Kevan Jones

Infobox MP
honorific-prefix =
name = Kevan Jones
honorific-suffix =MP

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office = Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence
term_start = 5 October 2008
term_end =
predecessor = Derek Twigg
successor =
primeminister = Gordon Brown
constituency_MP2 = North Durham
parliament2 =
majority2 = 16,781 (44.9%)
predecessor2 = Giles Radice
successor2 = Incumbent
term_start2 = 7 June 2001
term_end2 =
birth_date = Birth date and age|1964|04|25|df=yes
birth_place = Worksop, Nottinghamshire
death_date =
death_place =
nationality = British
spouse =
party = Labour
relations =
children =
residence =
alma_mater = University of Southern Maine
occupation =
profession =
religion =


website =
footnotes =

Kevan David Jones MP (born 25 April 1964) is a politician in the United Kingdom. He is currently Labour Member of Parliament for the North Durham constituency, which includes the towns of Chester-le-Street and Stanley and was first elected in 2001. Jones is currently a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Defence.

Early life

Kevan Jones was born in Nottinghamshire and is the son of a coal miner. He went to the comprehensive [http://www.portland.notts.sch.uk Portland School] on "Sparken Hill" in Worksop. He attended the University of Southern Maine in the U.S., although his "Who's Who" entry lists no qualification obtained by that attendance. He claims later to have gained a postgraduate qualification at Newcastle Polytechnic (now Northumbria University), although "Who's Who" says that it is a BA (Hons) in Government & Public Policy. Before being elected as an MP, he had been a Newcastle-upon-Tyne councillor from 1990 - March 2001 where he was Chairman of the Development Committee, and an elected political and legal officer of the GMB Union.

Parliamentary career

He is a member of the influential Defence Select Committee, and also a member of the Labour Party's Parliamentary Committee. His Private Member's Bill, the Christmas Day (Trading) Act 2004, successfully passed Parliament, and came into force in December 2004. The Act makes it illegal for large shops to open on Christmas day.

Kevan Jones held on to his 'safe' North Durham seat in the 2005 general election, with a majority of 16,781. He polled 64.1% of the vote.

Labour Party career

A prominent backbencher, Kevan Jones has described himself as 'not overtly' New Labour. His voting record has very tightly followed the party line.

In September 2006 he was one of a number of supporters of the Chancellor, Gordon Brown, who signed a letter calling on Tony Blair to resign as Prime Minister.

In May 2007 he supported the nomination of Harriet Harman MP, who went on to win the contest, in the elections for a new Deputy Leader of the Labour Party.

Personal life

Kevan Jones is unmarried, and has no children.

He is a cigar smoker, and his hobbies include golf and photography.

External links

* [http://www.kevanjonesmp.org.uk Kevan Jones MP] official site
* [http://politics.guardian.co.uk/person/0,9290,-7373,00.html Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Kevan Jones MP]
* [http://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/kevan_jones/north_durham TheyWorkForYou.com - Kevan Jones MP]
* [http://www.publicwhip.org.uk/mp.php?mpn=Kevan_Jones&mpc=North+Durham Voting record at the Public Whip]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/mpdb/html/212.stm BBC Politics page]

Video clips

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/bsp/hi/live_events/forums/html/thewindow_v0t1.stm?04/1080071832 Keeping Christmas Day special]

News items

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/wear/3746178.stm Opposing shops opening on Christmas Day in 2004]