Andrew Pakes | |
---|---|
![]() Official portrait, 2024 | |
Member of Parliament for Peterborough | |
Assumed office 4 July 2024 | |
Preceded by | Paul Bristow |
Majority | 118 (1.2%) |
Southwark Borough Councillor for Livesey Ward | |
In office 4 May 2006 –6 May 2010 | |
Preceded by | Richard Porter |
Succeeded by | Michael Situ |
48th President of the National Union of Students | |
In office 1998–2000 | |
Preceded by | Douglas Trainer |
Succeeded by | Owain James |
Personal details | |
Born | Andrew Stone 24 April 1973 Newport Pagnell,Buckinghamshire,England |
Political party | Labour and Co-operative |
Alma mater | University of Hull |
Andrew Elliot Pakes [1] (born 24 April 1973 as Andrew Stone) is a British Labour and Co-operative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Peterborough since 2024. He previously served as the President of the National Union of Students (NUS).
Pakes was born [2] and grew up in Newport Pagnell,Borough of Milton Keynes,Buckinghamshire. He was educated at Ousedale School,before going on to the University of Hull where he completed a Bachelor's degree in Politics and a Master's degree in Environmental Management. [3]
An active member of Labour Students,he was on the national executive of the National Union of Students from 1996 to 2000 and was twice elected the national president of NUS,serving in the role from 1998 to 2000. [3] He had previously served as the organisation's National Treasurer from 1997 to 1998. [4] Pakes was the second openly gay individual to be elected NUS president after Stephen Twigg (who was president from 1990 to 1992). [5]
After his term as NUS president,Pakes worked for the Association of University Teachers (AUT,now part of the University and College Union),and for the then-Deputy Mayor of London,Nicky Gavron. He later worked as a consultant on environmental and transport policy,and served as Chair of the Socialist Environment and Resources Association (SERA,a Labour-linked environmental campaign) [2] and as a member of the Labour Party's National Policy Forum,representing the affiliated socialist societies. He was a Councillor in the London Borough of Southwark from 2006 to 2010,standing down in that year to contest the Milton Keynes North parliamentary seat.
He was a special adviser to Mary Creagh,working with the shadow DEFRA team. [6] He was the initial head of PR for the British Kebab Awards.
He currently works as Head of Communications,Organising and External Affairs at the science and engineering trade union,Prospect. He was formerly in public affairs at Tetra Strategy, [6] and earlier worked for Connect Public Affairs. [2] Among his voluntary positions,he served as a Trustee of the National Energy Foundation,a Milton Keynes-based charity,from June 2017 to April 2018. [7]
From 2019 to 2022 Pakes was a trustee of Stonewall,a lesbian,gay,bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights charity. [8] He was also a Board Member at CDS Co-Operatives,providing social housing and co-op housing services in London &the South East of England.
Pakes stood as the Labour and Co-operative Party parliamentary candidate in the constituency of Milton Keynes North at the 2010 general election, [9] where he was defeated by the Conservative Party candidate Mark Lancaster on a swing of 9.2%. This was one of the largest swings from Labour to the Conservatives recorded in the United Kingdom during the 2010 general election.
Pakes was selected as Labour Co-op's Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Milton Keynes South in the 2015 general election. Pakes went on to lose this election to Iain Stewart of the Conservative Party,with Stewart increasing his majority by almost 3500 votes.
In July 2022,Pakes was selected as the Labour Co-op candidate for the marginal Conservative seat of Peterborough,in preparation for the next general election. [10]
UK Parliament elections
Date of election | Constituency | Party | Votes | % | Result | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2010 | Milton Keynes North | Labour Co-op | 14,458 | 26.8 | Not elected (2nd) | |
2015 | Milton Keynes South | Labour Co-op | 18,929 | 32.1 | Not elected (2nd) | |
2024 | Peterborough | Labour Co-op | 13,418 | 32.0 | Elected |
Southwark Borough Council elections
Date of election | Ward | Party | Votes | % | Result | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2006 | Livesey | Labour Party | 1,698 | 45.9 | Elected |
In March 2015,Pakes attracted criticism for his decision to accept a donation from Tony Blair despite Pakes having campaigned against the Iraq War,with the donation being described as "blood money" in the local press and a local anti-war campaign group stating that Pakes was guilty of "selling [his] principles on the cheap". [11]
The Co-operative Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom,supporting co-operative values and principles. The party currently has an electoral pact with the Labour Party. Established in 1917,the Co-operative Party was founded by co-operative societies to campaign politically for the fairer treatment of co-operative enterprise and to elect 'co-operators' to Parliament. The party's roots lie in the Parliamentary Committee of the Co-operative Union established in 1881.
Stephen Daniel Twigg is a British Labour Co-op politician who has served as the 8th Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association since August 2020. He served as Member of Parliament for Enfield Southgate from 1997 to 2005,and for Liverpool West Derby from 2010 to 2019.
Gareth Richard Thomas is a British Labour politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Harrow West since 1997. He has served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Services,Small Business and Exports since July 2024. Thomas served as Minister of State for International Development and Minister of State for Trade,Investment and Consumer Affairs between 2008 and 2010. He was the Chair of the Co-operative Party from 2001 until 2019,and stands for election as a Labour and Co-operative candidate.
North Southwark and Bermondsey was a parliamentary constituency which returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The constituency was created for the 1997 general election.
A by-election was held in the Bermondsey constituency in South London,on 24 February 1983,following the resignation of Labour MP Bob Mellish. Peter Tatchell stood as the candidate for the Labour Party,and Simon Hughes stood for the Liberal Party. Following a bitter campaign,the Liberals made huge gains and took the seat,with a majority of votes cast. Labour's vote fell from 63.6 per cent in May 1979 to 26.1 per cent as Tatchell came a distant second,while the Conservative candidate,Robert Hughes,managed only fourth place,losing his deposit. With a swing of 44.2%,the 1983 Bermondsey by-election remains the largest by-election swing in British political history.
Dame Pauline Green,is a former Labour and Co-operative Member of the European Parliament and former Leader of the Parliamentary Group of the Party of European Socialists (PES). As leader of the Parliamentary Group of the PES,she had a central role in the controversy surrounding the failure to discharge the European Commission (EC)'s 1996 budget,bringing the first motion of censure against the commission but voting against it. She then changed her position following corruption allegations raised by EC official Paul van Buitenen to call for Jacques Santer to react promptly or be sacked. Green lost the leadership of the PES in 1999,which was attributed in part to her handling of the incident.
George Alfred Isaacs JP DL was a British politician and trades unionist who served in the government of Clement Attlee.
Peterborough is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom since July 2024 by Andrew Pakes of the Labour Party. This changed from Conservative Party politician Paul Bristow who had been elected in 2019.
Buckingham was a constituency that was last represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Greg Smith,a Conservative.
The region of Greater London,including the City of London,is divided into 75 parliamentary constituencies which are sub-classified as borough constituencies,affecting the type of electoral officer and level of expenses permitted.
Milton Keynes South was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament from its 2010 creation until 2024 by Iain Stewart,a Conservative.
Peter Heaton-Jones is a British Conservative Party politician,journalist and broadcaster. He served as Member of Parliament for North Devon between 2015 and 2019.
Wesley Paul William Streeting is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care since July 2024. A member of the Labour Party,he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ilford North since 2015.
Richard Andrew Balfe,Baron Balfe is a British politician and life peer. He was a Labour Party Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 1979 but joined the Conservative Party in 2002.
Iain Aitken Stewart is a British Conservative Party politician and former accountant. He served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Milton Keynes South from 2010 until the seat's abolition in 2024.
Roy Francis Kennedy,Baron Kennedy of Southwark,is a British politician and life peer serving as Chief Whip of the House of Lords since 2024. He is a member of the Labour and Co-operative Parties.
The 1927 Southwark North by-election was a parliamentary by-election for the House of Commons constituency of Southwark North held on Wednesday,28 March 1927.
Alexander Gordon Martin is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ipswich from 2017 to 2019. A member of the Labour Party,he was elected in the 2017 general election,beating Conservative incumbent Ben Gummer. On 25 October 2018,he became Shadow Minister for Waste and Recycling. He lost his seat at the 2019 general election.