Jim Fitzpatrick (politician)
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 8 June 2009 |
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| Preceded by | Jane Kennedy |
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| In office 28 June 2007 – 8 June 2009 |
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| Preceded by | Unknown |
| Succeeded by | Chris Mole |
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| In office 2005 – 28 June 2007 |
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| Preceded by | Keith Hill |
| Succeeded by | Tessa Jowell |
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Member of Parliament
for Poplar and Canning Town |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 1 May 1997 |
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| Preceded by | new constituency |
| Majority | 7,129 (18.7%) |
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| Born | 4 April 1952 Glasgow, Scotland |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse | Jane Lowe |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
James "Jim" Fitzpatrick (born April 4, 1952) is a British politician. He is the Labour Member of Parliament for Poplar and Canning Town and is Minister of State for Farming and the Environment at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
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[edit] Early and personal life
Jim Fitzpatrick was born in Glasgow, Scotland and was educated locally at the Holyrood R.C. Secondary School in Crosshill.[1] From 1970 he was a trainee with Tytrak in Glasgow, before moving to London in 1973 to become a driver with Mintex. In 1974 he became a firefighter with the London Fire Brigade, being awarded the long service medal in 1994, he left the brigade on his election to Westminster.
He is married to Dr Sheila Fitzpatrick and has two children from a previous marriage. He supports West Ham United Football Club.[2] He is also a vegetarian.[3]
[edit] Political career
He was for a number of years in the 1970s a member of the Socialist Workers Party but left it around 1981. At the time he was noted for his trade union militancy in the Fire Brigades Union.
He was elected as the chair of the Barking Constituency Labour Party for a year in 1989, and was chairman of the Greater London Labour Party for nine years from 1991.
He was elected to the House of Commons for the newly created seat of Poplar and Canning Town in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets at the 1997 General Election with a majority of 18,915 and has remained the MP there since. He made his maiden speech on June 17, 1997.
In parliament he was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury Alan Milburn in 1999,[1] remaining Milburn's PPS when he became the Secretary of State for Health later in the same year. After the 2001 General Election he became a member of the Tony Blair government as an Assistant Government Whip, becoming a Lord Commissioner to the Treasury (Government Whip) in 2002. He was again promoted within the Whips Office in 2003 when he became the Vice-Chamberlain of the Household. He has been a junior minister at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister since the 2005 General Election with the role of Minister for London, a role he took with him on his subsequent move to the DTI in May 2006. In 2007 he argued against a CWU strike saying it will harm their cause, something which is seen as a large turnaround from his previous days in a Trotskyist group. On 29 June 2007 he moved to become the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Transport and was replaced as Minister for London by Tessa Jowell.
It was announced in 2007 that the leader of Respect, George Galloway, would stand against Fitzpatrick for the new seat of Poplar and Limehouse at the next general election.[4]
In 2008 during the Christmas period, Jim Fitzpatrick and his wife visited Bangladesh, touring the development projects supported by the Canary Wharf Group. The purpose of the trip was to re-visit the country since 1999, and see the regeneration projects that the group supports. During his visit, he visited the Football Academy in Dhaka, also to Jagannathpur and Sylhet, where many Bangladeshis in the UK originate from including in his constituency.[5]
in the June 2009 reshuffle he was promoted to Minister of State level at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
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| Preceded by (New constituency) |
Member of Parliament for Poplar and Canning Town 1997 – present |
Incumbent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Gerry Sutcliffe |
Vice-Chamberlain of the Household 2003–2005 |
Succeeded by John Heppell |
| Preceded by Keith Hill |
Minister for London 2005-2008 |
Succeeded by Tessa Jowell |
| Preceded by Unknown |
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport 2008-2009 |
Succeeded by Chris Mole |
| Preceded by Jane Kennedy |
Minister of State for Farming and the Environment 2009 – present |
Incumbent |
[edit] References
- ^ a b "JIM FITZPATRICK MP APPOINTED PPS TO CHIEF SECRETARY ALAN MILBURN". HM Treasury. 1999-09-24. http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/press_156_99.htm. Retrieved on 2009-02-02.
- ^ "Jim Fitzpatrick MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State". Department of Transport. http://www.dft.gov.uk/press/ministers/jimfitzpatrickmp. Retrieved on 2009-02-02.
- ^ http://www.farmersguardian.com/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=26840
- ^ "Little Respect: George gives comrades both barrels". The Independent. 2007-09-11. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/pandora/little-respect-george-gives-comrades-both-barrels-401965.html. Retrieved on 2009-02-02.
- ^ Jim Fitzpatrick MP re-visits Banglades Labour Party LBTH.
[edit] External links
- Jim Fitzpatrick official site
- Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Jim Fitzpatrick MP
- TheyWorkForYou.com - Jim Fitzpatrick MP
- BBC Newsnight Interview
