| The Right Honourable Sir Gerald Kaufman | |
 | |
| In office 11 June 1987 – 11 April 1992 | |
| Preceded by | Denis Healey |
|---|---|
| Succeeded by | Jack Cunningham |
| In office 11 June 1983 – 11 June 1987 | |
| Preceded by | Roy Hattersley |
| Succeeded by | Roy Hattersley |
| Born | 21 June 1930  Leeds, UK |
| Political party | Labour |
Sir Gerald Bernard Kaufman (born 21 June 1930) is a British Labour Member of Parliament who was a government minister during the 1970s. The Right Honourable (abbreviated as The Rt Hon) is an Honorific prefix that is traditionally applied to certain In British politics, the shadow foreign secretary is a position within the opposition 's shadow cabinet that deals mainly with issues surrounding the Events 1184 BC - Trojan War: Troy is sacked and burned according to the calculations of Eratosthenes. Year 1987 ( MCMLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar) Events 491 - Flavius Anastasius becomes Byzantine Emperor, with the name of Anastasius I. Year 1992 ( MCMXCII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar) Denis Winston Healey Baron Healey, CH, MBE, PC (born 30 August 1917 is a British Life peer and Labour politician John Anderson "Jack" Cunningham Baron Cunningham of Felling, PC, DL (born 4 August 1939 is a British Labour politician and was Member of In British politics, the Shadow Home Secretary is the person within the shadow cabinet who 'shadows' the Home Secretary; this effectively means scrutinising Events 1184 BC - Trojan War: Troy is sacked and burned according to the calculations of Eratosthenes. Year 1983 ( MCMLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar) Events 1184 BC - Trojan War: Troy is sacked and burned according to the calculations of Eratosthenes. Year 1987 ( MCMLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar) Roy Sydney George Hattersley Baron Hattersley, PC, (born 28 December 1932 is a British Labour Party Politician, published author and journalist Roy Sydney George Hattersley Baron Hattersley, PC, (born 28 December 1932 is a British Labour Party Politician, published author and journalist Events 524 - Godomar, King of the Burgundians defeats the Franks at the Battle of Vézeronce. Year 1930 ( MCMXXX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Leeds ( is located on the River Aire in West Yorkshire, England The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The Labour Party is a Political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century it has been since the 1920s the principal party of the Events 524 - Godomar, King of the Burgundians defeats the Franks at the Battle of Vézeronce. Year 1930 ( MCMXXX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Labour Party is a Political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century it has been since the 1920s the principal party of the A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a Parliament.
Contents |
Early life
Born in Leeds and educated at Leeds Grammar School, Kaufman graduated with an MA in philosophy, politics and economics at the University of Oxford (Queen's College). Leeds ( is located on the River Aire in West Yorkshire, England Leeds Grammar School was an independent school in Leeds established in 1552 Philosophy Politics and Economics or Politics Philosophy and Economics (often abbreviated to PPE) is a popular Interdisciplinary degree which The University of Oxford (informally "Oxford University" or simply "Oxford" located in the city of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England is the The Queen's College, founded 1341 is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. He was assistant general secretary of the Fabian Society from 1954 to 1955 and a political journalist on the Daily Mirror (1955-1964) and the New Statesman (1964-1965). The Fabian Society is a British Intellectual Socialist movement whose purpose is to advance the principles of Social democracy via Gradualist The Daily Mirror, often referred to simply as The Mirror, is a British Tabloid daily Newspaper founded in 1903 The New Statesman is a British Left-wing political Magazine published weekly in London. In 1965 he became a Labour Party press officer, and was eventually a member of Prime Minister Harold Wilson's informal "kitchen cabinet". This article is about the government position For other uses see Prime Minister (disambiguation. James Harold Wilson Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, PC (11 March 1916 &ndash 24 May 1995 was one of the most prominent British politicians
In the 1955 general election Kaufman had unsuccessfully contested the safe Conservative seat of Bromley, and in the 1959 general election, Gillingham. Results |} Total votes cast 26759729 All parties shown Conservatives include National Liberal Party and Ulster Unionists Votes Bromley is a former Borough constituency in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Background Following the Suez Crisis in 1956 Anthony Eden the Conservative Prime Minister became unpopular and resigned the following year Gillingham is a Constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. He became a writer, including contributions to That Was The Week That Was where he was most remembered for the "Silent men of Westminster" sketch. That Was The Week That Was, also known as TW3, was a Satirical Television comedy programme that aired on BBC Television in 1962 and
Member of Parliament
Kaufman was elected MP for Manchester Ardwick at the 1970 general election and has represented the Manchester Gorton constituency since the 1983 election. Manchester Ardwick was a parliamentary constituency in the city of Manchester which returned one Member of Parliament (MP to the House of Commons Opinion poll summary ORC (Opinion Research Council Conservative lead of 1%Harris (Express Newspapers Labour lead of 2%NOP Manchester Gorton is a parliamentary constituency in the city of Manchester, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the Results The Conservatives won with a majority of 144 seats|} Total votes cast 30661309 [1]
He was a junior minister throughout Labour's time in power from 1974 to 1979, first in the Department for the Environment (1974-1975) under Anthony Crosland, then in the Department of Industry under Eric Varley (Minister of State, 1975-1979). Charles Anthony Raven Crosland (29 August 1918 - 19 February 1977 was a member of the Labour Party and an important socialist theorist The Department of Trade and Industry was a United Kingdom government department which was disbanded with the announcement of the creation of the Department for Business Minister of State is a title borne by politicians or officials in certain countries governed under a Parliamentary system. He was made a member of the Privy Council in 1978. Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council is a body of advisors to the British Sovereign.
Shadow Cabinet
In opposition, he was the Shadow Environment Secretary, (1980-1983), Shadow Home Secretary (1983-1987) and Shadow Foreign Secretary (1987-1992). The Shadow Cabinet (also called the Shadow Front Bench) is a senior group of opposition spokespeople in the Westminster system of government who together under the The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the United Kingdom Home Office The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, commonly referred to as the Foreign Secretary, is a member of the United Kingdom Government heading the
He famously dubbed the Labour Party's left-wing 1983 election manifesto "the longest suicide note in history". Results The Conservatives won with a majority of 144 seats|} Total votes cast 30661309 For the Roxy Music album see Manifesto (album. A manifesto is a public declaration of principles and intentions often " The longest suicide note in history " is an Epithet originally used by Gerald Kaufman to describe the Labour Party 's left-wing 1983 election [2] In 1992 he went to the back benches and became Chair of what was then the National Heritage Select Committee.
Influential back-bencher
As Chairman of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee Kaufman's style of strong cross-examination and withering remarks to witnesses gained some renown. The Culture Media and Sport Select Committee is one of the Select Committees of the British House of Commons, having been established in 1997 They are evident in particular when he alleges cultural elitism. In 1997 in committee Kaufman criticised the then Chief Executive of the Royal Opera House Mary Allen over her inability to account for cost over-runs of a costly lottery funded refurbishment of the venue that would result in both fewer seats and the costly cancellation of scheduled performances, and condemned her low public standards – an event that contributed to her tendering her resignation. WikipediaWikiProject Opera --> The Royal Opera House is an Opera house and major performing Mary Allen (born 1951 is a British writer broadcaster arts administrator and management consultant best known for her controversial and turbulent period as Chief Executive of the
Kaufman has never voted against the Labour Government but his speeches are not uncritical as for example in his position[3] on the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The 2003 invasion of Iraq, from March 20 to May 1 2003 was spearheaded by the United States, backed by British forces and smaller contingents from Australia
He was awarded a knighthood for services to Parliament in the Queen's Birthday Honours in 2004. Knight is the English term for a social position originating in the Middle Ages. The British honours system is a means of rewarding individuals' personal bravery achievement or service to the United Kingdom.
Opinions
Kaufman is the writer of books and articles. Some are political – How to be a Minister (1980), is an irreverent look at the difficulties faced by ministers trying to control the civil service, in much the same vein as the television series Yes Minister. Yes Minister is a multi-award winning satirical British sitcom written by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn that was first transmitted Some are cultural – Meet Me in St Louis is a study of the 1944 Judy Garland film. He also wrote scripts for the 1960s television satire That Was The Week That Was. That Was The Week That Was, also known as TW3, was a Satirical Television comedy programme that aired on BBC Television in 1962 and He contributed a chapter about John Hodge Labour Member of Parliament for Manchester Gorton elected in 1906, to Men Who Made Labour, edited by Alan Haworth and Diane Hayter. John Hodge ( 29 October 1855 - 10 August 1937) was a Coalition Labour party politician in the United Kingdom, and was the Dianne Hayter (born 7 September, 1949) is a British politician who since 1998 has served as a member of the Labour Party National Executive
Kaufman is an outspoken opponent of hunting with hounds. Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking chase and sometimes killing of a fox traditionally a Red fox, by trained Foxhounds or other Scent hounds In 2004 he was assaulted by a group of pro-fox hunting campaigners and claimed that he was subjected to anti-Semitic taunts. Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking chase and sometimes killing of a fox traditionally a Red fox, by trained Foxhounds or other Scent hounds Antisemitism (alternatively spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism; also rarely known as judeophobia) is the Prejudice against or hostility These he said he found ironic as he had recently been accused of being a self-hating Jew by member of the Board of Deputies of British Jews. The Board of Deputies of British Jews is the main representative body of British Jews. [4]
Kaufman appeared twice on the topical panel show Have I Got News For You, both of which were memorable. Have I Got News for You is a British television panel show produced by Hat Trick Productions for the BBC. His first appearance, in 1993, saw him accusing – in jest – the studio crowd of being "a rigged Tory audience, just like it was a rigged Tory electorate" – after Ian Hislop asked the audience if they hated Jeremy Paxman, in response to Kaufman's claim that most people did. Ian David Hislop (born 13 July 1960) is an British Comedian, Scriptwriter and Editor of satirical magazine Jeremy Dixon Paxman (born 11 May 1950) is an English Journalist, Author and Television presenter. The response was muted to Hislop's question, allowing Hislop to accuse Kaufman and his party of being "completely out of touch!".
Kaufman's second appearance, almost exactly nine years later, was remarkable not for what he said, but for the fact that it was the last to feature Angus Deayton as host before sex and drugs revelations prompted his dismissal. Gordon Angus Deayton (born 6 January 1956 is an English Actor, Writer, Musician, Comedian and Television presenter. Kaufman is therefore the last guest to have been introduced by Deayton.
Kaufman on Jews, Israel and Zionism
Kaufman, who is himself Jewish, is a member of the Jewish Labour Movement formerly Poale Zion, a pro-Zionist group affiliated to the Labour party in Britain. PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ Poale Zion (also spelled Poalei Tziyon or Poaley Syjon, meaning "Workers of Zion" was a Movement of Marxist Zionist Jewish Although he supports Zionism, he has become one of the leading Jewish critics of Israel. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. He frequently accused Sharon's government of having a poor human rights record, and of failing to solve the security problems faced by both Israelis and Palestinians. (אריאל Human rights refers to the "basic Rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled Kaufman has called for economic sanctions and an arms ban against Israel, citing the success of such measures against apartheid South Africa. Economic sanctions are domestic penalties applied by one country (or group of countries on another for a variety of reasons The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa [5] He has called Israel a 'pariah',[6] and Sharon a 'war criminal'. [7]. He spoke at 2002 conference of the Zayed Centre for Co-Ordination and Follow-up during a government-funded visit[8], an organisation whose website was subsequently banned and closed for its anti-Semitism. In 2002 he created a BBC television documentary,[9] The End of the Affair, in which he characterised his own Jewish upbringing as 'orthodox, but loving', and in which he risked further allegations of anti-Semitism when he referred to orthodox Jews as 'infesting' Jerusalem, and suggested that Israel might be ready to commit mass suicide by detonating an atomic bomb. Jerusalem (יְרוּשָׁלַיִם, he-Latn Yerushaláyim; Arabic: ar القُدس, ar-Latn al-Quds) is the Mass suicide occurs when a number of people kill themselves together and/or for the same reason A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from Nuclear reactions either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. [10]
Relations with Muslim community in Gorton
Some, such as Allen Buchler writing in Electric Review, have however suggested[11] that Kaufman's attitudes to Israel may have been determined as much by his local political situation in Gorton as by his angst over his Zionist past. Gorton is a district of the City of Manchester in North West England. Angst is a German word for Fear or Anxiety. ( Anguish is its almost entirely synonymous Latinate equivalent There have been repeated attempts to unseat him by those hoping to capitalise on the large and growing Muslim population in his constituency. A Muslim (مسلم pronounced Muslim, not Muzlim) is an adherent of the Religion At one point the Labour party expelled a number of Muslim members. A later Labour party enquiry found that these disenfranchisements were unconstitutional. [12] Meanwhile, Kaufman maintained his candidacy and despite his refusal to condemn the Iraq war he kept his seat at the 2005 general election with a respectable majority, perhaps because of his efforts to engage with concerns of his Muslim constituents around the Kashmir dispute. Results Overview For events leading up to the date of the election see article Pre-election day events of the United Kingdom general This article is about the geographical region of greater Kashmir
Notes
- ^ Guardian Unlimited Politics: Manchester Gorton constituency
- ^ Nyta Mann, BBC News Online: Foot's message of hope to left
- ^ Hansard Parliamentary Debates 26 Feb 2003
- ^ Guardian Unlimited 30 September 2004
- ^ Gerald Kaufman: "The case for sanctions against Israel", Guardian Unlimited 12 July 2004
- ^ "UK MP calls Israel 'pariah'" BBC News 15 March 2002
- ^ "Sharon 'a war criminal' says MP" BBC News 17 April 2002
- ^ Hansard Register of Members' Interests: Kaufman, Rt. Hon. Gerald: Overseas visits
- ^ BBC News 6 September 2002 "Kaufman pessimistic over Israel's future"
- ^ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/cta/progs/02/end_affair/30aug.ram The End of the Affair, BBC Video (Real Audio required)]
- ^ Electric Review 9 September 2002
- ^ Kingsley Purdam, Democracy in Practice: Muslims and the Labour Party at the Local Level, in Politics, (2001), vol. 21(3), p. 150 et seq.
External links
- Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Gerald Kaufman MP
- TheyWorkForYou.com - Gerald Kaufman MP
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Leslie Maurice Lever | Member of Parliament for Manchester Ardwick 1970–1983 | Succeeded by (constituency abolished) |
| Preceded by Kenneth Marks | Member of Parliament for Manchester Gorton 1983 – present | Incumbent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Roy Hattersley | Shadow Home Secretary 1983–1987 | Succeeded by Roy Hattersley |
| Preceded by Denis Healey | Shadow Foreign Secretary 1987–1992 | Succeeded by Jack Cunningham |
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