Election

Election 2010: Who's important within Labour?

Civil Society | Gareth Jones | 27 Jan 2010

In this article we profile some of the key Labour figures that could be influential in the setting of future policy affecting the sector.

Name: Angela Smith

Current role: Minister of state for the third sector
Constituency: Basildon (due to the redrawing of constituency boundaries, Smith will stand for South Basildon and East Thurrock at the next election)
Margin: Labour 43.4 per cent, Conservative 36.1 per cent

Biography: Appointed third sector minister last year, her appointment coincided with the role being raised in importance to minister of state. However, the most notable incident in her seven month tenure to date has been the controversial decision to withdraw £750,000 funding allocated to help small charities campaign, the money instead being transferred to the Hardship Fund. Smith faced heavy criticism for the decision, which was in breach of the Compact, though it is likely that the responsibility lies with her superiors.

Smith needs to defend a precarious majority of 3,100 to retain her seat in Parliament, though the picture may be affected by the redrawing of her constituency boundaries.

Areas of interest/comments in parliament: Smith once worked for the League Against Cruel Sports and has campaigned against the cruelty of foxhunting, hare coursing and deer hunting. She is still passionate about animal rights and is currently on standing committees for bills to ban hunting and fur farming. She is patron of the Captive Animals Protection Society, honorary president of the Thurrock & South West Essex National Animal Welfare Society and patron of the South Essex Wildlife Hospital.

Committees: Smith has sat on committees including the Adoption and Children Bill Committee (14 sittings) and the Hunting Bill Committee (15 sittings).

Voting record: Smith has gone against the party line 21 times since 1997, including on House of Lords reform. According to classifications on theyworkforyou.com, she has voted very strongly for the hunting ban, moderately for equal gay rights and moderately against laws to stop climate change.

Name: Ed Miliband

Current role: Secretary of state, Department of Energy and Climate Change
Constituency: Doncaster North
Margin: Labour: 55 per cent, Conservative: 18.3 per cent

Biography: Widely seen as one of the Party’s rising stars, Miliband’s first ministerial post was at the Office of the Third Sector, an appointment which was taken by some as an indication of the increased importance the government was placing on the role of charities. He spent 14 months in the role in 2006 and 2007, before leaving to become minister for the cabinet office. During this time, Miliband mainly oversaw various charity law reforms and came up with measures to support social enterprises. He also saw through the Offender Management Bill, which enabled punishment and rehabilitation work to be contracted out to the private and third sectors.

His involvement with the sector did not end on leaving the OTS. He launched the £30 million Community Assets Fund, assisting the transfer of assets from councils to third sector organisations, established a £2m training plan designed to encourage public sector commissioners to contract more services to the sector, and had a hand in the creation of the £125m Futurebuilders fund.

Areas of interest/comments in parliament: Miliband has been a public supporter of charities right to campaign, in 2008 coining the memorable phrase: “Charities should not feel constrained from biting the hand that feeds them.”

Committees: Miliband has sat on the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Bill Committee (8 sittings), the Childcare Bill Committee (9 sittings) and the Charities Bill Committee (9 sittings).

Voting record: Miliband has rebelled against the party line just three times, in votes on reform of the House of Lords. According to classifications on theyworkforyou.com, he has voted very strongly for equal gay rights and a mixture of for and against laws to stop climate change.

Name: Phil Hope

Current role: Minister of state in the Department of Health and minister of state for the East Midlands
Constituency: Corby & East Northamptonshire
Margin: Labour 43. per cent, Conservative 40 per cent

Biography: Hope took over the minister for the third sector role in June 2007, having previously been minister for skills at the former Department for Education and Skills. He came to the role with experience of the sector, past roles having included positions at the National Youth Bureau and as a youth policy adviser to NCVO.

Hope has chaired the all-parliamentary group for the voluntary sector, is a member of the all-party groups on parenting, children and race equality, and is part of the National Advisory Group on Personal, Social and Health Education.

Now at the Department of Health, he has championed the needs of dementia scientists, babies with palliative needs and carers.

Hope’s place in Parliament may be in jeopardy as he held off the Conservatives in his Corby seat by a majority of just 1,500 in the last general election.

Areas of interest/comments in parliament: Earlier this year Hope denied that the inclusion of NHS charities’ assets on NHS balance sheets could lead to the funds being used to plug public spending cuts, saying: “NHS charities are not part of the NHS, have never been part of the NHS and, under this Government, never will be part of the NHS.”

Committees: Hope has sat on the likes of the Education and Inspections Bill Committee (21 sittings) and the Homes Bill Committee (11 sittings).

Voting record: Hope has rebelled against the party line eight times since 1997, notably on bills relating to modernisation of the House of Commons and doctor-assisted deaths. According to classifications on theyworkforyou.com, he has voted very strongly for the hunting ban, strongly for equal gay rights and moderately against laws to stop climate change.

Kevin Brennan

Current role: Minister of state at both the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Department for Children, Schools and Families
Constituency: Cardiff West
Margin: Labour (44.1%), Conservative (23.6%)

Biography: Kevin Brennan held the post of Minister for the Third Sector for eight months in 2008-2009, having previously worked closely with the sector while at the Department of Children, Schools and Families. Last year he helped set up Skills Third Sector, to influence the way the skills sector addresses the needs of sector organisations, and backed the launch of the first national full-time volunteering programme for 16 to 25-year-olds in England run by v. He also announced the Third Sector Action Plan, which promised £42.5m to help charities affected by recession.

Brennan is a founding member and former chair of the all-party parliamentary group on Muscular Dystrophy.

Committees: Brennan has sat committees such as the Children and Young Persons Bill Committee (7 sittings), the Violent Crime Reduction Bill Committee (7 sittings) and the Adoption and Children Bill Committee (21 sittings).

Voting record: Brennan has gone against the party line 21 times since 2001, notably on House of Lords reform. According to classifications on theyworkforyou.com, he has voted very strongly for the hunting ban, very strongly for equal gay rights and moderately against laws to stop climate change.

Name: Alun Michael

Current role: Backbencher
Constituency: Cardiff South and Penarth
Margin: Labour 46.8 per cent, Conservative 23.7 per cent

Biography: With 16 years’ experience as a youth and community worker behind him, Michael retains his affinity with the sector as vice chair of the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) for the voluntary sector. Having confirmed he will stand at the next election at the age of 67, he is likely to continue to be a key advocate for the sector in Westminster, particularly with APPG chair Tom Levitt planning to give up his seat.

Michael was the first minister with responsibility for the voluntary sector after Labour was elected in 1997, holding the role for 17 months, during which time he launched the Compact.

Committees: Michael has sat on committees such as the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill Committee (7 sittings), the Charities Bill Committee (7 sittings) and
the Hunting Bill Committee (26 sittings).

Voting record: Michael has rebelled against the party whip 16 times since 1997, on issues such as MPs’ salaries, House of Lords reform and the Hunting Bill. According to classifications on theyworkforyou.com, he has voted moderately for the hunting ban, very strongly for equal gay rights and moderately against laws to stop climate change.

Others to watch

Stephen Twigg

The first openly gay man to be elected to the House of Commons, he lost his seat in 2005 but is hoping to return this year having been chosen for the Liverpool West Derby constituency. He is a trustee of the Liverpool-based domestic violence charity Chrysalis, is chair of Progress, an independent organisation for Labour party members, and director of the Foreign Policy Centre, a think tank which develops long-term multilateral approaches to global problems.

Stella Creasy

Standing for Labour in Walthamstow, Creasy is head of public affairs and campaigns at the Scout Association and spearheaded the campaign to overturn water regulator Ofwat’s attempts to increase water charges for community groups. Labour has held the Walthamstow seat for 31 of the last 36 years.

Rushanara Ali

An associate director of “centre for social innovation” the Young Foundation since 2005, Ali is standing in Bethnal Green and Bow, the seat which George Galloway famously won in 2005 but is now vacating to stand in nearby Poplar and Limehouse. She is also a trustee of arts and education funder the Paul Hamlyn Foundation.

Rachel Reeves

A former Bank of England economist, Reeves is standing in Leeds West, taking a seat which currently has a Labour majority of 14,000. She is a trustee of Bramley and Rodley Community Action.

Chuka Umunna

Former employment lawyer Umunna is standing in the Streatham constituency, which had a Labour majority of 7,466 at the last election. He sits on the management committee of the centre-left pressure group, Compass, and is a trustee of youth charity the Generation Next Foundation.

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