Graham Allen

Graham Allen joined the Labour Party in 1971 aged 18, a natural progression for someone from a mining family, whose grandfather was a founding member of the Nottingham Labour Party. After leaving school, he worked as a warehouseman, but was sacked for forming a Trade Union branch. He studied for his A-levels in his spare time, before going on to the City of London Polytechnic, where he studied Politics, Economics, Statistics and Sociology, and became President of the Union in 1976. He then took an MA in Political Sociology at Leeds University.

After leaving University, Graham worked as a researcher for the Labour Party, helping to pull together the Party's first major work on the environment. While still in this job, he was elected to Tower Hamlets Council but failed to secure a hopeless GLC seat. He later became Deputy Head of the Programme Office at the GLC, where he helped to ensure that the GLC's £1billion budget was spent wisely and effectively. In 1984 he was seconded to run the Trades Union Political Funds Campaign.

Graham is a passionate democratic reformer and has written widely on the subject, in the UK and abroad. He was a member of Neil Kinnock's and John Smith's front bench ranging from shadow minister for Social Security, Transport, Home Affiars, National Heritage, and Environment. He holds the Regional Whip for the East Midlands and the Treasury Whip, ensuring important votes for the Government legislation. He also holds the more ceremonial 'go-between' position of Vice Chamberlain to Her Majesty's Household, reporting to the Queen regularly and even being held hostage during the Queens speech in November.

Among his interests are cricket, golf, cooking and spending time with his wife and young daughter.