Nick Palmer | |
---|---|
Member of Parliament for Broxtowe | |
In office 1 May 1997 –12 April 2010 | |
Preceded by | Jim Lester |
Succeeded by | Anna Soubry |
Personal details | |
Born | City of Westminster,London,England | 5 February 1950
Political party | Labour |
Spouse | Fiona Hunter |
Alma mater | Copenhagen University Birkbeck,University of London Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Occupation | Medical computing |
Profession | Computer scientist |
Nicholas Douglas Palmer (born 5 February 1950) is a British politician,translator and computer scientist. He was the Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP) for Broxtowe in Nottinghamshire from 1997 [1] until he lost the seat at the 2010 general election to Conservative Anna Soubry,by 390 votes.
Described by Andrew Roth as "quietly effective", [2] he was Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Minister of State,Margaret Beckett,in the Department for Environment,Food and Rural Affairs until April 2005. [3] He then became PPS to the Minister of State,Malcolm Wicks,first in the Department of Trade and Industry,and later in the Department for Business,Enterprise and Regulatory Reform until Wicks stood down in October 2008. [3]
Palmer's father was a translator/editor and his mother was a language teacher. He is the cousin of Anthony Palmer,a former Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff.[ citation needed ]
Palmer attended International Schools in Copenhagen and Vienna. He was awarded an MSc at Copenhagen University and a PhD in Mathematics from Birkbeck College,University of London. He also studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where he researched artificial intelligence and language translation. [1]
Palmer speaks six languages,and has worked as a professional translator of Danish and German for the European Commission and other clients. [4]
He was born with a cleft palate and was the first such person to enter Parliament. [1]
As a computer scientist,he developed the COMPACT clinical trials package for the Medical Research Council. Joining the Swiss pharmaceutical firm Ciba-Geigy,he became head of Novartis Internet Service when Ciba-Geigy merged with Sandoz to form Novartis. [1]
Palmer has written three books about board wargames ( The Comprehensive Guide to Board Wargaming (1977), The Best of Board Wargaming (1980),and Beyond the Arcade:Adventures and Wargames on Your Computer (1984)). He designed and developed a computer game about the Battle of Britain,named Their Finest Hour . [5] Palmer still attends international conventions,winning the Diplomacy championship at the World Boardgaming Championships in 2007, [6] as well as giving a seminar in 2008 comparing the traits needed to succeed in wargaming to the traits needed to succeed in politics. [7]
He co-founded and edited Flagship magazine in 1983,which focused on play-by-mail games. A keen card player,he has represented the House of Commons at bridge. [8]
Palmer joined the Labour Party on his twenty-first birthday [1] and was selected as the Labour candidate for the ultra-safe Conservative seat of Chelsea in the 1983 general election. Prior to contesting Broxtowe,he edited and published a magazine to represent the views of ordinary Labour party members – Grass Roots . [9]
While an MP,he served on a number of Select committees including the European Scrutiny Committee, [10] the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, [11] and the Treasury Committee. [12] and also served as a member of the Justice Committee. [13]
He suggested TV Licence exemption for over-75s which was then adopted by the government,along with similar measures like free bus passes for the elderly. [14]
In January 1998,Palmer introduced a bill under the Ten Minute Rule,amending the Firearms act 1968 and raising the age for possession of air weapons,especially to prevent malicious use against pets. [15] [16] [17]
In April 2000,he introduced a private member's bill to presume consent for organ donation, [18] a measure still being considered which could increase transplants by 25%. [19]
In January 2002,he introduced a 10-minute rule bill advocating Identity Cards [20] which was adopted by the Government. He subsequently brokered a deal to get the government's version through the Lords. [21]
He campaigned for five years for bells to be fitted to all new bicycles in response to a petition from his constituents. A bill was passed making them compulsory from 1 May 2004. [22]
He introduced a bill about fine print,requiring a minimum size of print in documents,especially those relating to advertising and contracts. [23]
In December 2005,he introduced another 10-minute rule bill intended to ensure speed camera warning signs displayed the limit they enforced. [24]
In May 2008,he introduced an amendment to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 requiring that "strictly neutral information" be provided in cases of foetal abnormality. [25] This was based on his parents' experience of the expert advice from pioneering surgeon Archibald McIndoe who successfully reconstructed his cleft palate. [26]
He gave speeches in the Commons on animal welfare issues [27] [28] [29] and in December 2009 he was one of 8 cross-party supporters of a bill introduced by Nigel Waterson to "make provision for residents of care homes and sheltered accommodation to keep domestic pets in certain circumstances." [30]
Based on his experience as a computer software developer,he spoke against the terms of the Digital Economy Bill and joined Tom Watson and Austin Mitchell in leading a Labour rebellion against its third reading. [31]
Palmer belonged to an All-Party Parliamentary Group on Animal Welfare,Fund for the Replacement of Animals in Medical Experiments (FRAME) and World Government. He is a member of the East Midlands Labour Group and serves on the Executive of the Labour Friends of Israel. He helped organise the visit of the Dalai Lama to Britain in 2008,organising meetings and a special exhibit of a mandala in the House of Commons. [32]
With his secretary,Philipa Coughlan (with sons Nick and Sean) and fellow MP,Liz Blackman,he compiled a book of recipes favoured by MPs. For example,Tony Blair's recipe was for Meatball and Tomato Sauce while speaker Betty Boothroyd preferred Stewed Oxtail. Nick Palmer's own recipe was for Swiss-style potatoes –Berner Roesti. [9]
Palmer was one of many new Labour MPs elected in what was a landslide election for Labour in 1997. He held the seat comfortably with an increased majority at the 2001 election,and again with a reduced majority in 2005 election. An opinion piece suggested that part of the reason that Palmer had held his seat was due to his high constituency work rate. [33] In the 2010 election,the seat was lost to the Conservative candidate Anna Soubry,reflecting a national swing. [34]
While an MP,he responded to a "very high" percentage of constituents' letters, [35] addressing matters of local concern such as open-cast mining and the development of the local Nottingham tramway [36] [37] and in February 2008 he asked about "proposals to build on virtually the entire green belt" in Broxtowe at Prime Minister's Questions. [38] In June 2008 he asked the Department for Transport about the second phase of the tram/train trials. [39] He campaigned for and organised a bus service to link Kimberley with the Nottingham tram at Phoenix Park. [40]
A month after losing his seat in the 2010 general election,Palmer became the first ex-MP to sign on for unemployment benefit. He said this was partly to keep his national insurance contributions continuous and partly to explore for himself what the unemployment services are like. [41] Palmer described the experience as sensitive but said he had received plenty of helpful suggestions and was favourably impressed. [42] In September 2010,he became Director of International and Corporate Affairs for the BUAV. [43]
In September 2011 Palmer contributed to the book What next for Labour? . He wrote two pieces,one entitled "Student Fees:A Constructive Response" and the other "Animal Welfare:The Neglected Swing Issue". [44] He is the patron of Cats Protection. [9] In August 2010,pursuing his interest in animal welfare,he joined the Cruelty Free International as their Director of International and Corporate Relations. [45] He then joined Compassion in World Farming to head the UK branch of the charity which campaigns for the welfare of farm animals. [46]
He stood again for the Broxtowe seat at the 2015 general election but failed to regain the seat. [47] In September 2016 he intervened in the leadership battle between Jeremy Corbyn and Owen Smith. Palmer described himself as one who considered the 1997–2010 Labour government as 'very successful' but 'blighted by the disaster of Iraq'. He called on members and parliamentarians to give Corbyn a 'decent chance'. [48]
On 2 May 2019,he was elected to Waverley Borough Council in the Godalming Binscombe Ward. [49] He led the Labour group on the council and chaired the local party,receiving an award for endurance on the 50th anniversary of his party membership. [46]
Palmer married Fiona Hunter in 2000,having proposed to her on the terrace of the House of Commons. The ceremony took place on his birthday in the ornate 14th century Chapel of St Mary Undercroft. [50] [51]
Nicholas Hugh Brown is a British Independent politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Newcastle upon Tyne East since 1983,making him the fifth longest serving MP in the House of Commons. He is the longest serving Chief Whip of the Labour Party,holding the position in three separate periods under six Labour leaders –Tony Blair,Gordon Brown,Harriet Harman,Ed Miliband,Jeremy Corbyn and Keir Starmer. He also held several ministerial positions whilst his party was in government from 1997 until 2010. On 26 May 2021,Brown was elected as chair of the Finance Committee. Brown sits in the House of Commons as an independent,having had the whip removed in September 2022,triggered by an investigation into undisclosed matters affecting his Labour membership.
Sir David Anthony Andrew Amess was a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Southend West from 1997 until his murder in 2021. He previously served as MP for Basildon from 1983 to 1997. A member of the Conservative Party,he was a Catholic with socially conservative political views and was in favour of leaving the European Union.
Gavin Steel Strang is a Scottish Labour Party politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Edinburgh East from 1970 until 2010. He served as a minister in the 1974–79 Labour government under Prime Ministers Harold Wilson and James Callaghan,as well as in the Cabinet under Tony Blair. By the time of his retirement at the 2010 general election,he was the longest-serving Scottish MP.
Elizabeth Marion Blackman is a British Labour Party politician,who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Erewash from 1997 to 2010. She served as a Government Whip from 2007 to 2008.
Clive Stanley Efford is a British Labour Party politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Eltham since 1997.
David Elliott Drew is a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Stroud from 1997 to 2010 and 2017 to 2019. A member of the Labour and Co-operative parties,he was Shadow Minister for Farming and Rural Affairs from 2017 to 2019.
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.
Broxtowe is a parliamentary constituency in Nottinghamshire,England,represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Darren Henry,a Conservative.
Gedling is a constituency in Nottinghamshire created in 1983 represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Tom Randall of the Conservative Party. The seat was a safely Conservative until the Labour Party's landslide victory in 1997,when it was won for Labour by Vernon Coaker. Labour held Gedling until 2019,when it was regained by the Conservative Party.
Alison Jane Seabeck is a former British politician. A member of the Labour Party,she served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Plymouth Devonport from 2005 until 2010 when she won the new seat of Plymouth Moor View,before losing the seat to Johnny Mercer of the Conservative Party at the 2015 general election. In opposition,Seabeck was a shadow Housing and Defence Minister.
Anna Mary Soubry is a British barrister,journalist and former politician who was Member of Parliament (MP) for Broxtowe from 2010 to 2019. Known for her support of pro-European policies,she was originally elected as a Conservative but left the party to join Change UK in 2019.
The Church of the Militant Elvis Party is a frivolous political party in the United Kingdom. The leader of the party was David Bishop (1944–2022),who went by the nicknames of 'Lord Biro' and 'Bus-pass Elvis'. The party had seven registered campaign groups:'Bus-pass Elvis','Elvis Defence League','Elvis turns Green','Militant Elvis Anti-Tesco Popular Front' (MEAT-PF),the 'Elvis and the Yeti Himalayan Preservation',and 'Militant Elvis Anti-HS2'.
The representation of women in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom has been an issue in the politics of the United Kingdom at numerous points in the 20th and 21st centuries. Originally debate centred on whether women should be allowed to vote and stand for election as Members of Parliament. The Parliament Act 1918 gave women over 21 the right to stand for election as a Member of Parliament. The United Kingdom has had three female Prime Ministers:Margaret Thatcher (1979–1990),Theresa May (2016–2019),and Liz Truss (2022). The publication of the book Women in the House by Elizabeth Vallance in 1979 highlighted the under-representation of women in Parliament. In more modern times concerns about the under-representation of women led the Labour Party to introduce and,decades later,abandon all-women short lists,something which was later held to breach discrimination laws.
Holly Lynch,also known as Holly Walker-Lynch,is a British Labour Party politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Halifax since 2015. She currently holds the position of Shadow Minister for Security,having previously held the roles of Shadow Minister for Crime Reduction and Courts,Shadow Minister for Immigration and Shadow Minister for Flooding and Coastal Communities.
James Richard Frith is British politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bury North from 2017 to 2019. He is a member of the Labour Party.
The Independent Group for Change,also known as Change UK,was a British centrist,pro-European Union political party,founded in February 2019 and dissolved ten months later,after all its MPs lost their seats at the 2019 general election. Its principal aim was a second withdrawal referendum on European Union membership,in which it would campaign to remain in the EU. On economic issues it expressed a commitment to the social market economy.
Darren George Henry is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Broxtowe since 2019. A member of the Conservative Party,he defeated the outgoing MP and former leader of Change UK,Anna Soubry. Henry briefly served as an Assistant Government Whip from September to October 2022.
This article lists the election results of Change UK in UK parliamentary elections and in elections to the European Parliament.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires |journal=
(help){{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires |journal=
(help){{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires |journal=
(help){{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires |journal=
(help){{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires |journal=
(help){{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires |journal=
(help){{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires |journal=
(help){{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires |journal=
(help){{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires |journal=
(help)