David Chaytor
Encyclopedia
David Michael Chaytor is a former British
Labour Party
politician, who was the Member of Parliament
(MP) for Bury North
from 1997
to 2010. He was the first member of Parliament to be sentenced following the United Kingdom Parliamentary expenses scandal
of 2009.
On 2 June 2009, he announced that he would not be standing for Parliament at the next general election. On 3 December 2010 he pleaded guilty to charges of false accounting in relation to Parliamentary expenses claims and he was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment on 7 January 2011. Chaytor was released from prison on 26 May 2011 under the conditions of Home Detention Curfew
.
and was educated at the East Ward Primary School and the Bury Grammar School
, both in the town. He later attended the University of London
where he was awarded a BA
degree in 1970, Huddersfield Polytechnic, the University of Bradford
, and he then qualified as a teacher
in 1976 at the University of Leeds
. He then returned to the University of London to finish his Masters (MPhil) degree in philosophy
in 1979 and did further postgraduate work at the University of Bradford.
in 1973, before being appointed as the senior staff tutor at the Manchester College of Arts and Technology in 1983. In 1990, he became the Head of Continuing Education at the same institute, where he remained until his election to parliament.
Borough Council in 1982 and served until 1997. He served as chairman of the Labour Group, and chairman of the Education, Economic Development, and Highways & Transportation Committees.
at the 1987 General Election
, but was defeated by 6,045 votes by the sitting Conservative
MP Donald Thompson
. He again contested Calder Valley at the 1992 General Election
, at which he reduced Thompson's majority to 4,878. He had to cede the candidacy for Calder Valley because of an all women shortlist which selected Christine McCafferty
. However, Chaytor contested the marginal seat of Bury North at the 1997 General Election
which he won, defeating the then Social Security minister Alistair Burt
by 7,866 votes. Chaytor made his maiden speech
on 17 June 1997, where he talked of the humble Bury black pudding
and Bury's most famous son, Robert Peel
.
Chaytor’s main political interests were in the Environment, Education, Transport and Foreign Affairs. In the 1997–2001 Parliament he was a Member of the Environmental Audit Select Committee and in January 2000 he received the Green Ribbon award as best environmentalist backbencher in the House of Commons.
He was a member of the Education & Skills Select Committee
and the Environmental Audit Select Committee. He voted against the government on the privatisation of the National Air Traffic Services
, and announced his intention to vote against the last clause of the Gambling
Bill. Although he was educated under the Direct Grant system at Bury Grammar School, Chaytor is Chairman of Comprehensive Future, an organisation set up to end selection in British schools. He chaired the All Party Group for Intelligent Energy, and co-chaired the All Party Group for Further Education and Lifelong Learning. He was the Secretary of Globe UK, the British branch of the international network of environmentalist parliamentarians.
13,000 in mortgage expenses on a home on which the mortgage had already been paid, he was suspended by the Labour party, and on 2 June 2009 he announced that he would be stepping down as an MP at the next General Election. He was shortly after officially barred from standing for election as a Labour Party candidate by the Labour Party NEC's Special Endorsements Panel.
relating to false accounting in relation to claims for Parliamentary expenses and on 27 May he and other politicians appeared at Southwark Crown Court
for a preliminary hearing.
Following the failure of the attempt by the group to claim parliamentary privilege
in the Court of Appeal
, on 3 December 2010 he immediately pleaded guilty to three counts of false accounting involving approximately £18,000 and was released on bail until a sentencing hearing in January 2011. Among the charges was that he had claimed rent on a flat in Westminster which he in fact owned, using a fake tenancy agreement.
On 7 January 2011, Chaytor was sentenced by Mr Justice Saunders sitting in the Crown Court at Southwark
to 18 months' imprisonment.
On 23 February 2011 it was announced that following legal advice, Chaytor was seeking leave to appeal against the length of his sentence. The application was heard by the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) on 22 March 2011 and refused on 23 March 2011, when the Lord Chief Justice described the behaviour referred to in the charges as "calculating", with the element of dishonesty being "not simply inflated claims for expenses, but rather the careful preparation of bogus claims". The primary grounds of appeal (and the main mitigation in the original hearing) - that according to the UK Parliament's 'Green Book' expenses guidelines, Chaytor's situation would have entitled him to claim more than he had done but on a different property - was dismissed as not relevant.
On 26 May 2011, Chaytor was released from prison under the normal HDC
licensing conditions.
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
Labour Party
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...
politician, who was 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 Bury North
Bury North (UK Parliament constituency)
Bury North is a borough constituency in Greater Manchester, 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...
from 1997
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...
to 2010. He was the first member of Parliament to be sentenced following the United Kingdom Parliamentary expenses scandal
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...
of 2009.
On 2 June 2009, he announced that he would not be standing for Parliament at the next general election. On 3 December 2010 he pleaded guilty to charges of false accounting in relation to Parliamentary expenses claims and he was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment on 7 January 2011. Chaytor was released from prison on 26 May 2011 under the conditions of Home Detention Curfew
Home Detention Curfew
Home Detention Curfew is a detention scheme in the United Kingdom whereby certain short-term criminals are released from prison several weeks to months before the completion of their sentence to allow them to integrate back into society...
.
Education
David Chaytor was born in BuryBury
Bury is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Irwell, east of Bolton, west-southwest of Rochdale, and north-northwest of the city of Manchester...
and was educated at the East Ward Primary School and the Bury Grammar School
Bury Grammar School
Bury Grammar School is an independent grammar school in Bury, Greater Manchester, England, that has existed since Kev Cryer was born, c.1570. The current headmaster is the Reverend Steven Harvey MA. The previous headmaster, Keith Richards MA, retired after sixteen years of headmastership on 7...
, both in the town. He later attended the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
where he was awarded a BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in 1970, Huddersfield Polytechnic, the University of Bradford
University of Bradford
The University of Bradford is a British university located in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The University received its Royal Charter in 1966, making it the 40th University to be created in Britain, but its origins date back to the early 1800s...
, and he then qualified as a teacher
Postgraduate Certificate in Education
The Postgraduate Certificate in Education is a one-year course in England, Wales and Northern Ireland for undergraduate degree holders that allows them to train to be a teacher....
in 1976 at the University of Leeds
University of Leeds
The University of Leeds is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
. He then returned to the University of London to finish his Masters (MPhil) degree in philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
in 1979 and did further postgraduate work at the University of Bradford.
Early career
He started work as a college lecturerLecturer
Lecturer is an academic rank. In the United Kingdom, lecturer is a position at a university or similar institution, often held by academics in their early career stages, who lead research groups and supervise research students, as well as teach...
in 1973, before being appointed as the senior staff tutor at the Manchester College of Arts and Technology in 1983. In 1990, he became the Head of Continuing Education at the same institute, where he remained until his election to parliament.
Local council
He was elected as a councillor on the CalderdaleCalderdale
The Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale is a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England, through which the upper part of the River Calder flows, and from which it takes its name...
Borough Council in 1982 and served until 1997. He served as chairman of the Labour Group, and chairman of the Education, Economic Development, and Highways & Transportation Committees.
Parliament
He contested the parliamentary constituency of Calder ValleyCalder Valley (UK Parliament constituency)
- Elections in the 2000s :- Elections in the 1990s :- Elections in the 1980s :-Sources:*...
at the 1987 General Election
United Kingdom general election, 1987
The United Kingdom general election of 1987 was held on 11 June 1987, to elect 650 members to the British House of Commons. The election was the third consecutive election victory for the Conservative Party under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher, who became the first Prime Minister since the 2nd...
, but was defeated by 6,045 votes by the sitting 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...
MP Donald Thompson
Donald Thompson
Sir Donald Thompson was a British Conservative Party politician. He was a Member of Parliament from 1979 until 1997.Thompson attended Holy Trinity School, Halifax, and Hipperholme Grammar School...
. He again contested Calder Valley at the 1992 General Election
United Kingdom general election, 1992
The United Kingdom general election of 1992 was held on 9 April 1992, and was the fourth consecutive victory for the Conservative Party. This election result was one of the biggest surprises in 20th Century politics, as polling leading up to the day of the election showed Labour under leader Neil...
, at which he reduced Thompson's majority to 4,878. He had to cede the candidacy for Calder Valley because of an all women shortlist which selected Christine McCafferty
Christine McCafferty
Christine McCafferty is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Calder Valley from 1997 to 2010, when the seat was won by the Conservative Party candidate, Craig Whittaker, at that year's general election.-Early life:She attended Whalley Range Grammar School for...
. However, Chaytor contested the marginal seat of Bury North at 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...
which he won, defeating the then Social Security minister Alistair Burt
Alistair Burt
Alistair James Hendrie Burt is a British Conservative Party politician. He is the Member of Parliament for North East Bedfordshire...
by 7,866 votes. Chaytor made his maiden speech
Maiden speech
A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament.Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country...
on 17 June 1997, where he talked of the humble Bury black pudding
Blood sausage
Black pudding, blood pudding or blood sausage is a type of sausage made by cooking blood or dried blood with a filler until it is thick enough to congeal when cooled. The dish exists in various cultures from Asia to Europe...
and Bury's most famous son, Robert Peel
Robert Peel
Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet was a British Conservative statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 December 1834 to 8 April 1835, and again from 30 August 1841 to 29 June 1846...
.
Chaytor’s main political interests were in the Environment, Education, Transport and Foreign Affairs. In the 1997–2001 Parliament he was a Member of the Environmental Audit Select Committee and in January 2000 he received the Green Ribbon award as best environmentalist backbencher in the House of Commons.
He was a member of the Education & Skills Select Committee
Education & Skills Select Committee
The Education & Skills Select Committee was a Committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The official name was the House of Commons, Education and Skills Committee....
and the Environmental Audit Select Committee. He voted against the government on the privatisation of the National Air Traffic Services
National Air Traffic Services
NATS Ltd. is the main air navigation service provider in the United Kingdom. It provides en-route air traffic control services to flights within the UK Flight Information Regions and the Shanwick Oceanic Control Area, and provides air traffic control services to fifteen UK airports and Gibraltar...
, and announced his intention to vote against the last clause of the Gambling
Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
Bill. Although he was educated under the Direct Grant system at Bury Grammar School, Chaytor is Chairman of Comprehensive Future, an organisation set up to end selection in British schools. He chaired the All Party Group for Intelligent Energy, and co-chaired the All Party Group for Further Education and Lifelong Learning. He was the Secretary of Globe UK, the British branch of the international network of environmentalist parliamentarians.
Suspension and subsequent retirement as an MP
On 16 May 2009, following his self-referral to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards for claiming nearly £Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
13,000 in mortgage expenses on a home on which the mortgage had already been paid, he was suspended by the Labour party, and on 2 June 2009 he announced that he would be stepping down as an MP at the next General Election. He was shortly after officially barred from standing for election as a Labour Party candidate by the Labour Party NEC's Special Endorsements Panel.
Conviction and sentencing
On 5 February 2010, it was announced that he would be charged with offences under section 17 of the Theft Act 1968Theft Act 1968
The Theft Act 1968 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It creates a number of offences against property in England and Wales.On 15 January 2007 the Fraud Act 2006 came into force, redefining most of the offences of deception.-History:...
relating to false accounting in relation to claims for Parliamentary expenses and on 27 May he and other politicians appeared at Southwark Crown Court
Southwark Crown Court
Southwark Crown Court is one of three Crown Court buildings in London SE1, along with Inner London Crown Court and Blackfriars Crown Court.Opened in 1983, the brick building is located close to the River Thames at the south of London Bridge, next to Hay's Galleria...
for a preliminary hearing.
Following the failure of the attempt by the group to claim parliamentary privilege
Parliamentary privilege
Parliamentary privilege is a legal immunity enjoyed by members of certain legislatures, in which legislators are granted protection against civil or criminal liability for actions done or statements made related to one's duties as a legislator. It is common in countries whose constitutions are...
in the Court of Appeal
Court of Appeal of England and Wales
The Court of Appeal of England and Wales is the second most senior court in the English legal system, with only the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom above it...
, on 3 December 2010 he immediately pleaded guilty to three counts of false accounting involving approximately £18,000 and was released on bail until a sentencing hearing in January 2011. Among the charges was that he had claimed rent on a flat in Westminster which he in fact owned, using a fake tenancy agreement.
On 7 January 2011, Chaytor was sentenced by Mr Justice Saunders sitting in the Crown Court at Southwark
Southwark
Southwark is a district of south London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Southwark. Situated east of Charing Cross, it forms one of the oldest parts of London and fronts the River Thames to the north...
to 18 months' imprisonment.
On 23 February 2011 it was announced that following legal advice, Chaytor was seeking leave to appeal against the length of his sentence. The application was heard by the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) on 22 March 2011 and refused on 23 March 2011, when the Lord Chief Justice described the behaviour referred to in the charges as "calculating", with the element of dishonesty being "not simply inflated claims for expenses, but rather the careful preparation of bogus claims". The primary grounds of appeal (and the main mitigation in the original hearing) - that according to the UK Parliament's 'Green Book' expenses guidelines, Chaytor's situation would have entitled him to claim more than he had done but on a different property - was dismissed as not relevant.
On 26 May 2011, Chaytor was released from prison under the normal HDC
Home Detention Curfew
Home Detention Curfew is a detention scheme in the United Kingdom whereby certain short-term criminals are released from prison several weeks to months before the completion of their sentence to allow them to integrate back into society...
licensing conditions.