Nick Raynsford

Wyvill Richard Nicolls Raynsford (born 28 January 1945), known as Nick Raynsford, is a British Labour Party politician. A government minister from 1997 to 2005, he was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Greenwich & Woolwich from 1997 to 2015, having previously been MP for Greenwich from 1992 to 1997, and for Fulham from 1986 to 1987.

The Right Honourable

Nick Raynsford
Raynsford in 2013
Minister of State for Local and Regional Government[1]
In office
11 June 2001 – 10 May 2005
Prime MinisterTony Blair
Preceded byHilary Armstrong
Succeeded byPhil Woolas
Minister for London
In office
7 June 2001 – 12 March 2003
Prime MinisterTony Blair
Preceded byKeith Hill
Succeeded byTony McNulty
In office
6 May 1997 – 29 July 1999
Prime MinisterTony Blair
Preceded byJohn Gummer
Succeeded byKeith Hill
Minister of State for Housing and Planning
In office
29 July 1999 – 7 June 2001
Prime MinisterTony Blair
Preceded byHilary Armstrong
Succeeded byThe Lord Falconer of Thoroton
Minister of State for the Regions
In office
29 July 1999 – 7 June 2001
Prime MinisterTony Blair
Preceded byRichard Caborn
Succeeded byAlun Michael
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Construction
In office
6 May 1997 – 29 July 1999
Prime MinisterTony Blair
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byChris Leslie (2002)
Member of Parliament
for Greenwich and Woolwich
Greenwich (1992–1997)
In office
9 April 1992 – 30 March 2015
Preceded byRosie Barnes
Succeeded byMatthew Pennycook
Member of Parliament
for Fulham
In office
10 April 1986 – 11 June 1987
Preceded byMartin Stevens
Succeeded byMatthew Carrington
Personal details
Born
Wyvill Richard Nicolls Raynsford

(1945-01-28) 28 January 1945
Northampton, Northamptonshire, England
NationalityBritish
Political partyLabour
Spouse(s)Anne Jelley (m 1968)
Alison Seabeck
Alma materSidney Sussex College, Cambridge

Early life
Repton School

The son of Wyvill Raynsford and Patricia Raynsford (née Dunn), Raynsford was brought up at Milton Manor in Milton Malsor, Northamptonshire.[2] He was educated at Repton School (a private school) and Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, where he graduated with a BA degree in History in 1966. He also has a Diploma in Art and Design from the Chelsea School of Art.[3]

At university Raynsford was rusticated for a year for night climbing. In the course of this he had displayed a banner against the Vietnam War between the pinnacles of King's College Chapel.[4]

Early career

Raynsford was a councillor for the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham from 1971 to 1975. Before he was elected to Parliament he was Director of the Shelter Housing Aid Centre.[2] He says a major reason he chose to seek parliamentary office was his involvement in campaigning for better provision for the homeless, achieved through the 1977 Homeless Persons Act. The 1977 Act extended local council responsibility "to provide accommodation for homeless people in their area,"[5] and instituted the right of homeless families to a permanent local council tenancy.[6]

Member of Parliament

Raynsford was first elected a member of parliament (MP) for the Labour Party in a by-election in Fulham Constituency in 1986, but at the 1987 General Election lost to Conservative candidate Matthew Carrington.

He then became MP for Greenwich at the 1992 general election, and at the 1997 general election he won the re-drawn seat of Greenwich & Woolwich. He retained the seat at the 2001, 2005 and 2010 general elections, with majorities of 13,433,[7] 10,146[8] and 10,153[9] respectively.

In opposition, Raynsford was Shadow Minister for Housing and Construction from 1994, and front-bench spokesperson for London from 1993. From 1992 to 1993, he was a member of the Environment Select Committee.[10]

Raynsford joined the Government in 1997 and held responsibility for construction, housing, planning and the regions. During this time he was responsible for the implementation of the Decent Homes Standard. In 1997, there were 2.1m houses owned by local authorities and housing associations that didn't meet the Decent Homes Standard. By the end of 2010, 92% of social housing met the standard of being warm and weatherproof with reasonably modern facilities.[11]

As Construction Minister, Raynsford was credited with introducing building regulations which significantly improved standards, including making mandatory disabled access in new builds, increasing energy efficiency standards and fire safety.[12] His position also included responsibility for the Fire Service and the creation of the London Resilience Forum to oversee London's preparedness for dealing with emergencies (see Operation Sassoon). As Local Government Minister he led the Local Government Act 2000 through Parliament, which repealed the controversial Section 28.[13]

As Minister for London from 2001 until 2003, Raynsford was responsible for restoring democratic citywide government to London, and the creation of the Greater London Authority and the commission of its home at City Hall.[13] After the 2005 general election he returned to the backbenches.

In June 2009, Raynsford publicly called for Gordon Brown to resign as Prime Minister, stating at the time, "I personally have considerable respect for Gordon Brown but his leadership is now so seriously damaged that I can't see the likelihood of him leading Labour successfully into the next general election. It's now appropriate for the party to look for a new leader".[14]

In opposition again in the 2010–15 Parliament, Raynsford was a consistent critic of the Bedroom tax, and in July 2014 co-sponsored the Affordable Homes Bill, which seeks to limit the impact of the Bedroom tax on tenants in the social rented sector.[15] He also co-chaired a Parliamentary inquiry into youth unemployment which encouraged the promotion of apprenticeships in the construction industry.[16]

As a constituency MP, Raynsford promoted regeneration in the Greenwich Borough, including campaigns for the North Greenwich Station on the Jubilee Line, the extension of the DLR to Greenwich and Woolwich, and the campaign to secure a Crossrail Station in Woolwich, and support for bringing the Olympics to his constituency.[17] He also advocated improved river crossings in East and South East London[18] In May 2014 he expressed his opposition to a memorial to murdered soldier Lee Rigby, suggesting it ""would not in my view be helpful" because it "might attract undesirable interest from extremists". Greenwich Council noted they had been "overwhelmed by interest in a local memorial", but also opposed the tribute.[19]

In 2013 Raynsford announced his intention to stand down as Greenwich and Woolwich MP at the next General Election, citing his age as a factor.

Additional work

On 28 March 2010, The Sunday Times reported that Raynsford earns £9,000 per month from jobs in industries connected to his ministerial career.[20] They focus around three areas of activity – housing, construction and local government – with which Raynsford has been involved throughout his working life.

Raynsford remains involved with UK construction. He is chair of CICAIR Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Construction Industry Council (CIC - of which he is a board member, and chaired 2006-2008)[21] which maintains and operates the Construction Industry Council Approved Inspectors Register regulating 'Approved Inspectors' qualified to undertake building control work.[22] Since January 2019, Raynsford has been Deputy Chairman of Crossrail Limited.[23]

Personal life

He married Anne Jelley in 1968, and they had three daughters. They were divorced in 2011,[24] and he is now the husband of Alison Seabeck, the former Labour MP for Plymouth Moor View.[25] Raynsford's ancestry can be seen in Burke's Landed Gentry.[26]

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References
  1. Local Government (2001–02)
  2. "Andrew Roth's Parliamentary Profiles in The Guardian".
  3. Guide to the House of Commons. London: The Times. 2005. p. 166. ISBN 0-00-721182-1.
  4. Whipple, Tom (10 June 2007). "Nocturnal Missions – The Times on line, 10 June 2007". London. Retrieved 10 August 2008.
  5. The Longman Companion to The Labour Party 1900–1998 by Harry Harmer
  6. British Social Welfare in the Twentieth Century, edited by Robert M. Page and Richard Silburn
  7. "BBC News Vote 2005 map". Retrieved 6 January 2010.
  8. "BBC News Vote 2005". Retrieved 6 January 2010.
  9. "BBC News Election 2010 Greenwich & Woolwich Constituency". Retrieved 22 June 2010.
  10. "Official Website, Nick Raynsford MP – Biography".
  11. "Labour's legacy – Inside Housing, May 2010". Archived from the original on 13 October 2014.
  12. "The Building Regulations (Amendment) Regulations 1998, UK Practical Law Website".
  13. "Official Website, Nick Raynsford MP – Biography, UK Practical Law Website".
  14. "We're facing total disaster – Raynsford on The Andrew Marr Show, BBC TV 7 June 2009". BBC News. 7 June 2009. Retrieved 7 June 2009.
  15. "Affordable Homes Bill Article on Raynsford.org.uk".
  16. "No More Lost Generations Report". Archived from the original on 9 October 2014.
  17. "Interview with Greenwich.co.uk".
  18. "2012 NewsShopper article on Thames River Crossings".
  19. Lee Rigby memorial: 'All I want is to know my son will not be forgotten’ – Telegraph
  20. Bremner, Charles; Robertson, David (28 March 2010). "My fee 2500 a dayplus expenses". The Times. London. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
  21. "Board". Construction Industry Council. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  22. "Approved Inspectors". Construction Industry Council. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  23. "About Us - Nick Raynsford - Deputy Chairman". Crossrail. 2019. Archived from the original on 16 April 2019. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  24. RAYNSFORD, Rt Hon. Wyvill Richard Nicolls (Rt Hon. Nick), Who's Who 2012, A & C Black, 2012; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2011 ; online edn, Nov 2011, accessed 4 April 2012
  25. MP leaves wife
  26. http://www.burkespeerage.com: RAYNSFORD of Milton Malsor
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Martin Stevens		 Member of Parliament for Fulham
1986–1987		 Succeeded by
Matthew Carrington
Preceded by
Rosie Barnes		 Member of Parliament for Greenwich
1992–1997		 Constituency abolished
New constituency Member of Parliament for Greenwich & Woolwich
1997–2015		 Succeeded by
Matthew Pennycook
Political offices
Preceded by
Hilary Armstrong		 Minister of State for Housing and Planning
1999–2001		 Succeeded by
The Lord Falconer
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