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[[Category:Labour Members of Parliament]]
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{{Infobox MP
| caption = Sheerman in June 2017
| imagesize = 220px
|office = Chair of the [[Education Select Committee]]
|primeminister = [[Tony Blair]] and [[Gordon Brown]]
|term_start = 2001
|term_end = 2010
|predecessor = [[Malcolm Wicks]]
|successor = [[Graham Stuart (politician)|Graham Stuart]]
|office2 = Shadow Minister of State for [[Department of Social Security|Social Security <br/>(Shadow Minister for Disabled People)]]
|leader2 = [[John Smith (Labour Party leader)|John Smith]]
|term_start2 = 8 July 1992
|term_end2 = 12 May 1994
|predecessor2 = Unknown
|successor2 = Next known is [[Tom Clarke (politician)|Tom Clarke]] <br/>19 October 1995
| office3 = [[Member of Parliament (UK)|Member of Parliament]] <br> for [[Huddersfield (UK Parliament constituency)|Huddersfield]]<br><small>[[Huddersfield East (UK Parliament constituency)|Huddersfield East]] (1979–1983)</small>
| parliament3 =
| majority3 = 12,005 (27.4%)
| predecessor3 = [[Joseph Mallalieu]]
| successor3 = [[Incumbent]]
| term_start3 = 3 May 1979
| term_end3 =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1940|08|17|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Sunbury-on-Thames]], [[Middlesex]], England
| death_date =
| death_place =
| nationality = British
| spouse =
| party = [[Labour Co-operative]]
| relations =
| children =
| residence =
| alma_mater = [[London School of Economics]], [[University of London]]
| occupation =
| profession = [[Academic]]
| religion =
| signature =
| footnotes =
}}
</div>
'''Barry John Sheerman''' (born 17 August 1940) is a British [[Labour Co-operative]] [[politician]] who has been the [[Member of Parliament]] (MP) for [[Huddersfield (UK Parliament constituency)|Huddersfield]] since the [[United Kingdom general election, 1979|1979 general election]]. ▼</div>
==Early life==
▲'''Barry John Sheerman''' (born 17 August 1940) is a British [[Labour Co-operative]] [[politician]] who has been the [[Member of Parliament ]] (MP) for [[ Huddersfield (UK Parliament constituency)|Huddersfield]] since the [[United Kingdom general election, 1979|1979 general election ]].
Sheerman was born on 17 August 1940 in [[Sunbury-on-Thames]], [[Middlesex]] and went to Hampton Grammar School (became the independent [[Hampton School]] in 1975) on ''Hanworth Road'' in [[Hampton, London|Hampton]] then [[Kingston College (England)|Kingston Technical College]]. He was educated at the [[London School of Economics]] ([[Bachelor of Science|BSc]] Economics 1965) and at the [[University of London]] (MSc 1967). He became a lecturer at the [[Swansea University|University of Wales, Swansea]] in 1966 and remained there until his election to parliament in 1979.
==Parliamentary career==
Sheerman unsuccessfully contested [[Taunton (UK Parliament constituency)|Taunton]] in the [[United Kingdom general election, October 1974|October 1974 election]], and became the MP for Huddersfield East from 1979 to 1983 and for [[Huddersfield (UK Parliament constituency)|Huddersfield]] since the [[United Kingdom general election, 1983|1983 general election]]. Sheerman has held the Huddersfield seats since, with his majority as low as 3,955 in 1983 and as high as 15,848 in the [[United Kingdom general election, 1997|1997 general election]]. In the most recent general election in [[United Kingdom general election, 2017|2017]], Sheerman's majority was increased to 12,005 with a swing of 15.5% to Labour.
From 1983 to 1988 he was the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] spokesperson on education and employment; for [[Home Affairs]] (as Shadow Deputy [[Home Secretary]]) from 1988 to 1992; and for Disabled People's Rights from 1992 to 1994. He was Chair of the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] Education and Skills [[Select Committee (Westminster System)|select committee]] from 2001 to 2010, renamed the [[Children, Schools and Families Committee]] in 2007. Under his chairmanship, the Committee was often critical of government policy. Sheerman warned the government not to "lose their nerve" over reforming secondary education exam system back in 2005,<ref>{{cite web|title=End A-level 'obsession', says MP|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4284407.stm|website=BBC|accessdate=7 April 2015}}</ref> and in 2006 said it was "naive" to allocate local school places through parental choice, with lottery selection being the best way to avoid "bloody awful" schools existing as a side effect of parents pushing for their children to study elsewhere.<ref>{{cite news|title=Parental school choice 'naive'|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/5237548.stm|accessdate=7 April 2015|publisher=BBC|date=2 August 2006}}</ref> During Sheerman's chairmanship, the select committee produced reports on subjects such as home education, education outside the classroom, and young people not in education employment or training (NEETs). ▼
He is Chair of the Labour Forum for Criminal Justice and of the Cross-Party Advisory Group on Preparation for European Monetary Union. Outside parliament, he is Chair of the National Educational Research and Development Trust, and a trustee of the [http://yorkshirechildrenscentre.org.uk/ National Children's Centre]. His political interests are listed as trade, industry, finance, [[further education]], education, economy, the [[European Union]], [[South America]] and the [[United States]]. His recreations include walking, biography and films. In 1993, Sheerman co-wrote, with Isaac Kramnick, a biography of the Labour intellectual [[Harold Laski]]. ▼
In June 2009, Sheerman called for a secret ballot of the [[Parliamentary Labour Party]] on whether [[Gordon Brown]] should continue in office as prime minister. This followed widespread criticism of Brown's performance and the resignation of Cabinet member [[James Purnell]]. Sheerman later reassured his local party chairman that he had not directly called for Brown's resignation.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/local-west-yorkshire-news/2009/06/06/huddersfield-mp-sheerman-called-to-account-by-local-party-members-86081-23804506/| title = Huddersfield MP Sheerman called to account by local party members| author = Gibson, Barry| date = 6 June 2009| accessdate = 6 June 2009
| publisher = The Huddersfield Daily Examiner}}</ref>
Sheerman called for a London catering company to employ "British workers" in a [[Twitter]] exchange on 23 April 2012.<ref>Barry Gibson [http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/local-west-yorkshire-news/2012/04/25/huddersfield-mp-barry-sheerman-demands-british-jobs-for-british-workers-after-disappointing-bacon-buttie-86081-30832588/ "Huddersfield MP Barry Sheerman demands British jobs for British workers after disappointing bacon buttie"], ''Huddersfield Daily Examiner'', 25 April 2012</ref> The comments reached the national press. In response Sheerman said the objection to him speaking out was "pernicious political correctness".<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/labour/9226143/MP-accused-of-xenophobia-after-complaining-that-Polish-cannot-make-decent-bacon-sandwich.html "MP accused of 'xenophobia after complaining that Polish cannot make decent bacon sandwich"], ''Daily Telegraph'', 25 April 2012</ref>
▲From 1983 to 1988 he was the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] spokesperson on education and employment; for [[Home Affairs ]] (as Shadow Deputy [[Home Secretary ]]) from 1988 to 1992; and for Disabled People's Rights from 1992 to 1994. He was Chair of the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] Education and Skills [[Select Committee (Westminster System)|select committee ]] from 2001 to 2010, renamed the [[Children, Schools and Families Committee ]] in 2007. Under his chairmanship, the Committee was often critical of government policy. Sheerman warned the government not to "lose their nerve" over reforming secondary education exam system back in 2005, <ref>{{cite web|title=End A-level 'obsession', says MP|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4284407.stm|website=BBC|accessdate=7 April 2015}}</ref> and in 2006 said it was "naive" to allocate local school places through parental choice, with lottery selection being the best way to avoid "bloody awful" schools existing as a side effect of parents pushing for their children to study elsewhere. <ref>{{cite news|title=Parental school choice 'naive'|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/5237548.stm|accessdate=7 April 2015|publisher=BBC|date=2 August 2006}}</ref> During Sheerman's chairmanship, the select committee produced reports on subjects such as home education, education outside the classroom, and young people not in education employment or training (NEETs).
He is founder and chairman of [[Policy Connect]], a cross-party, not-for-profit based in London, where he regularly chairs seminar events and research inquiries. He is also chair and co-chair of a number of official All-Party Parliamentary Groups, including the [[All-Party Parliamentary Carbon Monoxide Group]], the All-Party Parliamentary Manufacturing Group, and the Bullying All-Party Group. Since 2012, Sheerman has led the Schools to Work Commission, the Labour Party's policy review on the transition from education to employment.<ref>[http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/cei/centrelinkmagazine/november2012contents/theschoolstoworkcommission/ University of Warwick, 'The Schools to Work Commission']{{dead link|date=October 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> ▼
▲He is Chair of the Labour Forum for Criminal Justice and of the Cross-Party Advisory Group on Preparation for European Monetary Union. Outside parliament, he is Chair of the National Educational Research and Development Trust, and a trustee of the [http://yorkshirechildrenscentre.org.uk/ National Children's Centre ]. His political interests are listed as trade, industry, finance, [[further education ]], education, economy, the [[European Union ]], [[South America ]] and the [[United States ]]. His recreations include walking, biography and films. In 1993, Sheerman co-wrote, with Isaac Kramnick, a biography of the Labour intellectual [[Harold Laski]].
In June 2015, Sheerman caused controversy when he argued that lowering the voting age to 16 would raise the risk of sexual abuse.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-33188463|title=Votes at 16 raises abuse risk, says MP|date=18 June 2015|publisher=|via=www.bbc.com}}</ref>
▲He is founder and chairman of [[Policy Connect ]], a cross-party, not-for-profit based in London, where he regularly chairs seminar events and research inquiries. He is also chair and co-chair of a number of official All-Party Parliamentary Groups, including the [[All-Party Parliamentary Carbon Monoxide Group ]], the All-Party Parliamentary Manufacturing Group, and the Bullying All-Party Group. Since 2012, Sheerman has led the Schools to Work Commission, the Labour Party's policy review on the transition from education to employment. <ref>[http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/cei/centrelinkmagazine/november2012contents/theschoolstoworkcommission/ University of Warwick, 'The Schools to Work Commission']{{dead link|date=October 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
Sheerman voted for the triggering of Article 50 (the trigger for leaving the EU). Kirklees, which his constituency falls within, saw 55% of its residents vote EU referendum to exit the EU. In October 2017, Sheerman appeared on National television and announced that he believed only better educated people voted to remain in the EU <ref>{{cite web|url=https://order-order.com/2017/10/29/labour-mp-better-educated-voted-remain/|title=Labour MP: "Better Educated" Voted Remain - Guido Fawkes|date=29 October 2017|publisher=}}</ref>
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