As of March 2021,he was Vice President of Labour CND,a group open to all Labour Party members who are also members of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.[2]
Burgon has said that growing up hearing about the 1984–85 Miners' Strike initiated his interest in politics.[4] His aunt was a member of Women Against Pit Closures[4] and was married to a striking miner.[7] He is the nephew of the former Labour MP Colin Burgon.[6]Tony Benn described meeting Burgon in July 1999 in his diary,describing him as "a good socialist,[who] had written a thesis on 'Tony Benn's influence on the Labour Party'." Benn also noted that Burgon wore a "specially made" T-shirt which said "Socialism is the Flame of Anger and the Flame of Hope".[8]
Burgon qualified as a solicitor in 2006,[11] specialising in employment law for 10 years in the Employment Rights Unit at Thompsons Solicitors in Leeds.[12] Burgon has described how,as a solicitor,he "represented members from a wide range of trade unions in Employment Tribunal cases relating to,for example,unfair dismissal,detriment on trade union grounds,disability discrimination,sex discrimination,discrimination on grounds of religion or belief,unlawful deduction of wages and TUPE."[12]
Burgon was elected as MP for Leeds East at the 2015 general election,increasing the Labour Party's majority in the seat from 10,293 to 12,533 votes.[19][20]
He was described by The Observer as one of "the stars of the [2015] intake".[21] Standing on the floor of the House of Commons in May 2015,he prefaced his mandatory oath of allegiance to Elizabeth II by expressing his support for constitutional change for an elected head of state:"As someone that believes that the head of state should be elected I make this oath in order to serve my constituents".[22]
In an October 2015 Channel 4 News interview,Burgon admitted that,despite having been Shadow Economic Secretary[28] to the Treasury for over a month,he was still yet to meet anyone from the city of London's finance and banking industry,nor could he predict the UK budget deficit for 2015.[29][30]
Burgon is secretary of the GMB Parliamentary Group. In this role,he ensures that issues of interest to GMB members are raised in the House of Commons.[31] Burgon is also a member of the Bakers,Food and Allied Workers' Union.[32] Burgon is the Secretary of the Socialist Campaign Group of Labour MPs,[33][34] and is regarded as being on the left of the Labour Party;[6] he has taken part in People's Assembly Against Austerity protests.[citation needed] Burgon has called for more democracy within the Labour Party,saying:"All parties need to be made more democratic. We've got a membership of well over half a million and I would like the members to have more say in our party's policies and in the way the party's run."[35]
Burgon successfully defended his Leeds East seat at the December 2019 general election,winning with 19,464 votes (49.8%). His majority of the votes fell from 12,752 in 2017 to 5,531.[36]
Burgon has called for an end to privatisation in the justice system,labelling privatisation "an ideological experiment ... that has been a calamitous failure",[39] and criticising the part-privatisation of probation by former Justice Secretary Chris Grayling as "a costly failure that has left our communities less safe."[40] As Shadow Justice Secretary Burgon has raised concerns that sustained cuts to the prison service have led to a crisis,with prisons becoming increasingly dangerous for both staff and inmates.[41] He has called for a reversal of Ministry of Justice cuts and for emergency funding to recruit more prison officers and provide prison staff with new equipment,action to end overcrowding and for plans to build new private prisons to be scrapped.[42] At Labour Party Conference in 2017 Burgon announced that a Labour Government would "properly support law centres as engines of empowerment for working-class communities".[43]
In September 2017,the political commentator Iain Dale listed Burgon at Number 86 in 'The 100 Most Influential People on the Left'."[44]
Burgon believes cuts to legal aid are a false economy and deny people justice,saying,"A lack of early legal advice can create unnecessary costs for the taxpayer as legal problems go to court when they could have been resolved earlier or spiral into costly social problems as people lose their homes or jobs ... legal aid cuts have deliberately weakened people's ability to challenge injustices and enforce their rights."[45] In the aftermath of the Windrush scandal,Burgon criticised Conservative cuts to legal aid for immigration cases in Parliament,saying "The Windrush scandal is one of the cruellest examples of unaccountable state power targeting the vulnerable,the defenceless and the innocent that I can ever remember".[46][47]
Burgon opposed military intervention and the bombing of Syria following the November 2015 Paris attacks by ISIS militants.[49] Burgon opposed the 2018 missile strikes against Syria.[50] At a protest against the strikes on Parliament Square,he said "The Prime Minister says that bombing of Syria was,in her words,"right and legal". I say it was wrong and immoral. It was wrong and immoral because it risks escalating a war that could involve up to a dozen countries. It was wrong because she never waited for the weapons inspectors to do their job. It was wrong because she never waited for Parliament to have its say."[51]
Burgon is a vocal critic of Donald Trump,commenting during at the Together Against Trump demo during Trump's state visit to the UK that the US President "scapegoats migrants for all society’s ills while letting the powerful off the hook."[52] He has warned against the consequences of diplomatic tensions between the US and Iran,commenting that Britain could be "dragged into a conflict" and stating that "we don't want to end up being the messengers of Donald Trump".[53]
Burgon has criticised alleged human rights abuses by the Israeli Government in Palestine,and visited the West Bank in March 2016 as part of a group of Labour MPs. Of the visit,Burgon said "I was proud to visit the Occupied Territories of Palestine to show solidarity with the Palestinian people struggling for justice".[54]
On the BBC's Daily Politics in March 2018,he was asked by presenter Andrew Neil about claims that he had said at a 2016 Labour Party meeting that "Zionism is the enemy of peace". Burgon responded,"No and that was not my view",adding "I didn't make those comments". Footage surfaced in April 2019 of Burgon speaking at an event in 2014 where he was recorded saying "The enemy of the Palestinian people is not the Jewish people. The enemy of the Palestinian people are Zionists,and Zionism is the enemy of peace and the enemy of the Palestinian people",[55] which led to accusations that he lied when he denied that this was a view he held. Burgon said that he had not recalled using what he called a "simplistic" phrase that he would not now use.[56][57]
Burgon has previously expressed support for the PSUV government in Venezuela and tweeted a congratulatory message to Nicolás Maduro when he became president in 2013. On an episode of Question Time in February 2019,Burgon refused to express regret for supporting Maduro following the outbreak of the 2019 Venezuelan presidential crisis.[58] He has also expressed support for the Communist Party government in Cuba and spoke at a memorial event for Cuban President Fidel Castro following his death in 2016. During his speech,in which he praised Castro extensively,he stated that "Fidel Castro was a giant. A man of ideas. A man of action".[59]
Burgon has called climate change "the greatest ever market failure. It is a failure driven by capitalism's endless focus on profits whatever the cost",[60] and has expressed support for the School Strike for Climate.[61] He called Corbyn's speech arguing for Parliament to declare a Climate Emergency "one of the most important ever made in Parliament".[62]
On 24 February 2022,following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine,Burgon was one of 11 Labour MPs threatened with losing the party whip after they signed a statement by the Stop the War Coalition which questioned the legitimacy of NATO and accused the military alliance of "eastward expansion". All 11 MPs subsequently removed their signatures.[65]
In October 2023 95 MPs signed Early Day Motion 1685:Protecting civilians in Gaza and Israel raised by Richard Burgon,which called for an immediate ceasefire in the hopes of saving the lives of Israeli and Palestinian civilians.
On 15 November 2023,during the Israel - Palestine conflict,Richard Burgon MP was one of 56 Labour MPs to vote in favour of a ceasefire,as part of the SNP's amendment to the King’s Speech calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. He was part of a rebellion against leader Keir Starmer's wishes that his MPs abstain from voting for a ceasefire. Saying it was "his duty",he urged political leaders to not "delay while more innocent lives are needlessly lost. Push for a ceasefire and do it now. There is not a second to waste. Let humanity prevail." Burgon was one of three Leeds Labour MPs to vote in favour of a ceasefire,along with his colleagues Fabian Hamilton MP and Alex Sobel MP. [66][67]
Libel case against The Sun
On 6 February 2019,Burgon won a libel case against The Sun newspaper after it falsely claimed that he had performed with a music group who "delighted" in Nazi imagery.[68] The High Court ruled that the allegations made by The Sun were defamatory and untrue.[69] Burgon was awarded damages of £30,000,which he said would be spent supporting an apprenticeship in Leeds.[70]
Sir Christopher John Bryant is a British politician and former Anglican priest who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Rhondda since 2001. A member of the Labour Party,he has been Shadow Minister for Creative Industries and Digital since 2023.
Hilary James Wedgwood Benn is a British Labour Party politician who has served as Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland since 2023. A member of the Labour Party,he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leeds Central since the 1999 by-election. Benn previously served as Environment Secretary and Development Secretary and as Chairman of the Brexit Select Committee.
Richard Haines Burden is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Birmingham Northfield from 1992 to 2019. He served as a Shadow Transport Minister from 2013 to 2016 and again from 2016 to 2017. After the 2017 general election,he returned to the backbenches and served as a member of the House of Commons International Development Committee.
The Socialist Campaign Group,also simply known as the Campaign Group,is a UK parliamentary caucus of Labour Members of Parliament in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The group also includes some MPs who formerly represented Labour in Parliament,but have had the whip withdrawn or been expelled from the party.
Maria Eagle is a British politician who served in the governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. She later served in the Shadow cabinets of Ed Miliband and Jeremy Corbyn. A member of the Labour Party,she has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Garston and Halewood,previously Liverpool Garston,since 1997.
Clive Stanley Efford is a British Labour Party politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Eltham since 1997.
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.
John Mann,Baron Mann is a British independent politician who is a Member of the House of Lords. Before being granted a peerage,he was the Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP) for Bassetlaw from the 2001 general election until 2019.
Gareth Richard Thomas is a British Labour politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Harrow West since 1997. He is currently Shadow Minister for Trade on the Opposition frontbench. 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.
Jon Hedley Trickett is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hemsworth in West Yorkshire since a 1996 by-election. He was Shadow Lord President of the Council from 2016 to 2020 and served as Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office from 2011 to 2013 and 2017 to 2020. He was the Labour Party National Campaign Coordinator under Jeremy Corbyn from 2015 to 2017.
Andrew Francis Slaughter is a British Labour Party politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Hammersmith,previously Ealing,Acton and Shepherd's Bush,since 2005. Prior to his election to Parliament,he had served as Leader of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Council. On 15 November 2023 Slaughter voted for an SNP amendment to the King's Speech,demanding an immediate Ceasefire in Gaza,contrary to the Labour Party's official stance to support HM Government line on the 2023 Israel-Hamas conflict. He was sacked by Sir Keir Starmer from his position as Shadow Solicitor General.
Dawn Petula Butler is a British Labour Party politician who has been a Member of Parliament (MP) for Brent Central since 2015.
Dame Nia Rhiannon Griffith is a Welsh politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Llanelli since 2005. A member of the Labour Party,she has served as Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office since 2023. She previously served as Shadow Minister for Exports from 2021 to 2023,Shadow Secretary of State for Defence from 2016 to 2020,and Shadow Secretary of State for Wales from 2015 to 2016 and 2020 to 2021.
Karl William Turner is a British politician. A member of the Labour Party,Turner has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Kingston upon Hull East since 2010. He was appointed Shadow Solicitor General by Keir Starmer in November 2023.
Alison McGovern is a British politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Wirral South since 2010. A member of the Labour Party,she was a member of Southwark Council from 2006 to 2010.
Owen Smith is a British lobbyist and former Labour Party politician who has been the UK government relations director for pharmaceutical company Bristol Myers Squibb since 2020. Smith was Member of Parliament (MP) for Pontypridd from 2010 to 2019.
Jonathan Neil Reynolds is a British politician who is currently serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade. A member of Labour Co-op,he has also been Member of Parliament (MP) for Stalybridge and Hyde since 2010.
Joanna Meriel Stevens is a Welsh politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Wales since 2021,and previously from 2016 to 2017. A member of the Labour Party,she has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Cardiff Central since 2015.
Melanie Onn is a British former politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Great Grimsby from 2015 to 2019. A member of the Labour Party,she previously served as Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Commons from September 2015 to June 2016 and Shadow Minister for Housing from July 2017 to March 2019. At the 2019 general election,she lost the seat to the Conservative candidate Lia Nici-Townend.
Imran Hussain is a British Labour Party politician and a barrister. He became the Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of Bradford East after gaining the seat from the Liberal Democrats at the 2015 general election.
↑ Carr, Tim, Dale, Iain and Waller, Robert, eds. (25 June 2015) The Politicos Guide to the New House of Commons 2015. Biteback Publishing. ISBN1849549230
↑ Simmons, Richard, "Legal insight, data and jobs". The Lawyer | Legal insight, benchmarking data and jobs. 29 May 2021. Archived from the original on 9 May 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2021.Meet the lawyers standing for Parliament], Lawyer 2B, 10 April 2015
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.
