Colin Challen

Last updated

Colin Challen
Member of Parliament
for Morley and Rothwell
In office
8 June 2001 –12 April 2010

Challen was born in Scarborough, and educated at the Norton Secondary School in Norton-on-Derwent and the Malton Grammar School, before completing a philosophy degree at the University of Hull in 1983. In 1971, he was a supplier accountant for the Royal Air Force before becoming a postman in 1974. He set up business as a printer and publisher in 1982 until 1994 when he took up politics professionally as an organiser for the Labour Party. He was elected a councillor to Kingston upon Hull City Council for eight years from 1986.

Career

Challen unsuccessfully stood for parliament at the 1992 general election in the constituency of Beverley. He finished in third place and more than 22,000 votes behind the winner James Cran. He entered parliament at the 2001 general election for Morley and Rothwell following the retirement through ill health of Labour MP John Gunnell. Colin Challen was elected with a majority of 12,090 and made his maiden speech on 25 June 2001, [1] in which he spoke of Herbert Henry Asquith who was born in Morley. He was re-elected at the 2005 general election, retaining his seat with a majority of 12,343. [2]

A member of the League Against Cruel Sports for over 40 years, he served on several select committees: The Environmental Audit Committee (since 2001), the Joint Committee on Consolidation of Bills (since 2001), the Unopposed Bills Panel (since 2004) and the DECC Select committee (2009/10). He is an Honorary Associate of the National Secular Society.

On 29 January 2007 Challen announced that he would not contest the 2010 general election after a Boundary Commission review abolished his constituency, thus letting Ed Balls contest the new Morley and Outwood constituency, formed from a merger of parts of Morley and Rothwell and Balls' also abolished Normanton constituency.

In 2013 Challen opened an art gallery called 'artHERENT' in Scarborough (North Yorkshire) Market, to display recent works. The first exhibition, "Is there any hope for the dead? Reliquaries and other items" started in September 2013. His most recent exhibition "Drawing on Myth" in 2017 was exhibited at the Woodend Creative Workspace in Scarborough. Challen also exhibited in Hull with the Kingston Art Group in 2017 following Hull being named as the City of Culture. [3] In 2020 Challen gained an MA in fine art at Teesside University (MIMA School of Art and Design).

Climate change work

Challen founded the All Party Parliamentary Group on Climate Change in 2005, [4] and has written that he believes the "catastrophic destabilisation of global climate represents the greatest threat that humanity faces." [5] In 2004, Challen presented a Ten Minute Rule Bill introducing the idea of David Fleming's TEQs scheme to Parliament, as a way of guaranteeing that promised emissions reductions would actually be achieved. [6] In 2009, Challen tabled an early day motion calling for all internal UK flights to be phased out before the end of the year, in order to reduce greenhouse gases. [5] He also urged Parliament to cut the national speed limit to 55 mph, and to dedicate two hours of prime-time television each week to explain the dangers posed by climate change. [7]

In the May 2011 local elections, Challen was elected as a Labour member of Scarborough Borough Council, representing Castle ward. [8]

Works

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Leslie</span> British politician

Christopher Michael Leslie is a debt collection executive and a former British politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Shipley from 1997 to 2005 and Nottingham East from 2010 to 2019. A former member of the Labour Party, he defected to form Change UK and later became an independent politician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diana Johnson</span> British Labour politician (born 1966)

Dame Diana Ruth Johnson is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Kingston upon Hull North since the 2005 general election. A member of the Labour Party, she was elected as Chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee on 15 December 2021, replacing Yvette Cooper.

William John Gunnell was a Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scarborough and Whitby (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom

Scarborough and Whitby is a constituency in North Yorkshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2005 by Robert Goodwill, a Conservative.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kingston upon Hull East (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom

Kingston upon Hull East is a borough constituency for the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) at least once every five years by the first-past-the-post electoral system. The constituency has been represented by Karl Turner of the Labour Party since the 2010 general election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haltemprice and Howden (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom

Haltemprice and Howden is a constituency in the East Riding of Yorkshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 1997 by David Davis, a Conservative who was also Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union until his resignation from that role on 8 July 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the UK

Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle was a borough constituency for the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) at least once every five years by the first-past-the-post electoral system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elmet (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1983–2010

Elmet was a county constituency in West Yorkshire represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morley and Rothwell (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1997–2010

Morley and Rothwell was a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Normanton (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1885-2010

Normanton was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Goodwill</span> British Conservative politician

Sir Robert Goodwill is a British Conservative Party politician and farmer who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Scarborough and Whitby from 2005 to 2024. He was previously a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Yorkshire and the Humber. Goodwill served in Theresa May's government as Minister of State at the Home Office, the Department for Education, and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morley and Outwood (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom

Morley and Outwood was a constituency in West Yorkshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Shaw, Baron Shaw of Northstead</span> British politician (1920–2021)

Michael Norman Shaw, Baron Shaw of Northstead, was a National Liberal and British Conservative Party politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1960 to 1964 and from 1966 to 1992 for the Conservatives.

Captain Mark Hewitson was a British trade union official and Labour Party politician. He was chosen at the last minute to stand for Parliament, and eventually served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for nineteen years. He was described as a member of the 'old school' of trade union leaders, and proud of it.

Kingston upon Hull South West was a borough constituency in the city of Kingston upon Hull in East Yorkshire. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Percy</span> British Conservative politician

Andrew Theakstone Percy is a British Conservative Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Brigg and Goole from 2010 to 2024. He was an active member of many groups in Parliament, including All Party Parliamentary Groups on Financial Education for Young People, Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire as well as being a member of the anti-European Union Better Off Out Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emma Hardy</span> British Labour politician, MP for Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle

Emma Ann Hardy is a British Labour Party politician. She has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle since the 2017 general election. Until May 2019, she was also a member of Hessle Town Council focusing on NHS and education. Hardy is a member of Labour's National Policy Forum and was an education union employee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Sobel</span> British Labour Co-op politician (born 1975)

Alexander David Sobel is a British Labour and Co-operative politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leeds North West from the 2017 general election until the dissolution of Parliament on 30 May 2024. Following boundary changes he is standing as a candidate for the new Leeds Central and Headingley constituency in the 2024 general election. He served as Shadow Minister for Nature Recovery and the Domestic Environment from 2021 to 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 United Kingdom general election in Yorkshire and the Humber</span>

The 2024 general election is scheduled to be held on Thursday, 4 July 2024. 54 seats will be up for election in Yorkshire and the Humber.

References

  1. ↑ "Bound Volume Hansard - Debate". 25 June 2001.
  2. ↑ "Election 2005 | Results | Morley & Rothwell". BBC News. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  3. ↑ "About". Colin Challen. Archived from the original on 8 May 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  4. ↑ "About Colin Challen". Archived from the original on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 24 October 2010.
  5. 1 2 "Labour MP wants total ban on domestic flights". Cheapflights Ltd. 4 December 2009. Archived from the original on 8 December 2009. Retrieved 16 December 2009.
  6. ↑ UK All Party Parliamentary report into TEQs, p.39
  7. ↑ Reed, Jonathan (26 November 2009). "MP urges cut in speed limit to save the planet". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 16 December 2009.
  8. ↑ "Local election results". Yorkshire Post. 7 May 2011. p. 16.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Morley and Rothwell
2001–2010 		Constituency abolished
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.