Paul Scriven

Paul James Scriven, Baron Scriven (born 7 February 1966) is a Liberal Democrat politician and former Leader of Sheffield City Council (2008–11), who was once described as Nick Clegg's "closest ally in local government".[1]

The Right Honourable The Lord Scriven
Leader of Sheffield City Council
In office 2008–2011
Succeeded by	Julie Dore
Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal
Incumbent
Assumed office 19 September 2014 Life Peerage
Personal details
Born	(1966-02-07) 7 February 1966
Political party	Liberal Democrats
Spouse(s)	Dr David Black ( m. 2017)

Early and professional life

Scriven was raised on a council estate in Huddersfield, West Riding of Yorkshire.[2] He was educated at Rawthorpe High School, Huddersfield, but after working for two years for a road construction firm, he returned to education at 18 to study his "O" and "A" levels at Huddersfield Technical College. He attended Manchester Polytechnic (now Manchester Metropolitan University) to read for a BA. From 1989 to 1990 he was president of its Students Union.

He started his working life 'fast tracked' as a graduate trainee in the National Health Service. He worked at a number of hospitals in the UK and later for a number of private companies. He now is managing partner for a consultancy Scriven Consulting, working mainly with private and public bodies in the UK,southern Africa and South East Asia.

Political career

Scriven was elected to Sheffield City Council in May 2000 for the Broomhill ward and became Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group in 2002.[3] He then became Leader of the Council in 2008, following the local elections which saw the Liberal Democrats take control of Sheffield City Council.[4]

At the 2010 general election, he was the Liberal Democrat candidate for the Sheffield Central constituency, losing to Labour's Paul Blomfield by just 165 votes.[5]

Following the 2010 election, Scriven remained as Leader of the Council and, in November of that year, he received a Leader Award from the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, awarded annually to "recognise... the work of outstanding local and regional liberal and democrat politicians".[6]

In April 2011, The Guardian newspaper described Scriven as the "closest ally in local government" to Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg MP. In the article, he discussed the coalition government's decision to "front-load" local government spending cuts and claimed it was right to do so, saying it might not have been better to even out the reductions across four years.[1]

In the May 2011 local elections, Labour regained control of the Council and Scriven resigned as Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group.[7] A year later in the 2012 elections, Scriven lost his Broomhill seat.[8]

On 8 August 2014 it was announced that Scriven had been appointed as a Liberal Democrat life peer.[9] He was made the Baron Scriven of Hunters Bar in the City of Sheffield on 23 September 2014.[10] During his time in the Lords Scriven has worked on issues around Human Rights abuses in Bahrain, improving the immigration system especially for LGBT+ applicants, campaigning for a federal UK through the regions via radical devolution, local government reform as well highlighting civil liberties issues related to technology and IT.

During the 2015 general election campaign, Lord Scriven made media headlines when he claimed on Twitter that Cameron had privately told Clegg that he did not believe the Conservatives would win a majority in a conversation before the election campaign.[11] In the end, the Conservatives won a surprise majority.

In May 2016, Scriven was again elected onto Sheffield City Council, for the Ecclesall Ward. [12] He announced that he would not be seeking re-election to the Council when his term ended in May 2019.[13]

Lord Scriven made history in July 2017 by becoming the first male in the modern House of Lords, other than clergymen, to speak without a tie in a debate.[14]

Personal life

In June 2017, Scriven married his partner of twenty two years, Dr. David Black.[15][16]

References

1. "Nick Clegg ally admits scale of spending cuts may turn Sheffield council red". The Guardian. 18 April 2011.
2. "Lib Dems chief pledges more power to the people". Sheffield Telegraph. 29 April 2008.
3. "Scriven quits: Former council chief gives up Sheffield Lib Dems leadership after poll disaster". Sheffield Star. 10 May 2011.
4. "ELECTIONS 'O8: Lib-Dems ready for new era". Sheffield Star. 3 May 2008.
5. "UK > England > Yorkshire & the Humber > Sheffield Central". Election 2010. BBC. 7 May 2010. Retrieved 11 May 2010.
6. "Lib Dem leader of Sheffield Council wins top European honour". Lib Dem Voice. 16 November 2010.
7. "Three-year 'revolution' ends". The Sheffield Telegraph. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
8. https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/your-city-council/elections/election-results/2012/broomhill.html
9. "Karren Brady and Sir Stuart Rose among new life peers". BBC News. BBC. 8 August 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
10. "No. 60998". The London Gazette. 25 September 2014. p. 18642.
11. "Lord Scriven defends 'no majority' tweet". BBC News. BBC. 4 May 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
12. https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/your-city-council/elections/election-results/2016/ecclesall.html
13. https://www.thestar.co.uk/our-towns-and-cities/sheffield/former-council-leader-bids-farewell-to-sheffield-politics-1-9659767
14. "Tieless LibDem peer leads 'quiet revolution' in the Lords, saying 'No one objected or made a scene'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
15. Scriven, Paul [@Paulscriven] (24 June 2017). "I give you you my husband Mr David Black!" (Tweet). Retrieved 2 February 2019 – via Twitter.
16. Lord Scriven (1 February 2019). "Civil Partnerships, Marriages and Deaths (Registration Etc.) Bill". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). United Kingdom: House of Lords. col. 1300–1301.

Political offices
Preceded by Jan Wilson	Leader of Sheffield City Council 2008–2011	Succeeded by Julie Dore
Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom
Preceded by The Lord Cooper of Windrush	Gentlemen Baron Scriven	Followed by The Lord Lennie