Nick Raynsford
The Right Honourable Nick Raynsford |
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Member of Parliament for Greenwich and Woolwich Greenwich (1992–1997) |
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In office 9 April 1992 – 30 March 2015 |
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Preceded by | Rosie Barnes |
Succeeded by | Matthew Pennycook |
Majority | 10,153 (24.7%) |
Member of Parliament for Fulham |
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In office 10 April 1986 – 11 June 1987 |
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Preceded by | Martin Stevens |
Succeeded by | Matthew Carrington |
Personal details | |
Born | Northampton, Northamptonshire, England |
28 January 1945
Nationality | British |
Political party | Labour |
Spouse(s) | Anne Jelley (m 1968) Alison Seabeck |
Alma mater | Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge |
Wyvill Richard Nicolls Raynsford (born 28 January 1945), known as Nick Raynsford, is a British Labour Party politician. A government minister from 1997 to 2005, he was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Greenwich & Woolwich from 1997 to 2015, having previously been MP for Greenwich from 1992 to 1997, and for Fulham from 1986 to 1987.
Contents
Early life
He is the son of the late Wyvill Raynsford and Patricia Raynsford (née Dunn) and brought up at Milton Manor in Milton Malsor[1] a village just outside the town of Northampton. He was educated at Repton School and Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, where he graduated with a BA degree in History in 1966. He also has a Diploma in Art and Design from the Chelsea School of Art.[2]
At university Raynsford was rusticated (suspended) for a year for night climbing. In the course of this he had displayed a banner against the Vietnam War between the pinnacles of King's College Chapel.[3]
Early career
Raynsford was a councillor for the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham from 1971 to 1975. Before he was elected to Parliament he was Director of the Shelter Housing Aid Centre.[4] He says a major reason he chose to seek parliamentary office was his involvement in campaigning for better provision for the homeless, achieved through the 1977 Homeless Persons Act. The 1977 Act extended local council responsibility "to provide accommodation for homeless people in their area,"[5] and instituted the right of homeless families to a permanent local council tenancy.[6]
Member of Parliament
Raynsford was first elected a Member of Parliament (MP) for the Labour Party in a by-election in Fulham Constituency in 1986, but at the 1987 General Election lost to Conservative candidate Matthew Carrington.
He then became MP for Greenwich at the 1992 general election, and at the 1997 general election he won the re-drawn seat of Greenwich & Woolwich. He retained the seat at the 2001, 2005 and 2010 general elections, with majorities of 13,433,[7] 10,146[8] and 10,153[9] respectively.
In Opposition Raynsford was Shadow Minister for Housing and Construction from 1994, and front-bench spokesperson for London from 1993. From 1992–3 he was a member of the Environment Select Committee.[10]
Raynsford joined the Government in 1997 and held responsibility for housing, planning and construction. During this time he was responsible for the implementation of the Decent Homes Standard. In 1997, there were 2.1m houses owned by local authorities and housing associations that didn't meet the Decent Homes Standard. By the end of 2010, 92% of social housing met the standard of being warm and weatherproof with reasonably modern facilities.[11]
As Construction Minister Nick was credited with introducing building regulations which significantly improved standards, including making mandatory disabled access in new builds, increasing energy efficiency standards and fire safety.[12] His position also included responsibility for the Fire Service and the creation of the London Resilience Forum to oversee London’s preparedness for dealing with emergencies (see Operation Sassoon). As Local Government Minister he led the Local Government Act 2000 through Parliament, which repealed the controversial Section 28.[13]
As Minister for London, Raynsford was responsible for restoring democratic city-wide government to London, and the creation of the Greater London Authority and the commission of its home at City Hall.[13] After the 2005 general election he returned to the backbenches.
In 2009 he publicly called for Gordon Brown to resign as Prime Minister, stating at the time, "I personally have considerable respect for Gordon Brown but his leadership is now so seriously damaged that I can't see the likelihood of him leading Labour successfully into the next general election. It's now appropriate for the party to look for a new leader”.[14]
In Opposition again in the 2010 Parliament, he was a consistent critic of the Bedroom Tax, and in July 2014 co-sponsored the Affordable Homes Bill, which seeks to limit the impact of the Bedroom Tax on tenants in the social rented sector.[15] He also co-chaired a Parliamentary inquiry into youth unemployment which encouraged the promotion of apprenticeships in the construction industry.[16]
As a constituency MP, Raynsford promoted regeneration in the Greenwich Borough, including campaigns for the North Greenwich Station on the Jubilee Line, the extension of the DLR to Greenwich and Woolwich, and the campaign to secure a Crossrail Station in Woolwich, and support for bringing the Olympics to his constituency.[17] He also advocated improved river crossings in East and South East London[18] In May 2014 He expressed his opposition to a memorial to murdered soldier Lee Rigby, suggesting it "“would not in my view be helpful” because it “might attract undesirable interest from extremists”. Greenwich Council noted they had been "overwhelmed by interest in a local memorial”, but also opposed the tribute.[19]
In 2013 Raynsford announced his intention to stand down as Greenwich and Woolwich MP at the next General Election, citing his age as a factor.
Additional work
On 28 March 2010, The Sunday Times reported that Raynsford earns £9,000 per month from jobs in industries connected to his ministerial career.[20] They focus around three areas of activity – housing, construction and local government – with which Raynsford has been involved throughout his working life.
Personal life
He married Anne Jelley in 1968, and they had three daughters. They were divorced in 2011,[21] and he is now the husband of Alison Seabeck, the former Labour MP for Plymouth Moor View.[22] Raynsford's ancestry can be seen in Burke's Landed Gentry.[23]
References
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- ↑ The Longman Companion to The Labour Party 1900–1998 by Harry Harmer
- ↑ British Social Welfare in the Twentieth Century, edited by Robert M. Page and Richard Silburn
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- ↑ Lee Rigby memorial: 'All I want is to know my son will not be forgotten’ – Telegraph
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- ↑ RAYNSFORD, Rt Hon. Wyvill Richard Nicolls (Rt Hon. Nick), Who's Who 2012, A & C Black, 2012; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2011 ; online edn, Nov 2011, accessed 4 April 2012
- ↑ MP leaves wife
- ↑ http://www.burkespeerage.com: RAYNSFORD of Milton Malsor
External links
- Nick Raysford official site
- Nick Raynsford's Weblog official blog
- Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
- Contributions in Parliament at Hansard 1803–2005
- Current session contributions in Parliament at Hansard
- Voting record at Public Whip
- Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou
- Profile at Westminster Parliamentary Record
- Profile at BBC News Democracy Live
Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by | Member of Parliament for Fulham 1986–1987 |
Succeeded by Matthew Carrington |
Preceded by | Member of Parliament for Greenwich 1992 – 1997 |
Constituency abolished |
New constituency | Member of Parliament for Greenwich & Woolwich 1997 – 2015 |
Succeeded by Matthew Pennycook |
Political offices | ||
Preceded by | Minister of State for Housing and Planning 1999–2001 |
Succeeded by Lord Falconer |
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- Articles with dead external links from September 2010
- 1945 births
- Living people
- Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies
- Labour Party (UK) MPs
- Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
- Alumni of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge
- UK MPs 1983–87
- UK MPs 1992–97
- UK MPs 1997–2001
- UK MPs 2001–05
- UK MPs 2005–10
- People educated at Repton School
- UK MPs 2010–15
- People from Northamptonshire
- Politics of Greenwich