Peter Bradley (politician)

Peter Charles Stephen Bradley (born 12 April 1953) is an English Labour Party politician.[1][2] He was the Member of Parliament for The Wrekin between 1997 and 2005.

Peter Bradley
Member of Parliament for The Wrekin
In office 1 May 1997 – 11 April 2005
Preceded by	Bruce Grocott (continued to represent neighbouring seat Telford until 2001)
Succeeded by	Mark Pritchard
Councillor (Millbank Ward)
In office 1986–1996
Preceded by	A.L. Cotcher (Con)
Succeeded by	Mair Eluned Garside (Lab)
Personal details
Born	12 April 1953 Erdington, Birmingham
Nationality	British
Political party	Labour
Alma mater	University of Sussex

Early life

Bradley was born in Erdington, Birmingham, on 12 April 1953 to Fred and Trudie Bradley.[3] He was educated at Abingdon School – where he was a classmate of Francis Maude – and the University of Sussex, followed by Occidental College, Los Angeles.[4][5] Before entering Parliament, he was managing director of Millbank Consultants Ltd (1993–97) and previously a director of Good Relations Ltd (1986–93) prior to which he was the research director at the Centre for Contemporary Studies (1979–86).[6]

Political career

Labour councillor

As a member of Westminster Council and deputy Leader of the Labour Group, he was a leader of the campaign to expose the 'Homes for Votes' scandal which led eventually to the surcharging of the former Conservative Council Leader Dame Shirley Porter and colleagues.

Member of Parliament

Bradley was elected to the constituency of The Wrekin in Shropshire in the 1997 general election. Major boundary changes took effect ahead of that election, which created a new constituency containing and named after the town of Telford, before which Telford had been one of the largest elements of The Wrekin. The incumbent Labour MP for The Wrekin, Bruce Grocott, decided to stand for the new Telford seat in the 1997 general election. The new Telford constituency took 62.9% of the electorate of The Wrekin, leaving the remaining 37.1% to constitute a revised constituency of The Wrekin that incorporated areas previously within Shropshire North and Ludlow from two sides. This meant that although Labour won the largely Telford-based version of the constituency in the previous general election of 1992, the new constituency which was much more rural was likely to have been won by the Conservatives in 1992 if it had existed then.

In Parliament, he founded and chaired the Rural Group of Labour MPs which played a major part in shaping the Government's Rural White Paper and was subsequently appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to Alun Michael.[7][8][9] His involvement in the bill to ban hunting led to his constituency being targeted by the Countryside Party at the 2005 election.[10][11] He was also a target of the strategy led by Lord Ashcroft to concentrate resources on key marginal seats which saw £50,000 donated to the Conservative campaign to unseat him.[12][13]

Known for his campaigning commitment and skill, he secured a saving of £240 million in the annual NHS drugs budget following a successful campaign to regulate pharmaceutical company practices (2001). He also promoted the Members of Parliament (Employment Disqualification) Bill which sought to prevent MPs from neglecting their Parliamentary duties in pursuit of parallel careers (2002) and the Right to Reply & Press Standards Bill (2005) which, with the support of the NUJ, MediaWise and the Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom attempted to provide stronger protection to members of the public affected by misrepresentation in the press and to introduce controls on journalists' excesses. In 2011, he submitted evidence to the Leveson Inquiry based on the substance of the Bill. With Alan Whitehead MP, he was also credited with negotiating the restoration of the student grant through the Higher Education Act (2004). He was a member of the Public Administration Select Committee, 1997–9, which played a major role in the development and passage of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. He subsequently lost his seat to Conservative politician Mark Pritchard.

Since leaving Parliament, he was a member of the Affordable Rural Housing Commission (2005–06) and subsequently of the Government's Rural Housing Advisory Group (2007–08).

Charity work

He is a co-founder and director of the Speakers' Corner Trust, a registered charity promoting free expression, public debate and active citizenship as a means of revitalising civil society in the UK as well as in Berlin, Prague and Nigeria.[14]

Personal life

Bradley is married to Annie (née Hart), a teacher. They have two children.[3][15][16] Bradley is a member of Warwickshire County Cricket Club and supports Aston Villa F.C.[3] He is also an honorary patron of A.F.C. Telford United football club.[17]

Works

• "AntiSocial Britain and the challenge of citizenship". London: Social Market Foundation. 2007. Archived from the original on 21 April 2013.

See also

• Homes for votes scandal
• Westminster cemeteries scandal
• List of Old Abingdonians

References

1. "Election Results: T-Z". The Times. London. 3 May 1997. p. 51.
2. Janner, Greville; Taylor, Derek (2008). Jewish Parliamentarians. Edgware: Vallentine Mitchell. p. 217. ISBN 9780853038191.
3. Abrams, Fran (22 July 1999). "The Ashcroft Affair: Backbencher with flair for political campaigns campaigns". The Independent. London. p. 2. Retrieved 8 November 2013.
4. Jasper, Gerard (22 July 1999). "Diary". The Times. London. p. 24.
5. "Where Our Mps Were Educated". Birmingham Post. Birmingham. 18 November 1998. p. 13. Archived at Questia Online Library. (subscription required)
6. "Peter Bradley: Electoral history and profile". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 20 April 2013. Retrieved 8 November 2013.
7. MAFF/DETR (November 2000). Our Countryside: The Future – A Fair Deal for Rural England (PDF). London: The Stationery Office. 2000 Cm 4909. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 February 2006.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
8. "Labour MPs unveil rural manifesto". BBC News. 18 April 2000. Retrieved 8 November 2013.
9. Gove, Michael (28 February 1998). "Blair finds red and green hard to match". The Times. London. p. 6.
10. Hinsliff, Gaby (18 June 2000). "Hunt lobby aims to oust MPs". The Observer. London. p. 11.
11. Kite, Melissa (23 January 2005). "'Don't get mad, get even' is new tactic of the pro-hunters". The Sunday Telegraph. London. p. 15. Retrieved 8 November 2013.
12. "Tory funding unfair, Labour MP claims". Western Mail. Cardiff. 22 December 2009. p. 11. Archived at Questia Online Library. Retrieved 8 November 2013. (subscription required)
13. Brown, Colin (4 August 2007). "Labour bids to outlaw Ashcroft's funding of Tory candidates". The Independent. London. p. 1. Archived at Questia Online Library. Archived from the original on 8 November 2013. Retrieved 8 November 2013. (subscription required)
14. Wainwright, Martin (18 October 2012). "Bradford and Sheffield get their old Speakers' Corners back". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 8 November 2013.
15. White, Michael (22 July 1999). "The Michael Ashcroft affair: Profile: Tormentor with taste for a scrap". The Guardian. London. p. 3.
16. Johnson, Frank (11 April 2002). "Saddam and weapons of mass construction". The Daily Telegraph. London. p. 2.
17. "SCT's Director – Peter Bradley". Speakers' Corner Trust. Retrieved 8 November 2013.

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Peter Bradley
• Appearances on C-SPAN