Graham William Allen (born 11 January 1953) is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Nottingham North from 1987 to 2017. He stood down at the 2017 general election.

Early life

Graham Allen was born in 1953 in Aspley, Nottingham. He is the cousin of SDP politician Rosie Barnes ().

He was educated at the local Robert Shaw Primary School and Forest Fields Grammar School in Forest Fields. He graduated from City of London Polytechnic, and received an MA from the University of Leeds. His majority at the 2010 general election was 8,138.

After helping to organise Tony Blair's leadership campaign, Allen was given a series of shadow portfolios, including social security, transport and the environment. After the Labour Party came to power at the 1997 general election Allen became a government whip until after the 2001 general election, when he returned to the backbenches.

Allen was liberated by his move to the backbenches, which freed him to speak out publicly on the few elements of government policy he opposed. Allen took a stand against the Iraq War, and with his Constituency Agent Ian Murphy, he stood at the forefront of a successful campaign to recall Parliament in September 2002, attempting to organise an unofficial recall if the House would not formally sit.

Allen sat on a number of parliamentary select committees, and was the chair of the Political and Constitutional Reform Select Committee in the House of Commons from 2010 to 2015. He is also a member of the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission. He is an honorary associate of the National Secular Society.

In 2011, he voted against military intervention in Libya.

Allen announced he would stand down at the 2017 general election due to ill health.

Democratic reform

Allen was a proponent of democratic reform

Early intervention

Allen was a strong advocate of early intervention in social issues. He wrote "Early Intervention, good parents, great kids, better citizens" with Iain Duncan Smith in 2009. Allen set it the mission of making Nottingham an "Early Intervention City".

References

  • Graham Allen Profile at New Statesman