official Press Photos
• Rick Wakeman at the Internet Movie Database

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The Right Honourable Chris Grayling MP
Minister of State at the Department for Work and Pensions
Incumbent
Assumed office 13 May 2010
Prime Minister	David Cameron
Preceded by	Jim Knight (Minister of State for Employment and Welfare Reform)
Shadow Home Secretary
In office 19 January 2009 – 11 May 2010
Leader	David Cameron
Preceded by	Dominic Grieve
Succeeded by	Alan Johnson
Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
In office 2 July 2007 – 19 January 2009
Leader	David Cameron
Preceded by	Philip Hammond
Succeeded by	Theresa May
Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
In office 6 December 2005 – 2 July 2007
Leader	David Cameron
Preceded by	Tim Yeo
Succeeded by	Theresa Villiers
Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
In office 10 May 2005 – 6 December 2005
Leader	Michael Howard
Preceded by	Oliver Heald
Succeeded by	Theresa May
Member of Parliament for Epsom and Ewell
Incumbent
Assumed office 7 June 2001
Preceded by	Archie Hamilton
Majority	16,447 (33.0%)
Personal details
Born	(1962-04-01) 1 April 1962 (age 50) Marylebone, London, England
Nationality	British
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Susan Clare Dillistone
Alma mater	Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge

Christopher Stephen "Chris" Grayling, MP (born 1 April 1962), is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served in the Shadow Cabinet from 2005 to 2010 and was the party's Shadow Home Secretary from 2009 to 2010. Following the 2010 general election, he was appointed a Minister of State in the Department for Work and Pensions.^[1] He has been a Member of Parliament (MP) representing the constituency of Epsom and Ewell since 2001.

Early life[link]

Chris Grayling was born in London and grew up in Buckinghamshire.

Education[link]

Grayling was educated at the Royal Grammar School in High Wycombe. He then went on to Cambridge University, where he completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in history at Sidney Sussex College in 1984.

Life and career[link]

Grayling joined BBC News in 1985 as a trainee, becoming a producer in 1986. He left the BBC in 1988 to join Channel 4 as an editor on its Business Daily programme. He rejoined the BBC in 1991 as a business development manager on BBC Select. On leaving the BBC in 1993, he ran several television production companies, including managing the corporate communications division of Workhouse Ltd from 1992-5 and SSVC Group in Gerrards Cross from 1995-7. He became a management consultant in 1997 with Burson Marsteller, where he remained until his election to Westminster.

Prior to joining the Conservative Party, Grayling was a member of the Social Democratic Party, along with a number of other Cameron frontbenchers.^[2]

Political Career[link]

Councillor[link]

Grayling was selected to contest the Labour-held marginal seat of Warrington South at the 1997 general election, but was defeated by Labour candidate Helen Southworth by 10,807 votes. He was elected as a councillor in the London Borough of Merton in 1998 and remained on the council until 2002.

Member of Parliament[link]

He was elected to the House of Commons for the Surrey seat of Epsom and Ewell at the 2001 general election following the retirement of the veteran Tory MP Archie Hamilton. Grayling held the seat with a majority of 10,080 and has remained the MP there since. He made his maiden speech on 25 June 2001.^[3]

Shadow Cabinet[link]

He served as a member of the environment, transport and the regions select committee from 2001 until he was promoted to the Opposition Whips' Office by Iain Duncan Smith in 2002, moving to become a spokesman on health later in the year. He became a spokesman on education and skills by Michael Howard in 2003, and following the 2005 general election he became a member of Howard's Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Leader of the House of Commons, and since the election of David Cameron as the leader of the Conservative Party in December 2005 he has served as the Shadow Secretary of State for Transport. In June 2007, he was made Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, a post he held until January 2009 when he became Shadow Home Secretary.

Conservative Attack Dog[link]

Grayling became known as a national politician through his “attack dog” pressure on leading Labour politicians.^[4] He was heavily involved in the questioning of David Blunkett, the then Work and Pensions Secretary, over his business affairs that led to his resignation in 2005.^[5] He also challenged Cherie and Tony Blair over the money they made from lectures while he was in Downing Street and former Minister Stephen Byers over his handling of the Railtrack collapse.^[6]

Controversy[link]

Expenses claims[link]

Between 2001 and 2009,^[7] Grayling claimed for a flat in Pimlico, close to the House of Commons, despite having a constituency home less than 17 miles away^[8] and owning two buy to let properties in Wimbledon.^[9] Grayling says he uses the flat when "working very late" because he needs to "work very erratic and late hours most days when the House of Commons is sitting."^[10]

During the Parliamentary expenses scandal, The Daily Telegraph reported that Grayling refitted and redecorated the flat in 2005 at a cost of thousands of pounds. Grayling said that both the water and electrical systems failed "leaving the place needing a major overhaul".^[9]

[edit] Comparing Moss Side to The Wire

As Shadow Home Secretary Chris Grayling's provoked controversy in August 2009 when he compared parts of to Britain to the Baltimore set TV series The Wire. In a speech on gang problems he also talked about the gang problems in Manchester’s Moss Side. His Comments met with an angry response in Manchester, from locals and the police.^[11] Having been out on patrol for a day with the police, observing the results of a shooting at a house, he described himself as having witnessed an "urban war". Police responded that gang related shootings in Greater Manchester had fallen by 82 percent on the previous year, and that to speak of "urban war" was "sensationalistic".^[11] Local councillor Roy Walters complained of the Moss Side unfairly being a "negative target" due to historical associations.^[11] However he was defended by right wing commentators who said he spoke for the “mainstream majority”. Sticking by his comments, he said, "I didn't say Moss Side equals Baltimore. What I said is that we have in Moss Side symptoms of a gang conflict in this country which I find profoundly disturbing".^[12] Baltimore, with a population of about 600,000, was noted as having 191 gun related murders in the past year, in comparison to Moss Side, population 11,000, which had none.^[11]

Statistics controversy[link]

Grayling came under fire as Shadow Home Secretary over the Conservative Party's use of violent crime statistics.^[13] In February 2010, the Conservative Party issued press releases to every constituency in the UK claiming that crime had "risen sharply" in the UK. However, they failed to take into account the more rigorous system for recording crime. The chairman of The UK Statistics Authority, Sir Michael Scholar, said that the figures Grayling was using were "likely to mislead the public" and "likely to damage public trust in official statistics".^[14] Scholar further added that reliable statistics showed that there had not been an increase in crime during Labour's period in office.^[15] However a subsequent report produced by the independent House of Commons library confirmed that Grayling and the Conservative Party had been right to say that violent crime had risen significantly.^[16][17][18]

Gay couples in B&Bs controversy[link]

In March 2010, Grayling was recorded at an open meeting of the thinktank Centre for Policy Studies saying that during the debates on civil liberties under the Labour Government, he had felt that Christians should have the right to live by their consciences and that Christian owners of bed and breakfasts should have the right to turn away gay couples.^[19] Grayling said:

"I personally always took the view that, if you look at the case of should a Christian hotel owner have the right to exclude a gay couple from a hotel, I took the view that if it's a question of somebody who's doing a B&B in their own home, that individual should have the right to decide who does and who doesn't come into their own home. If they are running a hotel on the High Street, I really don’t think that it is right in this day and age that a gay couple should walk into a hotel and be turned away because they are a gay couple, and I think that is where the dividing line comes."^[20]

When the recording was released by The Observer on 3 April 2010,^[21] Grayling's comments caused uproar,^[22] with Ben Summerskill, chief executive of the gay rights group Stonewall, saying that this position would be illegal and "very alarming to a lot of gay people who may have been thinking of voting Conservative".^[22] Lord Mandelson, the most senior gay minister in the government, said that the comment showed that the Conservative party had not changed, that "when the camera is on they say one thing, but when the camera is off they say another".^[23] There have since been growing calls for Grayling to resign.^[24][25] Conservative party leader David Cameron was subsequently urged to "back or sack" Grayling,^[26] with gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell saying that "Cameron's silence is worrying. Many voters – gay and straight – will be disturbed by his failure to swiftly disown Grayling's support for homophobic discrimination. What does this say about the sincerity and seriousness of his commitment to gay equality?"^[27] A poll for the website pinknews.co.uk released on 5 April^[28] found that support for the Conservatives in the LGBT community had fallen drastically since Grayling's comment.^[29] Author Douglas Murray has dubbed Grayling "a political buffoon, unsure of what he is saying and with little idea of how to say it."^[30] Anastasia Beaumont-Bott, founder of "LGBTory", a gay rights group that campaigns for the Conservatives, announced that she would be voting for Labour, not the Conservatives, in response to Grayling's comment. She said, "I feel guilty because as a gay woman affected by LGBT rights I am on record saying you should vote Conservative, and I want to reverse that. I want to go on record to say don't vote Conservative. I'd go as far to say that I'll vote Labour at this general election."^[31] Beaumont-Bott was joined in defecting from the Conservatives to Labour a week later by prominent gay rights campaigner David Heathcote.^[32] However Grayling’s comments were defended by a number of commentators, including the Today Programme presenter and leading gay broadcaster Evan Davis, and by leading Christian groups.^[33]

Grayling apologised on 9 April, saying "I am sorry if what I said gave the wrong impression, I certainly didn't intend to offend anyone... I voted for gay rights, I voted for this particular measure." On the 12 April edition of The Daily Politics, presenter Andrew Neil claimed the programme makers had been unable to contact Grayling about an appearance and suggested that he had gone to ground since his comments were published.^[34] Since the start of the 2010 general election campaign on 6 April, Grayling has been "hidden away" by the Conservatives, making very few public appearances.^{[35][36][37][38]} During the launch of the Labour Party's "LGBT Manifesto" on 15 April, Deputy Leader Harriet Harman renewed calls for Grayling to be sacked, saying "We don't want to wake up and find we have a homophobic home secretary. David Cameron should have sacked him as soon as he said that."^[39] It is unclear whether his remarks were the reason that David Cameron chose to appoint Theresa May as Home Secretary in his new cabinet, rather than Grayling who held the position in the Shadow Cabinet; Grayling was not given any cabinet post, as had been predicted by some media commentators prior to the election.^[40]

Appointment to Privy Council[link]

On 28 May 2010 he was appointed to the Privy Counsel as part of the 2010 Dissolution of Parliament Honours List.^[41][42]

Personal life[link]

In April 1987 Grayling married Susan Clare Dillistone in Surrey and they have a daughter, Laura (born December 1992), and a son, Matthew (born August 1996). He supports Manchester United, and can boast that he once hit a four off the Australian fast bowler Dennis Lillee.^[43]

Publications[link]

• The Bridgewater Heritage: The Story of Bridgewater Estates by Chris Grayling, 1983, Bridgewater Estates PLC
• A Land Fit for Heroes: Life in England After the Great War by Christopher Grayling, 1985, Buchan & Enright ISBN 0-907675-68-9
• Holt's: The Story of Joseph Holt by Christopher Grayling, 1985, Joseph Holt PLC
• Just Another Star?: Anglo-American Relations Since 1945 by Christopher Grayling and Christopher Langdon, 1987, Virgin Books ISBN 0-245-54603-0
• Insight Guide Waterways of Europe contribution by Chris Grayling, 1989, Apa Publications ISBN 0-88729-825-7

See also[link]

• Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (UK)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Chris Grayling MP official constituency website
• Epsom and Ewell Conservatives
• 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
• Articles authored at Journalisted
• Article archive at The Guardian
• Speaking to Wirral Conservatives