Iain Wright: Difference between revisions

{{Use dmy dates|date=MarchDecember 20122019}}

{{Use British English|date=MarchDecember 20122019}}

| image = Iain Wright.jpg

| honorific-prefix =

| name = Iain Wright

| honorific-suffix =

| office = Chairman of the [[Business, InnovationEnergy and SkillsIndustrial Strategy Committee|Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee]]

| term_start = 18 June 2015

| term_end = 12 July 2017

| predecessor = [[Adrian Bailey]]

| successor = [[Rachel Reeves]]

| office1 = [[Department for Children, Schools and Families|Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for 14-19 Reform and Apprenticeships]]

| term_start1 = 9 June 2009

| term_end1 = 11 May 2010

| predecessor1 = [[Sarah McCarthy-Fry]] <small> (as [[Parliamentary Under Secretary of State|PUS]] for Schools and Learners) </small>

| primeminister1 = [[Gordon Brown]]

| office2 = [[Member of Parliament (UKUnited Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] <br /> for [[Hartlepool (UK Parliament constituency)|Hartlepool]]

| parliament2 =

| predecessor2 = [[Peter Mandelson]]

| successor2 = [[Mike Hill (British politician)|Mike Hill]]

| term_start2 = 830 September 2004

| term_end2 = 3 May 2017

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1972|05|9|df=yes}}

| birth_place = [[Hartlepool]], [[County Durham]], [[England]]

| death_placedeath_date =

| spouse = Tiffiny Wright<ref>{{cite web|url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmregmem/110124/part2.htm|title=House of Commons - The Register of Members' Financial Interests - Part 2: Part 2|first=House of|last=Commons|website=publications.parliament.uk}}</ref>

| party = [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]]

| relations =

| children =

| residence =

| alma_mater = [[University College London]]

| occupation =

| profession =

| religion =

| signature =

| website =

| footnotes =

'''Iain David Wright''' (born 9 May 1972) is a British [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] politician who was the [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] (MP) for [[Hartlepool (UK Parliament constituency)|Hartlepool]] from [[2004 Hartlepool by-election|2004]] to [[2017 United Kingdom general election|2017]], and served also as the Chairman of Business Innovation and Skills Committee. He was previously [[Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State]] with responsibility for apprenticeships, and 14- to 19 reform in the [[Department for Children, Schools and Families]] until 11 May 2010.

In April 2017, he announced that he would not be seeking re election at the [[2017 United Kingdom general election|snap election of 2017]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Horton|first=Helena|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/0/labour-mps-will-not-standing-2017-general-election/|title=Who are the Labour MPs who will not be standing in the 2017 general election?|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=19 April 2017|accessdateaccess-date=19 April 2017}}</ref> On 12 July 2017, fellow Labour MP [[Rachel Reeves]] succeeded Wright as Chair of the [[Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee|Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jul/12/the-guardian-view-on-select-committees-chairs-of-power|title=The Guardian view on select committees: chairs of power - Editorial|last=Editorial|date=12 July 2017|publisher=|via=www.theguardian.com|newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref>

Wright was born in Hartlepool and graduated with a [[Bachelor of Arts|BA]] in 1994, and [[Master of Arts|MA]] in 1995 in History from [[University College London]]. That year, he joined the Labour Party and was elected as an officer of Cleveland and Richmond Young Labour. He worked as a [[Accountancy|chartered accountant]] for [[Deloitte & Touche]] from 1996- to 2003, and for the [[One NorthEast]] RDA from 2003- to 2004, prior to his election to Parliament.

In 2006, he became Chairman of [[Labour Friends of Israel]].{{citation needed|date=April 2020}} He returned to Government in July 2007, as [[Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State]] in the [[Department for Communities and Local Government]], before moving to the [[Department for Children, Schools and Families]] in the Cabinet reshuffle of June 2009.{{citation needed|date=April 2020}}

In May 2009, during the [[United Kingdom parliamentary expenses scandal|MP's expenses row]], Wright and fellow [[Labour Party(UK)|Labour]] [[Member of Parliament (UKUnited Kingdom)|MP]] [[Tom Watson (Labour politician)|Tom Watson]] were criticised by the ''[[Daily Telegraph]]'' for "lavishing" £100,000 on a "shared Central London crash pad".<ref name=expn>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/5301766/Iain-Wright-and-Tom-Watson-lavish-100000-on-shared-central-London-flat-on-MPs-expenses.html|title=Iain Wright and Tom Watson lavish £100,000 on shared central London flat on MPs' expenses|author=Gordon Rayner and Rosa Prince|publisher=Daily Telegraph|date=10 May 2009|accessdateaccess-date=22 May 2012}}</ref>

Wright and Watson claimed the legal fees for buying the property and the following year claimed £1,431.46 legal fees for buying the freehold, which significantly enhanced the property value. Rules at the time did not require them to reimburse any profits made on the sale of the property.<ref name=newrules>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8587661.stm|publisher =BBC News|title=MPs' expenses: Old rules vs new rules|date=29 Mar 2010|accessdateaccess-date=22 May 2012}}</ref>

In response, Wright said "As a new MP, I purchased furniture and electrical equipment once I was in the process of purchasing a half share of a small two bedroom flat in London." His expenses for 2008 to 2009 were £136,725 and ranked 489 out of 647 MPs.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/iain_wright/hartlepool#expenses|title=Iain Wright Labour MP for Hartlepool:Expenses|publisher=theyworkforyou.com|accessdateaccess-date=22 May 2012}}</ref>

The ''Legg Report'' stated that he was reimbursed £805.97 for an extra month mortgage interest during 2006 to 2007, which he subsequently repaid.<ref name=leg>{{cite web|date=4 February 2010|title=Review of past ACA payments|url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200910/cmselect/cmmemest/348/348.pdf|publisher=House of Commons Members Estimate Committee|doi=|accessdateaccess-date=2010-02-05}}</ref>

Wright completed the 2011 [[Great North Run]] in aid of the [[Stroke Association]]. He joined his son Benjamin, 17, on the 13.1 mile[[half runmarathon]]. The pair ran in aid of the Stroke Association, a cause which has been close to their hearts, since Ben suffered a serious stroke in 2006. Wright completed the course in his personal best time of two hours and fifty minutes, with Ben achieving a time of two hours thirty minutes.<ref name=stroke>{{cite web|url=http://www.iainwrightmp.org.uk/categories/3-Iain%20In%20Hartlepool|title=Iain Wright takes on Great North Run for stroke charity|date=8 November 2011|accessdateaccess-date=22 November 2015|archiveurlarchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120209105425/http://www.iainwrightmp.org.uk/categories/3-Iain%20In%20Hartlepool|archivedatearchive-date=9 February 2012}}</ref>

Wright has also supported ''Whizz-Kidz'', an internationala charity for disabled children.<ref name=stroke/>

{{reflistReflist}}

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/mpdb/html/304.stm BBC Politics page] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202104920/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/mpdb/html/304.stm |date=2 December 2008 }}

{{s-ttl|title=[[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Hartlepool (UK Parliament constituency)|Hartlepool]]|years=[[2004 Hartlepool by-election|2004]]–[[2017 United Kingdom general election|2017]]}}