Colin Burgon

Colin Burgon (born 22 April 1948) is a British Labour politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Elmet since 1997, but has announced that he will stand down at the 2010 general election.^[1]

Early life

Foxwood School in Seacroft where Burgon was employed.

Colin Burgon was born in Leeds to life-long Labour supporting parents. He was educated at St Charles RC Junior School (closed in 1988); passing the eleven plus to attend the St Michael's Catholic College on St John's Road in Woodhouse, Burgon claimed that getting off the bus wearing a grammar school uniform in Gipton (a large Leeds council estate) made him aware of the class system and made him "deplore structures that inherently deny opportunity to people".^[2] On leaving school Burgon attended Carnegie College, Leeds where he trained as a teacher; and Huddersfield Polytechnic. He was a History teacher and member of the NUT at Foxwood High School (became East Leeds Family Learning Centre and is now to be demolished) in Seacroft, east Leeds before 1987, when he left teaching and the NUT to work for Wakefield borough council as a local government policy and research officer. He was also a research officer with the General, Municipal, Boilermakers and Allied Trade Union. He was elected to Westminster. He was the Labour Party Agent at Elmet for the 1983 General Election.

Parliamentary career

He unsuccessfully contested Elmet at the 1987 General Election where he was defeated by the sitting Conservative MP Spencer Batiste by 5,356 votes. In 1989 he was the election agent for the Leeds East European elections. He again contested Elmet at the 1992 General Election when he was again defeated by Batiste by 3,261 votes.

At the 1997 General Election, Colin Burgon contested Elmet for a third consecutive time, and this time he was successful, ousting Batiste with an 8,779 majority, and he has remained the MP since. He made his maiden speech on 22 July 1997 at which he amusingly talked about welfare reform and said he was the Member for Elmet and that 'Elmet - it's not what you put on your 'ead.[1]. He does not talk in the the Chamber very often. He was placed on the Northern Ireland Select Committee in 2000, and has served on the Home Affairs Select Committee since the 2005 General Election.

Burgon has also taken interest in socialism in South America, particularly in Venezuela. In May 2007, he wrote an article in The Guardian in defence of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and his government's controversial refusal to renew the broadcasting license of a television station that had been critical of him. Other commentators have condemned Chavez' move as an attack on media freedom. Burgon is chairman of Labour Friends of Venezuela.

National Union of Mineworkers and support for the 1984-85 miners strike

Burgon is an honourary member of the National Union of Mineworkers and was made so after his support for the 1984-85 miners' strike. Prior to being an MP, Burgon worked with the miners and their families of the Elmet constituency both during and after the strike.^[3]

Personal life

Burgon is divorced and has a daughter named Maria. He has taken a keen interest in opencast mining which is a big issue in Elmet. He lived in Swillington Common, Thorner then Allerton Bywater with his partner Kathryn.

References

External links

• His website
• Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Colin Burgon MP
• TheyWorkForYou.com - Colin Burgon MP
• BBC Politics

News items

• A1 upgrade in January 2003