- Harry Cohen
Infobox MP
honorific-prefix =
name = Harry Cohen
honorific-suffix =
constituency_MP = Leyton and Wanstead
Leyton (1983-1997)
parliament =
majority = 6,857 (20.6%)
predecessor =Bryan Magee
successor =Incumbent
term_start =9 June 1983
term_end =
birth_date = Birth date and age|1949|12|10|df=yes
birth_place = Hackney,London
death_date =
death_place =
nationality = British
spouse = Ellen Cohen
party = Labour
relations =
children =
residence =
alma_mater =Birkbeck College, London
occupation =
profession =Accountant (CIPFA )
religion =
website =
footnotes =Harry Michael Cohen (born
10 December 1949 , in Hackney,London ) is a Labour Party politician in theUnited Kingdom . He is theMember of Parliament for Leyton and Wanstead.Early life
Cohen left the
George Gascoigne Secondary Modern school (closed in 1966) on "Queens Road" inWalthamstow at 15, and went on to train as a public serviceaccountant at theChartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy , as well as studying part-time at East Ham Technical College (becameNewham College of Further Education ). He later obtained an MSc in [http://www.bbk.ac.uk/polsoc/programmes/msc-mres/courses Politics and Administration] fromBirkbeck College ,University of London in 1995. [ [http://www.harrycohen.labour.co.uk/ViewPage.cfm?Page=1594 Harry Cohen - Biography] ] He became an accountant and auditor for the boroughs of Waltham Forest, Hackney and Haringey, then later for the union NALGO (became part ofUNISON in 1993).He was elected as a local
councillor in Waltham Forest at the age of 22, and served for 11 years before becoming an MP. [citation | last = Davie | first = Edward | title = From Bow Bells to Big Ben | newspaper = The House Magazine | issue=1267, Vol 33 | pages = pp.48-50 | year = 2008 | date = 23/06/2008 | url = http://www.housemag.co.uk/index.php?id=318&magmode=1&origin=The_House_Magazine&issue=1267]Parliamentary career
Cohen was first elected to the House of Commons at the 1983 general election as
Member of Parliament for Leyton, transferring to the new Leyton and Wanstead constituency after boundary changes for the 1997 general election.He was a member of the House of Commons
Defence Select Committee between 1997-2001, and has been a member of theWork and Pensions Select Committee since 2005.On
31 October ,2006 , Cohen was one of 12 Labour MPs to backPlaid Cymru and theScottish National Party 's call for an inquiry into theIraq War . [cite web | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/6104310.stm | title=Labour MPs who rebelled on Iraq | date=31 October, 2006 | accessdate=2006-10-31 | work=BBC News]Cohen is Chairman of the
All-Party Parliamentary Group forTibet and Secretary of the All-Party Parliamentary Race and Community Group. He is a member of theSocialist Campaign Group , a signatory toJews for Justice for Palestinians , and countsKarl Marx ,Mahatma Gandhi ,Nelson Mandela and the Dalai Lama as political influences.He married Ellen Hussain in 1978 and they have a grown-up family with stepson, stepdaughter, foster son, and grandchildren. They live in
Chelmsford with their three cats and a Jack Russell named Rosa, afterRosa Luxemburg . Harry is a fan ofLeyton Orient F.C. and enjoys a wide variety of music, including Shostakovich.References
External links
* [http://www.harrycohen.labour.co.uk/ Harry Cohen] official site
* [http://politics.guardian.co.uk/person/0,9290,-1023,00.html Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Harry Cohen MP]
* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2005/apr/04/mpsuncovered.parliament52 Guardian Unlimited Politics - MPs Uncovered: Harry Cohen MP]
* [http://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/harry_cohen/leyton_and_wanstead TheyWorkForYou.com - Harry Cohen MP]
* [http://publicwhip.org.uk/mp.php?mpn=Harry_Cohen&mpc=Leyton+%26amp%3B+Wanstead The Public Whip - Harry Cohen MP] voting record
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/mpdb/html/371.stm BBC News - Harry Cohen] profile 9 March, 2005
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.