Alan Simpson (politician)

Infobox MP


honorific-prefix =
name = Alan Simpson
honorific-suffix = MP
constituency_MP = Nottingham South
parliament =
majority = 7,486 (21.5%)
predecessor = Martin Brandon-Bravo
successor = Incumbent
term_start = 9 April 1992
term_end =
birth_date = Birth date and age|1948|09|20|df=yes
birth_place = Bootle, Liverpool
death_date =
death_place =
nationality = British
spouse = Pascale Quiviger
party = Labour
relations =
children =
residence =
alma_mater = Nottingham Trent University
occupation =
profession =
religion =


website =
footnotes =

Alan John Simpson (born 20 September 1948 in Bootle, Liverpool) is a British Labour politician and Member of Parliament for Nottingham South.

Early life

He went to Bootle Grammar School for Boys (now called Bootle High School), based on "Balliol Road" in Bootle, but moved to "Marian Way " in Netherton in 1961. Simpson came to Nottingham as a student, studying economics at Trent Polytechnic (now Nottingham Trent University). He was President of the Student Union from 1969-70. After graduating in 1972, he became a community worker, being Assistant General Secretary of the Nottingham Council of Voluntary Service from 1970-4, and worked on an anti-vandalism project from 1974-8. He later became a research officer for the city's Racial Equality Council from 1979-92.

He joined the Labour party in 1973, his initial taste of elected office coming in 1985 when he became a county councillor, a post he held until 1993. He contested the seat in 1987, then won the seat at the 1992 election and has held it since.

Parliamentary career

Simpson is on the left wing of the Labour party, a member (and currently treasurer) of the Socialist Campaign Group and on the board of the "Tribune". His stances on many issues are opposed to those of the leadership of his party -- for instance, he is a supporter of unilateral nuclear disarmament and opposes globalisation, genetically modified foods, and the euro. In the mid-1990s, he led the campaign to retain Clause IV, and more recently launched the "Labour Against the War" group, opposed to the invasion and occupation of Iraq.

He joined protests at the University of Nottingham campus in support of Rizwaan Sabir and Hicham Yezza who were arrested on May 14th 2008 under the Terrorism Act 2000. Simpson has since then been an outspoken critic of the Home-Office because of its attempts to deport Mr Yezza. He is one of the most rebellious MPs in the current UK Parliament — only three have voted against their party line more often.

Simpson recently received the distinction of being the first rebel MP to be formally reprimanded by the Labour chief whip. The reprimand stems from firstly his comment that New Labour's idea of democracy would have been recognised by General Franco, and secondly his recent comment to the Mail on Sunday that a choice between Blair and Brown was like having to pick between Saddam Hussein and his son Uday Hussein. Simpson saw nothing to apologise for and Jacqui Smith will now issue an official reprimand to his Constituency Labour Party and Labour's parliamentary officers, something most see as no more than a formality.

On 31 October 2006, Simpson was one of 12 Labour MPs to back Plaid Cymru and the Scottish National Party's call for an inquiry into the Iraq War. [cite web | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/6104310.stm | title=Labour MPs who rebelled on Iraq | date=2006-10-31 | accessdate=2006-10-31 | work=BBC News]

Simpson announced his intention on 18 February 2007 to stand down at the next General Election. In a letter to his constituency party members, the MP said a Gordon Brown-led premiership would be even worse and that he would be more effective campaigning for radical environmental change outside parliament, rather than remaining on the back benches. Another factor behind his decision is the birth last year of a baby daughter from his third marriage. [ cite web | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6374179.stm | title=Blair critic to stand down as MP| date=2007-02-18 | accessdate=2007-02-18 | work=BBC News]

Personal life

He married Pascale Quiviger in July 2005 in Basford. She is a French-Canadian author and painter and they have a baby daughter born January 2006. He has two sons and a daughter from a previous marriage. He has converted a building into his new energy efficient house in the Lace Market, central Nottingham. It has a microCHP power unit, which he believes is the way homes need to be heated.

Notes

External links

* [http://www.alansimpsonmp.co.uk Alan Simpson MP] official site
* [http://www.epolitix.com/EN/MPWebsites/Alan+Simpson/ ePolitix - Alan Simpson MP]
* [http://politics.guardian.co.uk/person/0,9290,-4778,00.html Guardian Politics Ask Aristotle - Alan Simpson MP]
* [http://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/alan_simpson/nottingham_south TheyWorkForYou.com - Alan Simpson MP]
* [http://publicwhip.org.uk/mp.php?mpn=Alan_Simpson&mpc=Nottingham+South The Public Whip - Alan Simpson MP] voting record
* [http://www.iamanenglishman.com/page.php?iCategoryId=694&iParentId=689 His Early Day Motions (EDMs)]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/mpdb/html/337.stm BBC News - Alan Simpson] profile 10 February, 2005
* [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/newscomment.html?in_article_id=447269&in_page_id=1787&in_a_source= "Daily Mail" article April 2007 about his green home]
* [http://www.theecologist.org/archive_detail.asp?content_id=583 2006 article in "The Ecologist"]
* [http://www.channel4.com/4homes/magazine/sept_06/eco_house.html Channel 4 - his new home in 2006]
* [http://www.erasmuspc.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=277&Itemid=32 Interview with Alan Simpson about how we should make cities that do not steal from their children]

Video clips

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKYotFocS7A Carbon credits at the University of Nottingham]