Stuart Bell
Encyclopedia
Sir Stuart Bell is a British
Labour Party
politician
, who has been the Member of Parliament
(MP) for Middlesbrough
since 1983
.
in 1938, the son of a miner
. He attended the Hookergate Grammar School (now known as Hookergate School) on School Lane in High Spen
near Rowlands Gill
, Gateshead
. He went to the Durham Pitmans College. He joined the Labour Party in 1964, and was called to the Bar
at Gray's Inn
in 1970. He worked as an international lawyer
in Paris
until 1977, representing large multi-national companies such as GM and HP. He contested Hexham
at the 1979 general election
, but was defeated by the Conservative
MP and former Cabinet
minister Geoffrey Rippon
.
in 1980. In 1982, the veteran Labour MP for Middlesbrough, Arthur Bottomley
announced that he would step down at the next general election, and Bell subsequently won the selection process to fight the seat at the 1983 general election
. Bell held Middlesbrough comfortably and was elected with a majority just short of 10,000 votes.
In Parliament, Bell became the Parliamentary Private Secretary
to the Deputy Leader of the Opposition Roy Hattersley
in 1983. He was promoted to the frontbench in 1984 by Neil Kinnock
as a spokesman on Northern Ireland
. However, he chose to resign his post after the outbreak of the Cleveland child abuse scandal
which occupied two years of his life, fighting social services in the battle for Cleveland's children.
After the 1992 general election
and the election of John Smith
as the Leader of the Labour Party, Bell returned to the frontbench as a spokesman on Trade and Industry. After the election of the Labour Government at the 1997 general election
he was appointed on the advice of Tony Blair
as the Second Church Estates Commissioner
, the spokesman for the Church of England
in the House of Commons, a position he has held from 1997 to 2010.
From 2000 to 2005 he was the Chairman of the Finance and Services Committee
, which manages the annual budget of the House of Commons and its many employees. In 2005 he became a member of the Finance and Services Committee
until 2008 when he served as Chairman until 2010. Relatedly, from 2000 until 2010 he was a member of the House of Commons Commission
, which oversees the administration of the House and the Members Estimate Committee that sets MPs' pay and pensions. He was a member of the Liaison Committee between 2000-10. He is a member of the Ecclesiastical Committee since 1997.
Bell sat on the Members Estimates Committee at Parliament and has been heavily involved representing MPs' interests in the MPs' expenses scandal of 2009
. He was a member in Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
between 2009-10.
He is a founder member of the British-Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body
, is a Treasurer of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Promotion of First Past the Post http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmallparty/register/first-past-the-post.htm, participates in a number of other parliamentary groups and is Secretary of the Franco-British Parliamentary Relations Committee in the Commons.
into the United Kingdom Parliamentary expenses scandal
was marked by "retrospectivity", as Sir Thomas had changed the rules on expenses after MPs' claims had been submitted.
In February 2011, it was revealed that Bell has not held a constituency surgery since 1997. As of September 2011, the Middlesbrough based Evening Gazette newspaper began calling for an enquiry regarding Stuart Bell's apparent disregard for his East Middlesbrough constituents. A journalist from the paper claimed they had placed over 100 calls to his registered office over several weeks, but the phone was never answered or calls returned. They claimed this was despite his wife receiving over £35k p/a allowances to act as his official 'office' manager. Bell later claimed that he had stopped surgeries after being assaulted, and was willing to meet constituents "by appointment." He stated that he would discuss the matter with Labour Chief Whip
Rosie Winterton
, and would be writing to Labour Party leader Ed Miliband
to explain his circumstances.
the Fondation pour l'Innovation Politique. He has been a prolific self-publishing author writing many highly acclaimed short stories and novels in recent years, including a pornographic novel called Paris Sixty-Nine. He is also a regular newspaper columnist, including in the Mail on Sunday.
he married Margaret Allan in 1980 and they have one son.
in 2004 for his services to Parliament and was appointed a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur
, France's highest honour, by President Chirac
in 2006.
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...
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
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
, who has been 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 Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough (UK Parliament constituency)
Middlesbrough is a borough 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 :...
since 1983
United Kingdom general election, 1983
The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945...
.
Early life
Bell was born in County DurhamCounty Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
in 1938, the son of a miner
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
. He attended the Hookergate Grammar School (now known as Hookergate School) on School Lane in High Spen
High Spen
High Spen is an old mining village in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. There is an entrance to Chopwell Wood, whose forest festival and Christmas Trees attract many visitors to the village every year. High Spen has one pub, called The Bute Arms, and two Working Men's clubs...
near Rowlands Gill
Rowlands Gill
Rowlands Gill is a village situated along the A694, between Winlaton Mill and Blackhall Mill, on the north bank of the River Derwent, Tyne and Wear, England. With the coming of the Derwent Valley Railway in 1867, Rowlands Gill became both a coal mining village, and during the early part of the...
, Gateshead
Gateshead
Gateshead is a town in Tyne and Wear, England and is the main settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. Historically a part of County Durham, it lies on the southern bank of the River Tyne opposite Newcastle upon Tyne and together they form the urban core of Tyneside...
. He went to the Durham Pitmans College. He joined the Labour Party in 1964, and was called to the Bar
Call to the bar
The Call to the Bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party, and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received a "call to the bar"...
at Gray's Inn
Gray's Inn
The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...
in 1970. He worked as an international lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
until 1977, representing large multi-national companies such as GM and HP. He contested Hexham
Hexham (UK Parliament constituency)
- Elections in the 2000s :- Elections in the 1990s :- Elections in the 1980s :- Elections in the 1970s :-Notes and references:...
at the 1979 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1979
The United Kingdom general election of 1979 was held on 3 May 1979 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. The Conservative Party, led by Margaret Thatcher ousted the incumbent Labour government of James Callaghan with a parliamentary majority of 43 seats...
, but was defeated by the 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 and former Cabinet
Cabinet (government)
A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...
minister Geoffrey Rippon
Geoffrey Rippon
Geoffrey Frederick Rippon, Baron Rippon of Hexham, PC, was a British Conservative politician. He was Chairman of the European-Atlantic Group....
.
Parliamentary career
He was elected to the City Council in Newcastle upon TyneNewcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
in 1980. In 1982, the veteran Labour MP for Middlesbrough, Arthur Bottomley
Arthur Bottomley
Arthur George Bottomley, Baron Bottomley, OBE, PC was a British Labour politician, Member of Parliament and minister....
announced that he would step down at the next general election, and Bell subsequently won the selection process to fight the seat at the 1983 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1983
The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945...
. Bell held Middlesbrough comfortably and was elected with a majority just short of 10,000 votes.
In Parliament, Bell became 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...
to the Deputy Leader of the Opposition Roy Hattersley
Roy Hattersley
Roy Sydney George Hattersley, Baron Hattersley is a British Labour politician, author and journalist from Sheffield. He served as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party from 1983 to 1992.-Early life:...
in 1983. He was promoted to the frontbench in 1984 by Neil Kinnock
Neil Kinnock
Neil Gordon Kinnock, Baron Kinnock is a Welsh politician belonging to the Labour Party. He served as a Member of Parliament from 1970 until 1995 and as Labour Leader and Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition from 1983 until 1992 - his leadership of the party during nearly nine years making him...
as a spokesman on Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland Office
The Northern Ireland Office is a United Kingdom government department responsible for Northern Ireland affairs. The NIO is led by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and is based in Northern Ireland at Stormont House.-Role:...
. However, he chose to resign his post after the outbreak of the Cleveland child abuse scandal
Cleveland child abuse scandal
The Cleveland child abuse scandal occurred in Cleveland, England in 1987, where 121 cases of suspected child sexual abuse were diagnosed by Dr Marietta Higgs and Dr Geoffrey Wyatt, paediatricians at a Middlesbrough hospital...
which occupied two years of his life, fighting social services in the battle for Cleveland's children.
After 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...
and the election of John Smith
John Smith (UK politician)
John Smith was a British Labour Party politician who served as Leader of the Labour Party from July 1992 until his sudden death from a heart attack in May 1994...
as the Leader of the Labour Party, Bell returned to the frontbench as a spokesman on Trade and Industry. After the election of the Labour Government 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...
he was appointed on the advice of Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
as the Second Church Estates Commissioner
Church Commissioners
The Church Commissioners is a body managing the historic property assets of the Church of England. It was set up in 1948 combining the assets of Queen Anne's Bounty, a fund dating from 1704 for the relief of poor clergy, and of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners formed in 1836...
, the spokesman for the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
in the House of Commons, a position he has held from 1997 to 2010.
From 2000 to 2005 he was the Chairman of the Finance and Services Committee
Finance and Services Committee
The Finance and Services Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The committee considers expenditure on and the administration of services for the House of Commons, and it has responsibility for detailed scrutiny of the House’s...
, which manages the annual budget of the House of Commons and its many employees. In 2005 he became a member of the Finance and Services Committee
Finance and Services Committee
The Finance and Services Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The committee considers expenditure on and the administration of services for the House of Commons, and it has responsibility for detailed scrutiny of the House’s...
until 2008 when he served as Chairman until 2010. Relatedly, from 2000 until 2010 he was a member of the House of Commons Commission
House of Commons Commission
The House of Commons Commission is the overall supervisory body of the House of Commons Administration in the United Kingdom. The Commission is a corporate body established by the House of Commons Act 1978...
, which oversees the administration of the House and the Members Estimate Committee that sets MPs' pay and pensions. He was a member of the Liaison Committee between 2000-10. He is a member of the Ecclesiastical Committee since 1997.
Bell sat on the Members Estimates Committee at Parliament and has been heavily involved representing MPs' interests in the MPs' expenses scandal of 2009
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...
. He was a member in Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority is an independent body created by the Parliamentary Standards Act 2009, largely as a response to the parliamentary expenses scandal of 2009. It establishes and monitors the expenses scheme for Members of the House of Commons, and is responsible for...
between 2009-10.
He is a founder member of the British-Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body
British-Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body
The British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly is a deliberative body consisting of members of legislative bodies in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the British crown dependencies...
, is a Treasurer of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Promotion of First Past the Post http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmallparty/register/first-past-the-post.htm, participates in a number of other parliamentary groups and is Secretary of the Franco-British Parliamentary Relations Committee in the Commons.
Controversy
On 13 October 2009, he claimed on the BBC Today programme that the investigation by Sir Thomas LeggThomas Legg
Sir Thomas Stuart Legg, KCB, QC , is a senior former British civil servant, who was Permanent Secretary of the Lord Chancellor's Department and Clerk of the Crown in Chancery, United Kingdom, 1989-1998.-Biography:...
into 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...
was marked by "retrospectivity", as Sir Thomas had changed the rules on expenses after MPs' claims had been submitted.
In February 2011, it was revealed that Bell has not held a constituency surgery since 1997. As of September 2011, the Middlesbrough based Evening Gazette newspaper began calling for an enquiry regarding Stuart Bell's apparent disregard for his East Middlesbrough constituents. A journalist from the paper claimed they had placed over 100 calls to his registered office over several weeks, but the phone was never answered or calls returned. They claimed this was despite his wife receiving over £35k p/a allowances to act as his official 'office' manager. Bell later claimed that he had stopped surgeries after being assaulted, and was willing to meet constituents "by appointment." He stated that he would discuss the matter with Labour Chief Whip
Labour Chief Whip
This is a list of those people who have served as Chief Whip of the Labour Party in the Parliament of the United Kingdom.-House of Commons:*1906: David Shackleton*1906: Arthur Henderson*1907: George Roberts*1914: Arthur Henderson*1914: Frank Goldstone...
Rosie Winterton
Rosie Winterton
Rosalie "Rosie" Winterton is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Doncaster Central since 1997. Formerly a minister within both the Blair and Brown Governments, she first entered the Shadow Cabinet in May 2010 as the Shadow Leader of the House of Commons...
, and would be writing to Labour Party leader Ed Miliband
Ed Miliband
Edward Samuel Miliband is a British Labour Party politician, currently the Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition...
to explain his circumstances.
Other interests
Bell is a member of the French think tankThink tank
A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...
the Fondation pour l'Innovation Politique. He has been a prolific self-publishing author writing many highly acclaimed short stories and novels in recent years, including a pornographic novel called Paris Sixty-Nine. He is also a regular newspaper columnist, including in the Mail on Sunday.
Personal life
Bell was married in 1960 to Margaret Bruce and they have a son and a daughter. After his divorceDivorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
he married Margaret Allan in 1980 and they have one son.
Honours
He was knightedKnight 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 2004 for his services to Parliament and was appointed a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
, France's highest honour, by President Chirac
Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac is a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He previously served as Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988 , and as Mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.After completing his studies of the DEA's degree at the...
in 2006.