Alan Haselhurst
Encyclopedia
Sir Alan Gordon Barraclough Haselhurst (born 23 June 1937) is a British
Conservative
politician
who is the Member of Parliament
(MP) for Saffron Walden
and was Chairman of Ways and Means
from 14 May 1997 to 8 June 2010.
, near Hemsworth
, Yorkshire
, and was educated at the King Edward's School
, Birmingham
, Cheltenham College
, Gloucestershire
, and Oriel College, Oxford. Whilst in Oxford
he was the President of the Oxford University Conservative Association
in 1958 and served as both the secretary and treasurer for two years with the Oxford Union
from 1959. Before his election to Parliament
, he worked in management
in the chemicals industry
and became an unremunerated director when his father's pharmacy
shop was incorporated. He was the Chairman of the Manchester
Youth
and Community Service from 1974 until he was re-elected to Parliament.
for the Conservative MP for Hertford
Robin Balniel
at both the 1964
and 1966 general elections
. Beginning in 1964, he served for two years as the Chairman of the National Young Conservatives
. He was elected to the House of Commons at the 1970 general election
for the Lancashire
seat of Middleton and Prestwich
, defeating the Labour
MP Denis Coe
by 1,042 votes. Haselhurst lost the seat at the next February 1974 general election
to Labour's Jim Callaghan
by just 517 votes (this is not the same James (Jim) Callaghan who later became Prime Minister, and later still Lord Callaghan of Cardiff). The Conservative MP for the Essex
seat of Saffron Walden
, Peter Kirk
, died on 17 April 1977, and Haselhurst was selected to contest the subsequent by-election
on 7 July. Haselhurst won the seat with a majority of 12,437 and has remained the MP there since.
In Parliament, he served as the Parliamentary Private Secretary
(PPS) to the Home Secretary
Robert Carr
from 1973 until his defeat at the February 1974 general election. He also served as the PPS to the Secretary of State for Education and Science Mark Carlisle
for two years from 1979. He served on the European Legislation Select Committee
for fifteen years from 1982, and was a member of the Transport Select Committee from 1992 to 1997. He asked the first question in Margaret Thatcher
's final Prime Minister's Question Time on 27 November 1990.
Following the 1997 general election
, he was appointed Chairman of Ways and Means
(Deputy Speaker), remaining in that post under successive Speakers Betty Boothroyd
, Michael Martin, and John Bercow
until May 2010.
Haselhurst was considered a strong contender to succeed Martin
at the announcement of his resignation as speaker on 19 May 2009. However, Haselhurst was entangled in the MPs' expenses controversy
and was accused by The Daily Telegraph of claiming £12,000 for gardening expenses over 4 years, claiming £249 every month—£1 below the threshold which meant he was not required to provide receipts. In an attempt to wipe his slate clean, he later paid back the gardening expenses "out of respect to his constituents".
He withdrew from the race after getting 66 votes in the first round of voting and 57 in the second.
Haselhurst chose not to seek re-election as a Deputy Speaker after the 2010 general election. As the Chairman of Ways and Means must come from a different party than the Speaker was formerly a member of, he would have had to stand for 1st Deputy Chairman, a lesser position. However, he was entrusted to continue as a temporary Deputy Speaker chairing debates in the period between the State Opening of Parliament
and the election of Deputy Speakers.
In July 2010, Haselhurst was appointed chairman of both the House of Commons Administration Committee
and the UK branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association
, having earlier been defeated in the election for chair of the Backbench Business Committee
by Natascha Engel
. He turned down an offer of a Life Peerage and continues to represent his Saffron Walden
constituents in the House of Commons. In July 2011, Haselhurst was elected Chairman of the Commonwealth
Parliamentary Association's executive committee.
, a charity working with socially excluded
young people, for five years from 1981. He is seen as a Wet Tory, and has been a supporter of Kenneth Clarke
. He was knighted
in 1995 and sworn of the Privy Council in 1999. He is the secretary of the all-party group on cricket
and was a member of the Executive Council of Essex County Cricket Club
from 1996 to 2008 and is a member of MCC
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
who is the Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for Saffron Walden
Saffron Walden (UK Parliament constituency)
Saffron Walden is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- Boundaries :...
and was Chairman of Ways and Means
Chairman of Ways and Means
In the United Kingdom, the Chairman of Ways and Means is a senior member of the House of Commons who acts as one of the Speaker's three deputies...
from 14 May 1997 to 8 June 2010.
Early life, education and career
Haselhurst was born in South ElmsallSouth Elmsall
South Elmsall pronounced "south em-sull" is a small town and civil parish to the east of Hemsworth in the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England. It is on the B6422 and B6474 ....
, near Hemsworth
Hemsworth
Hemsworth is a small town and civil parish on the edge of West Yorkshire, England. It forms part of the City of Wakefield, and has a population of 13,311....
, Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, and was educated at the King Edward's School
King Edward's School, Birmingham
King Edward's School is an independent secondary school in Birmingham, England, founded by King Edward VI in 1552. It is part of the Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI in Birmingham, and is widely regarded as one of the most academically successful schools in the country, according to...
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, Cheltenham College
Cheltenham College
Cheltenham College is a co-educational independent school, located in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England.One of the public schools of the Victorian period, it was opened in July 1841. An Anglican foundation, it is known for its classical, military and sporting traditions.The 1893 book Great...
, Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, and Oriel College, Oxford. Whilst in Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
he was the President of the Oxford University Conservative Association
Oxford University Conservative Association
The Oxford University Conservative Association, or OUCA is a student political organisation founded in 1924 whose members are drawn from the University of Oxford...
in 1958 and served as both the secretary and treasurer for two years with the Oxford Union
Oxford Union
The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford, Britain, whose membership is drawn primarily but not exclusively from the University of Oxford...
from 1959. Before his election to Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
, he worked in management
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
in the chemicals industry
Chemical industry
The chemical industry comprises the companies that produce industrial chemicals. Central to the modern world economy, it converts raw materials into more than 70,000 different products.-Products:...
and became an unremunerated director when his father's pharmacy
Pharmacy
Pharmacy is the health profession that links the health sciences with the chemical sciences and it is charged with ensuring the safe and effective use of pharmaceutical drugs...
shop was incorporated. He was the Chairman of the Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
Youth
Youth work
In the United Kingdom youth work is the process of creating an environment where young people can engage in informal educational activities. Different varieties of youth work include centre-based work, detached work, school-based work and religion based work....
and Community Service from 1974 until he was re-elected to Parliament.
Political career
He worked as an election agentElection agent
In elections in the United Kingdom, as well as in certain other similar political systems such as India's, an election agent is the person legally responsible for the conduct of a candidate's political campaign and to whom election material is sent to by those running the election. In elections in...
for the Conservative MP for Hertford
Hertford
Hertford is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. Forming a civil parish, the 2001 census put the population of Hertford at about 24,180. Recent estimates are that it is now around 28,000...
Robin Balniel
Robert Lindsay, 29th Earl of Crawford
Robert Alexander Lindsay, 29th Earl of Crawford and 12th Earl of Balcarres, , styled Lord Balniel between 1940 and 1975, is a Scottish hereditary peer and Conservative politician. The elder son of the 28th Earl of Crawford and 11th Earl of Balcarres, he succeeded to the titles in 1975...
at both the 1964
United Kingdom general election, 1964
The United Kingdom general election of 1964 was held on 15 October 1964, more than five years after the preceding election, and thirteen years after the Conservative Party had retaken power...
and 1966 general elections
United Kingdom general election, 1966
The 1966 United Kingdom general election on 31 March 1966 was called by sitting Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson. Wilson's decision to call an election turned on the fact that his government, elected a mere 17 months previously in 1964 had an unworkably small majority of only 4 MPs...
. Beginning in 1964, he served for two years as the Chairman of the National Young Conservatives
Young Conservatives (UK)
The Young Conservatives was the youth wing of the United Kingdom's Conservative Party until the organisation was replaced in 1998 by Conservative Future.-Origins:...
. He was elected to the House of Commons at the 1970 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1970
The United Kingdom general election of 1970 was held on 18 June 1970, and resulted in a surprise victory for the Conservative Party under leader Edward Heath, who defeated the Labour Party under Harold Wilson. The election also saw the Liberal Party and its new leader Jeremy Thorpe lose half their...
for the Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
seat of Middleton and Prestwich
Middleton and Prestwich (UK Parliament constituency)
Middleton and Prestwich was a parliamentary constituency centred on the Middleton and Prestwich districts of Greater Manchester. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
, defeating the Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
MP Denis Coe
Denis Coe
Denis Walter Coe has been a British Labour Party politician. He was Member of Parliament for the marginal Middleton and Prestwich constituency from 1966 to 1970, when it was gained by the Conservative Alan Haselhurst.Coe was given a Scout Silver Medal for Gallantry after saving a young girl from...
by 1,042 votes. Haselhurst lost the seat at the next February 1974 general election
United Kingdom general election, February 1974
The United Kingdom's general election of February 1974 was held on the 28th of that month. It was the first of two United Kingdom general elections held that year, and the first election since the Second World War not to produce an overall majority in the House of Commons for the winning party,...
to Labour's Jim Callaghan
James Callaghan (Lancashire politician)
James Callaghan is a British Labour politician.He has the distinction of having the same name as his unrelated contemporary, more famous colleague and fellow Labour MP, James Callaghan, who served as Labour Party leader from 1976 to 1980 .He was educated at Manchester and London universities, and...
by just 517 votes (this is not the same James (Jim) Callaghan who later became Prime Minister, and later still Lord Callaghan of Cardiff). The Conservative MP for the Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
seat of Saffron Walden
Saffron Walden (UK Parliament constituency)
Saffron Walden is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- Boundaries :...
, Peter Kirk
Peter Michael Kirk
Sir Peter Michael Kirk, was a British Conservative politician and a junior minister in the governments of Alec Douglas-Home and Edward Heath....
, died on 17 April 1977, and Haselhurst was selected to contest the subsequent by-election
Saffron Walden by-election, 1977
The Saffron Walden by-election of July 1977 was held after the death of Conservative Member of Parliament Sir Peter Kirk on 16 April that year. The Conservatives held on to the seat in the by-election.-Results:-External links:**...
on 7 July. Haselhurst won the seat with a majority of 12,437 and has remained the MP there since.
In Parliament, he served as the Parliamentary Private Secretary
Parliamentary Private Secretary
A Parliamentary Private Secretary is a role given to a United Kingdom Member of Parliament by a senior minister in government or shadow minister to act as their contact for the House of Commons; this role is junior to that of Parliamentary Under-Secretary, which is a ministerial post, salaried by...
(PPS) to the Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
Robert Carr
Robert Carr
Leonard Robert Carr, Baron Carr of Hadley, PC is a British Conservative politician.Robert Carr was educated at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge where he read Natural Sciences, graduating in 1938....
from 1973 until his defeat at the February 1974 general election. He also served as the PPS to the Secretary of State for Education and Science Mark Carlisle
Mark Carlisle
Mark Carlisle, Baron Carlisle of Bucklow QC DL PC was a Conservative British politician and was Member of Parliament for Runcorn 1964-1983 and Warrington South 1983-1987...
for two years from 1979. He served on the European Legislation Select Committee
European Scrutiny Committee
The European Scrutiny Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the Committee is to assess the legal and political importance of each EU document, and decide which EU documents are debated...
for fifteen years from 1982, and was a member of the Transport Select Committee from 1992 to 1997. He asked the first question in Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
's final Prime Minister's Question Time on 27 November 1990.
Following the 1997 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1997
The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...
, he was appointed Chairman of Ways and Means
Chairman of Ways and Means
In the United Kingdom, the Chairman of Ways and Means is a senior member of the House of Commons who acts as one of the Speaker's three deputies...
(Deputy Speaker), remaining in that post under successive Speakers Betty Boothroyd
Betty Boothroyd
Betty Boothroyd, Baroness Boothroyd, OM, PC is a British politician, who served as Member of Parliament for West Bromwich and West Bromwich West from 1973 to 2000, initially for the Labour Party and, from 1992 to 2000, as Speaker of the House of Commons...
, Michael Martin, and John Bercow
John Bercow
John Simon Bercow is a British politician who has been the Speaker of the House of Commons in the United Kingdom since June 2009. Prior to his election to Speaker he was a member of the Conservative party....
until May 2010.
Haselhurst was considered a strong contender to succeed Martin
Speaker of the British House of Commons election, 2009
The 2009 election of the Speaker of the British House of Commons occurred on 22 June 2009 after the resignation of Michael Martin as Speaker following the MPs' expenses scandal. Martin was the first Speaker since Sir John Trevor in 1695 to be forced from office...
at the announcement of his resignation as speaker on 19 May 2009. However, Haselhurst was entangled in the MPs' expenses controversy
United Kingdom Parliamentary expenses scandal
The United Kingdom parliamentary expenses scandal was a major political scandal triggered by the leak and subsequent publication by the Telegraph Group in 2009 of expense claims made by members of the United Kingdom Parliament over several years...
and was accused by The Daily Telegraph of claiming £12,000 for gardening expenses over 4 years, claiming £249 every month—£1 below the threshold which meant he was not required to provide receipts. In an attempt to wipe his slate clean, he later paid back the gardening expenses "out of respect to his constituents".
He withdrew from the race after getting 66 votes in the first round of voting and 57 in the second.
Haselhurst chose not to seek re-election as a Deputy Speaker after the 2010 general election. As the Chairman of Ways and Means must come from a different party than the Speaker was formerly a member of, he would have had to stand for 1st Deputy Chairman, a lesser position. However, he was entrusted to continue as a temporary Deputy Speaker chairing debates in the period between the State Opening of Parliament
State Opening of Parliament
In the United Kingdom, the State Opening of Parliament is an annual event that marks the commencement of a session of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is held in the House of Lords Chamber, usually in November or December or, in a general election year, when the new Parliament first assembles...
and the election of Deputy Speakers.
In July 2010, Haselhurst was appointed chairman of both the House of Commons Administration Committee
Administration Committee
The Administration Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It has a remit "to consider the services provided for and by the House of Commons"...
and the UK branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association
Commonwealth Parliamentary Association
The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, previously known as the Empire Parliamentary Association, is an organisation, of British origin, which works to support good governance, democracy and human rights...
, having earlier been defeated in the election for chair of the Backbench Business Committee
Backbench Business Committee
The Backbench Business Committee of the British House of Commons was created on 15 June 2010 through the adoption of a new standing order. It was created soon after 2010 general election, but had been proposed during the previous Parliament by the Wright Committee on Reform of the House of Commons...
by Natascha Engel
Natascha Engel
Natascha Engel is a German-British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for North East Derbyshire since 2005. She has extensive involvement in the trade union movement, and has close connections to Gordon Brown....
. He turned down an offer of a Life Peerage and continues to represent his Saffron Walden
Saffron Walden
Saffron Walden is a medium-sized market town in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England. It is located north of Bishop's Stortford, south of Cambridge and approx north of London...
constituents in the House of Commons. In July 2011, Haselhurst was elected Chairman of the Commonwealth
Commonwealth
Commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has sometimes been synonymous with "republic."More recently it has been used for fraternal associations of some sovereign nations...
Parliamentary Association's executive committee.
Personal life
Haselhurst married Angela Margaret Bailey on 16 April 1977, and they have two sons and a daughter. He is a very vocal supporter of community-based projects and was for a time a director of Turning PointTurning Point (charity)
Turning Point is a social care organisation and registered charity in the United Kingdom. It provides services for people with complex needs, including those affected by drug and alcohol misuse, mental health problems and those with a learning disability. Turning Point runs projects in 244...
, a charity working with socially excluded
Social exclusion
Social exclusion is a concept used in many parts of the world to characterise contemporary forms of social disadvantage. Dr. Lynn Todman, director of the Institute on Social Exclusion at the Adler School of Professional Psychology, suggests that social exclusion refers to processes in which...
young people, for five years from 1981. He is seen as a Wet Tory, and has been a supporter of Kenneth Clarke
Kenneth Clarke
Kenneth Harry "Ken" Clarke, QC, MP is a British Conservative politician, currently Member of Parliament for Rushcliffe, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice. He was first elected to Parliament in 1970; and appointed a minister in Edward Heath's government, in 1972, and is one of...
. He was knighted
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
in 1995 and sworn of the Privy Council in 1999. He is the secretary of the all-party group on cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
and was a member of the Executive Council of Essex County Cricket Club
Essex County Cricket Club
Essex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Essex. Its limited overs team is called the Essex Eagles, their team colours this season are blue.The club plays most of its home games...
from 1996 to 2008 and is a member of MCC
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
.
Publications
- Occasionally Cricket: The Unpredictable Performances of the Outcasts CC by Alan Haselhurst, 1999, Queen Anne Press, ISBN 1-85291-622-2
- Eventually Cricket by Alan Haselhurst, 2001, Queen Anne Press ISBN 1-85291-637-0
- Incidentally Cricket by Alan Haselhurst, 2003, Queen Anne Press ISBN 1-85291-655-9
- Accidentally Cricket by Alan Haselhurst, 2009, The Professional & Higher Partnership Ltd, ISBN 978-1-907076-00-8
- Unusually Cricket by Alan Haselhurst, 2011, The Professional & Higher Partnership Ltd