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[[Category:Labour Members of Parliament]]
[[Category:Labour Members of Parliament]]

{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2011}}
<seo title="Nick Brown MP - Wikilab" metakeywords="wikilab,campaign,Labour," metadescription="Nick Brown (born 13 June 1950) has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for [[Newcastle upon Tyne East]] since 1983. He has served as Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Minister of State for Work and Pensions and Deputy Chief Whip. He has also served three separate terms as the Labour Party's Chief Whip, from 1997 to 1998, 2008 to 2010, and from 2016 to the present." meta google-site-verification="GEeHhcxoHWZ4EbFBudyILoYe21RElCR1PFdaJs2iiS8"/>
{{Use British English|date=July 2014}}

{{Infobox Officeholder
<div class="column" style="margin 1em; float: left;">
<div style= "margin: 1em;width:22em; border:3px solid #ddd;">

{{Infobox MP
|honorific-prefix = [[The Right Honourable]]
|honorific-prefix = [[The Right Honourable]]
|name = Nick Brown
|name = Nick Brown
| honorific-suffix = {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|MP}}
| honorific-suffix = {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|MP}}
|image = Official portrait of Mr Nicholas Brown crop 2.jpg
|image = Official portrait of Mr Nicholas Brown crop 2.jpg
|office = [[Chief Whip|Shadow Chief Whip]] of the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]]
|office = Shadow Chief Whip of the House of Commons
|leader = [[Jeremy Corbyn]]
|leader = [[Jeremy Corbyn]]
|term_start = 6 October 2016
|term_start = 6 October 2016
Line 13: Line 17:
|predecessor = [[Rosie Winterton]]
|predecessor = [[Rosie Winterton]]
|successor =
|successor =
|leader1 = [[Harriet Harman]] {{small|(Acting)}}<br>[[Ed Miliband]]
|leader1 = [[Harriet Harman]] {{small|(Acting)}}<br>[[Edward Miliband]]
|term_start1 = 11 May 2010
|term_start1 = 11 May 2010
|term_end1 = 7 October 2010
|term_end1 = 7 October 2010
|predecessor1 = [[Patrick McLoughlin]]
|predecessor1 = Patrick McLoughlin
|successor1 = [[Rosie Winterton]]
|successor1 = [[Rosie Winterton]]
|office2 = [[Chief Whip]] of the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]]<br>[[Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury]]
|office2 = Chief Whip of the House of Commons<br>Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury
|primeminister2 = [[Gordon Brown]]
|primeminister2 = Gordon Brown
|term_start2 = 3 October 2008
|term_start2 = 3 October 2008
|term_end2 = 11 May 2010
|term_end2 = 11 May 2010
|predecessor2 = [[Geoff Hoon]]
|predecessor2 = Geoff Hoon
|successor2 = [[Patrick McLoughlin]]
|successor2 = Patrick McLoughlin
|primeminister3 = [[Tony Blair]]
|primeminister3 = Tony Blair
|term_start3 = 2 May 1997
|term_start3 = 2 May 1997
|term_end3 = 27 July 1998
|term_end3 = 27 July 1998
|predecessor3 = [[Alastair Goodlad, Baron Goodlad|Alastair Goodlad]]
|predecessor3 = Alastair Goodlad
|successor3 = [[Ann Taylor, Baroness Taylor of Bolton|Ann Taylor]]
|successor3 = Ann Taylor
|office4 = [[Regional minister|Minister for the North East]]
|office4 = Minister for the North East
|primeminister4 = [[Gordon Brown]]
|primeminister4 = Gordon Brown
|term_start4 = 28 June 2007
|term_start4 = 28 June 2007
|term_end4 = 11 May 2010
|term_end4 = 11 May 2010
|predecessor4 = Position established
|predecessor4 = Position established
|successor4 = Position abolished
|successor4 = Position abolished
|office5 = [[Chief Whip|Deputy Chief Whip]] of the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]]<br>[[Treasurer of the Household]]
|office5 = Deputy Chief Whip of the House of Commons<br>Treasurer of the Household
|primeminister5 = [[Gordon Brown]]
|primeminister5 = Gordon Brown
|term_start5 = 28 June 2007
|term_start5 = 28 June 2007
|term_end5 = 3 October 2008
|term_end5 = 3 October 2008
|predecessor5 = [[Bob Ainsworth]]
|predecessor5 = Bob Ainsworth
|successor5 = [[Tommy McAvoy]]
|successor5 = Tommy McAvoy
|office6 = [[Department for Work and Pensions|Minister of State for Work]]
|office6 = Minister of State for Work
|primeminister6 = [[Tony Blair]]
|primeminister6 = Tony Blair
|term_start6 = 11 June 2001
|term_start6 = 11 June 2001
|term_end6 = 13 June 2003
|term_end6 = 13 June 2003
|predecessor6 = Position established
|predecessor6 = Position established
|successor6 = [[Des Browne]]
|successor6 = Des Browne
|office7 = [[Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food]]
|office7 = Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
|primeminister7 = [[Tony Blair]]
|primeminister7 = Tony Blair
|term_start7 = 27 July 1998
|term_start7 = 27 July 1998
|term_end7 = 11 June 2001
|term_end7 = 11 June 2001
|predecessor7 = [[Jack Cunningham, Baron Cunningham of Felling|Jack Cunningham]]
|predecessor7 = Jack Cunningham
|successor7 = [[Margaret Beckett]] {{small|([[Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs|Environment, Food and Rural Affairs]])}}
|successor7 = [[Margaret Beckett]] {{small|(Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)}}
|office8 = [[Shadow Leader of the House of Commons]]<br>{{small|Acting}}
|office8 = Shadow Leader of the House of Commons<br>{{small|Acting}}
|leader8 = [[Margaret Beckett]] {{small|(Acting)}}
|leader8 = [[Margaret Beckett]] {{small|(Acting)}}
|term_start8 = 12 May 1994
|term_start8 = 12 May 1994
Line 59: Line 63:
|predecessor8 = [[Margaret Beckett]]
|predecessor8 = [[Margaret Beckett]]
|successor8 = [[Margaret Beckett]]
|successor8 = [[Margaret Beckett]]
|office9 = [[Member of Parliament (UK)|Member of Parliament]]<br>for [[Newcastle upon Tyne East (UK Parliament constituency)|Newcastle upon Tyne East]]<br>{{small|[[Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend (UK Parliament constituency)|Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend]] (1997–2010)}}
|office9 = Member of Parliament<br>for [[Newcastle upon Tyne East]]<br>{{small| Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend (1997–2010)}}
|term_start9 = 9 June 1983
|term_start9 = 9 June 1983
|term_end9 =
|term_end9 =
|predecessor9 = [[Mike Thomas (politician)|Mike Thomas]]
|predecessor9 = Mike Thomas
|successor9 =
|successor9 =
|majority9 = 19,261 (46.3%)
|majority9 = 19,261 (46.3%)
|birth_name = Nicholas Hugh Brown
|birth_name = Nicholas Hugh Brown
|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1950|6|13|df=y}}
|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1950|6|13|df=y}}
|birth_place = [[Hawkhurst]], [[England]], UK
|birth_place =
|death_date =
|death_date =
|death_place =
|death_place =
|party = [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]]
|party =
|alma_mater = [[University of Manchester]]
|alma_mater =
|website = {{url|nickbrownmp.com|Official website}}<br>{{url|parliament.uk/biographies/commons/mr-nicholas-brown/523|Commons website}}
|website = {{url|nickbrownmp.com|Official website}}<br>{{url|parliament.uk/biographies/commons/mr-nicholas-brown/523|Commons website}}
}}
}}
</div>
'''Nicholas Hugh Brown'''<ref name="freeman">http://www.newcastle.gov.uk/your-council/lord-mayor/honorary-freedom-citations#nbrownmp</ref> (born 13 June 1950) is a [[United Kingdom|British]] [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] [[politician]] who has been the [[Member of Parliament (UK)|Member of Parliament]] (MP) for [[Newcastle upon Tyne East (UK Parliament constituency)|Newcastle upon Tyne East]] since [[United Kingdom general election, 1983|1983]]. He has served as [[Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food]], [[Department for Work and Pensions|Minister of State for Work and Pensions]] and [[Chief Whip|Deputy Chief Whip]]. He has also served three separate terms as the Labour Party's [[Chief Whip]], from 1997 to 1998, 2008 to 2010, and from 2016 to the present. His terms as chief whip have spanned periods in both government and opposition.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.number10.gov.uk/Page17065 |title=Number 10 Press release |publisher=Number10.gov.uk |date= |accessdate=2012-02-29 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100125122712/http://www.number10.gov.uk/Page17065 |archivedate=25 January 2010 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>
</div>



==Early life==
Nick Brown (born 13 June 1950) has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for [[Newcastle upon Tyne East]] since 1983. He has served as Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Minister of State for Work and Pensions and Deputy Chief Whip. He has also served three separate terms as the Labour Party's Chief Whip, from 1997 to 1998, 2008 to 2010, and from 2016 to the present. His terms as chief whip have spanned periods in both government and opposition.
Brown was born in [[Hawkhurst]], [[Kent]], and brought up in nearby [[Royal Tunbridge Wells|Tunbridge Wells]], attending [[Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ukpolitics.telegraph.co.uk/Newcastle+upon+Tyne+East/Nicholas+Brown |title=Nicholas Brown - Parliamentary candidates |publisher=Ukpolitics.telegraph.co.uk |date= |accessdate=2012-02-29}}</ref> before studying at the [[University of Manchester]]. After graduating, he worked in advertising for [[Procter & Gamble]], but in 1978 he moved to be legal adviser to the Northern Region of the [[GMB (trade union)|GMBATU]], based in [[Newcastle upon Tyne]]. In 1980 he was elected to [[Newcastle City Council]], representing Walker ward. His role in the union gave him a role in maximising the union's influence in Labour Party selections.{{Citation needed|date=June 2017}}


==Political career==
==Political career==
When [[Michael Thomas (UK politician)|Mike Thomas]], the sitting Labour MP for [[Newcastle upon Tyne East (UK Parliament constituency)|Newcastle upon Tyne East]], defected to the [[Social Democratic Party (UK)|SDP]], Brown was chosen as the new Labour Party candidate for the seat, easily retaining it for Labour at the 1983 general election. He joined Labour's front bench in 1985 as a spokesman on Legal Affairs; from 1988 he was a Treasury spokesman and from 1994 he shadowed Health.
When Mike Thomas, the sitting Labour MP for Newcastle upon Tyne East, defected to the SDP, Brown was chosen as the new Labour Party candidate for the seat, easily retaining it for Labour at the 1983 general election. He joined Labour's front bench in 1985 as a spokesman on Legal Affairs; from 1988 he was a Treasury spokesman and from 1994 he shadowed Health.

Originally elected to the Commons in the same year as [[Gordon Brown]] and [[Tony Blair]] he was initially close to both men but over time he became his namesake Brown's staunchest ally, though the two are unrelated. In the [[Labour Party (UK) leadership election, 1994|1994 Labour leadership election]] he acted as Brown's unofficial campaign manager, and according to [[Gordon Brown]]'s biographer [[Paul Routledge]], advised against him pulling out of the contest in Blair's favour.

In 1995 he was appointed Deputy Chief Whip and played a central role in the close Parliament in trying to defeat the Conservatives. After Labour's [[united Kingdom general election, 1997|election]] victory in 1997, he was appointed [[Chief Whip]], but stayed there only for a year, and was moved to the [[Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food]] in 1998. This change, which followed the publication of the Routledge biography earlier that year, was widely seen as a demotion,{{citation needed|date=September 2014}} and ascribed to his close connection with Brown.

His tenure at MAFF saw several animal health crises ending with the [[2001 UK foot and mouth crisis|2001 foot and mouth crisis]]. Brown's handling of the outbreak, which some in the media and politics used to attack the government, was criticised, though throughout he maintained the support of the farming and food industries and the veterinary profession. Suggestions that a [[vaccination]] strategy should have been practised in preference to the culling of hundreds of thousands of animals, made with the benefit of hindsight, did not help his cause, and he was demoted out to be the Minister of Work, with non-voting Cabinet rank, at the [[Department for Work and Pensions]] after the general election of 2001. In June 2003, he was dropped from the Government altogether, receiving news of his sacking by [[Tony Blair]] during the course of a party held to mark his 20 years as an MP.

Brown remains closely allied to [[Gordon Brown]]. In 2004 he was one of the organisers of a rebellion over the government's proposals for student finance, but hours before the vote announced that he had received concessions from the Government and would now support it. It was suspected that the Chancellor had ordered him to back down, but the affair cost him some credibility. On 29 June 2007 he was announced as Brown's new Deputy Chief Whip and Minister for the North East. Following a government reshuffle, he was returned to his original government position of Government Chief Whip, retaining his position as Minister for the North East.

In 2009, Brown was put in charge of investigating questionable expense claims by Labour MPs. According to '' [[The Daily Telegraph]]'', between 2004 and 2008, he himself claimed a total of £87,708 for his constituency home including £18,800 for food. Allowances sought, without submission of receipts, included £200 a month for repairs, £200 a month for service and maintenance and £250 a month for a cleaner.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/5346633/MPs-expenses-Nick-Brown-claims-18800-for-food-without-receipts.html|title=MPs' expenses: Nick Brown claims £18,800 for food without receipts|work=The Telegraph | location=London|first1=Gordon|last1=Rayner|first2=Jon|last2=Swaine|date=19 May 2009}}</ref>

Brown's mortgage interest repayments for 2007-8 totalled £6,600, but he also claimed a total of £23,068, just £15 below the maximum allowable amount for the year. The claim included £4,800 for food – the maximum allowable amount – £2,880 for repairs and insurance, £2,880 for services, £897.65 for cleaning, £1,640 for phones and £1,810 for utilities. Brown, however, has pointed out that he saved the taxpayer a considerable amount of money by turning down a Government car and driver upon being made Chief Whip, the annual cost of which would have been around £100,000.<ref>{{cite news|first=William |last=Green |url=http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/north-east-news/todays-evening-chronicle/2009/05/12/mps-expenses-north-east-minister-opens-up-72703-23601259/ |title=MPs' expenses: North East Minister opens up |work=Evening Chronicle |location=Newcastle upon Tyne |date=2009-05-12 |accessdate=2012-02-29}}</ref>

On 29 January 2010, during the [[News of the World phone hacking affair|''News of the World'' phone hacking affair]], Brown revealed that his landline may have been bugged in an "amateurish attempt" in 1998, around the time of his outing.<ref name="indy-bugged">{{Cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/my-landline-was-bugged-as-papers-tried-to-out-me-says-nick-brown-2197771.html|author=|title=My landline was bugged as papers tried to 'out' me, says Nick Brown |work=The Independent |date=2011-01-29 |accessdate=2011-01-29 |location=London |first=Cahal |last=Milmo}}</ref> He was also contacted by police in the West of England in 2003 who told him that they were pursuing a phone-tapping prosecution and he was one of those who may have been targeted. The case collapsed when it reached court and full details of the allegations were never disclosed. Brown said that "Given that it was near [Prince Charles' home] Highgrove, my assumption was that this might involve the Royal Family. But I was never explicitly told that."<ref name="indy-bugged"/>

On 29 September 2010, newly elected Labour Party leader [[Ed Miliband]] asked Brown not to stand for re-election as Opposition Chief Whip due to the need for a "break from the past".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11436851 |title=Ed Miliband asks chief whip Nick Brown to step aside|work=BBC News |date=2010-09-29 |accessdate=2012-02-29}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Nick Brown is openly [[gay]] and "came out" in 1998 whilst in cabinet,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/209712.stm|title=BBC News {{!}} UK Politics {{!}} Cabinet rallies around gay minister|website=news.bbc.co.uk|access-date=2017-06-10}}</ref> this was controversial due to the tabloids coverage of Brown's sexual preference.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/210301.stm|title=BBC News {{!}} UK Politics {{!}} Gay minister speaks out|website=news.bbc.co.uk|access-date=2017-06-10}}</ref> In 2001 he was granted the freedom of the City of Newcastle upon Tyne, on the same day as [[Alan Shearer]].<ref name="freeman"/> Brown is a supporter of [[Humanists UK]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://humanism.org.uk/about/our-people/patrons/rt-hon-nick-brown-mp/|title=Rt Hon Nick Brown MP|date=22 October 2013|publisher=}}</ref> Brown is also the chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Speedway racing.

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*[http://www.nickbrownmp.com/ Nick Brown MP] official constituency website
*[http://www.labour.org.uk/maps/locinfo.phtml?ctid=2258 Profile] at the Labour Party{{UK MP links | parliament = mr-nicholas-brown/523 | hansard = mr-nick-brown | hansardcurr = 2330 | guardian = 658/nick-brown | publicwhip = Nick_Brown | theywork = nick_brown | record = Nicholas-Brown/Newcastle-upon-Tyne-East/100 | bbc = 25744.stm | journalisted = nick-brown }}


Originally elected to the Commons in the same year as Gordon Brown and Tony Blair he was initially close to both men but over time he became his namesake Brown's staunchest ally, though the two are unrelated. In the 1994 Labour leadership election he acted as Brown's unofficial campaign manager, and according to Gordon Brown's biographer Paul Routledge, advised against him pulling out of the contest in Blair's favour.
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In 1995 he was appointed Deputy Chief Whip and played a central role in the close Parliament in trying to defeat the Conservatives. After Labour's election victory in 1997, he was appointed Chief Whip, but stayed there only for a year, and was moved to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in 1998.
{{UK Shadow Cabinet}}
{{Blair Cabinet}}
{{Brown Cabinet}}
{{North East Labour Party MPs}}
{{Authority control}}


His tenure at MAFF saw several animal health crises ending with the 2001 foot and mouth crisis. Brown's handling of the outbreak, which some in the media and politics used to attack the government, was criticised, though throughout he maintained the support of the farming and food industries and the veterinary profession. Suggestions that a vaccination strategy should have been practised in preference to the culling of hundreds of thousands of animals, made with the benefit of hindsight, did not help his cause, and he was demoted out to be the Minister of Work, with non-voting Cabinet rank, at the Department for Work and Pensions after the general election of 2001. In June 2003, he was dropped from the Government altogether, receiving news of his sacking by Tony Blair during the course of a party held to mark his 20 years as an MP.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Nick}}
[[Category:1950 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Agriculture ministers of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Manchester]]
[[Category:Councillors in Newcastle upon Tyne]]
[[Category:English humanists]]
[[Category:Gay politicians]]
[[Category:Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies]]
[[Category:LGBT members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:LGBT politicians from England]]
[[Category:Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:People educated at Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys]]
[[Category:People from Hawkhurst]]
[[Category:Treasurers of the Household]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1983–87]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1987–92]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1992–97]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1997–2001]]
[[Category:UK MPs 2001–05]]
[[Category:UK MPs 2005–10]]
[[Category:UK MPs 2010–15]]
[[Category:UK MPs 2015–17]]
[[Category:UK MPs 2017–]]

Revision as of 23:36, 14 June 2018



The Right Honourable
Nick Brown
MP
Shadow Chief Whip of the House of Commons
Assumed office
6 October 2016
Leader Jeremy Corbyn
Preceded by Rosie Winterton
In office
11 May 2010 – 7 October 2010
Leader Harriet Harman (Acting)
Edward Miliband
Preceded by Patrick McLoughlin
Succeeded by Rosie Winterton
Chief Whip of the House of Commons
Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury
In office
3 October 2008 – 11 May 2010
Prime Minister Gordon Brown
Preceded by Geoff Hoon
Succeeded by Patrick McLoughlin
In office
2 May 1997 – 27 July 1998
Prime Minister Tony Blair
Preceded by Alastair Goodlad
Succeeded by Ann Taylor
Minister for the North East
In office
28 June 2007 – 11 May 2010
Prime Minister Gordon Brown
Preceded by Position established
Succeeded by Position abolished
Deputy Chief Whip of the House of Commons
Treasurer of the Household
In office
28 June 2007 – 3 October 2008
Prime Minister Gordon Brown
Preceded by Bob Ainsworth
Succeeded by Tommy McAvoy
Minister of State for Work
In office
11 June 2001 – 13 June 2003
Prime Minister Tony Blair
Preceded by Position established
Succeeded by Des Browne
Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
In office
27 July 1998 – 11 June 2001
Prime Minister Tony Blair
Preceded by Jack Cunningham
Succeeded by Margaret Beckett (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
Acting
In office
12 May 1994 – 21 July 1994
Leader Margaret Beckett (Acting)
Preceded by Margaret Beckett
Succeeded by Margaret Beckett
Member of Parliament
for Newcastle upon Tyne East
Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend (1997–2010)
Assumed office
9 June 1983
Preceded by Mike Thomas
Majority 19,261 (46.3%)
Personal details
Born Nicholas Hugh Brown
(1950-06-13) 13 June 1950 (age 73)
Website Official website
Commons website


Nick Brown (born 13 June 1950) has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Newcastle upon Tyne East since 1983. He has served as Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Minister of State for Work and Pensions and Deputy Chief Whip. He has also served three separate terms as the Labour Party's Chief Whip, from 1997 to 1998, 2008 to 2010, and from 2016 to the present. His terms as chief whip have spanned periods in both government and opposition.

Political career

When Mike Thomas, the sitting Labour MP for Newcastle upon Tyne East, defected to the SDP, Brown was chosen as the new Labour Party candidate for the seat, easily retaining it for Labour at the 1983 general election. He joined Labour's front bench in 1985 as a spokesman on Legal Affairs; from 1988 he was a Treasury spokesman and from 1994 he shadowed Health.

Originally elected to the Commons in the same year as Gordon Brown and Tony Blair he was initially close to both men but over time he became his namesake Brown's staunchest ally, though the two are unrelated. In the 1994 Labour leadership election he acted as Brown's unofficial campaign manager, and according to Gordon Brown's biographer Paul Routledge, advised against him pulling out of the contest in Blair's favour.

In 1995 he was appointed Deputy Chief Whip and played a central role in the close Parliament in trying to defeat the Conservatives. After Labour's election victory in 1997, he was appointed Chief Whip, but stayed there only for a year, and was moved to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in 1998.

His tenure at MAFF saw several animal health crises ending with the 2001 foot and mouth crisis. Brown's handling of the outbreak, which some in the media and politics used to attack the government, was criticised, though throughout he maintained the support of the farming and food industries and the veterinary profession. Suggestions that a vaccination strategy should have been practised in preference to the culling of hundreds of thousands of animals, made with the benefit of hindsight, did not help his cause, and he was demoted out to be the Minister of Work, with non-voting Cabinet rank, at the Department for Work and Pensions after the general election of 2001. In June 2003, he was dropped from the Government altogether, receiving news of his sacking by Tony Blair during the course of a party held to mark his 20 years as an MP.

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