Geoffrey Robinson

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For other persons named Geoffrey Robinson, see Geoffrey Robinson (disambiguation).
Geoffrey Robinson MP
Member of Parliament
for Coventry North West
Incumbent
Assumed office 
4 March 1976
Preceded by Maurice Edelman
Majority 9,315 (21.4%)
Born 25 May 1938 (1938-05-25) (age 71)
Sheffield
Nationality British
Political party Labour
Alma mater Clare College, Cambridge
Yale University

Geoffrey Robinson (born 25 May 1938 in Sheffield) is a businessman and Member of Parliament for Coventry North West (since 1976). He was Paymaster General from May 1997 to December 1998, resigning after it was revealed that he had lent his government colleague Peter Mandelson £373,000 to buy a house. From 1996 to 2008 he was the owner of the New Statesman, a left-leaning weekly political magazine.

Contents

[edit] Background

Robinson was educated at Emanuel School, Clare College, Cambridge, and Yale University, where he accepted membership in Wolf's Head Society.

[edit] Business career

Geoffrey Robinson was from 1972 Chairman of Innocenti in Italy and from 1973 to 1975 Chairman of Jaguar Cars, both then under British Leyland ownership. He resigned because he could not agree with the Ryder plan to integrate the many different makes under BLMC.

Following the Triumph Motorcycles workers locking out their new owners, NVT, from their Meriden plant in 1973, Robinson was instrumental in setting up the subsequent Meriden Triumph workers' co-operative with a substantial Wilson Labour government loan from the then- minister for trade, Tony Benn. He served as a director in what was the last volume manufacturer of motorcycles in the United Kingdom. He occupied a similar role in the subsequent Triumph Motorcycles (Meriden) Ltd that the co-operative became when he helped negotiate away its debt with the new Conservative Thatcher government in 1981, although he left before the firm eventually closed in 1983.

In 1986 he founded technology company TransTec, which became a £200m international conglomerate focussing on aerospace customers.[1] In 1996 he acquired the left New Statesman magazine for £375,000.[1] In April 2008 he sold 50% of the business to Michael Danson, and the remainder a year later.[2]

[edit] Political career

Robinson has been a Member of Parliament for Coventry North West, a safe Labour Party seat, since a by-election on 4 March 1976 caused by the death of former MP Maurice Edelman. During the 1980s, with Labour in opposition, he held frontbench positions, speaking for the party on trade and industry, and science.[3] He was Paymaster General in Tony Blair's government from May 1997 to December 1998, resigning after it was revealed that in 1996 he had lent his government colleague Peter Mandelson £373,000 to buy a house.[4] [5]

Although a committed Labour and Gordon Brown supporter, Robinson has often been considered a 'champagne socialist'. His previous life as a businessman has made him one of the wealthiest Members of Parliament, with a personal fortune of around £30 million. He is a lover of fine wine and Dining. He owns holiday homes in Tuscany (used by Tony Blair for his summer holiday once) and the South of France and owns a penthouse flat in London's Park Lane. He owns a house designed by Edwin Lutyens - Orchards at Munstead (Godalming, Surrey, 1898-99) has been described as 'among the finest Surrey Houses'. Lutyens' Marshcourt (Stockbridge, Hampshire, 1901-1904) was bought and restored by Robinson, but sold again in 1999 following the scandal which saw him resign as Paymaster General.

At the 2005 general election, he had a majority of 9,315.

[edit] Coventry FC

Robinson has had a long association with Coventry City Football Club, being a member of the board of directors from 1996. In 1997, when Robinson was made Paymaster General, he was forced to stand down from the board, since members of the government were not permitted to hold directorships. Brenda Price, a former colleague from his Triumph Motorcycle board days at Meriden sat on the Coventry City FC board with him too. In response to this the football club named him as honorary president but he eventually re-took his seat on the board of directors in 2002. On 21 September 2005, Robinson was named as acting chairman of Coventry City after chairman Mike McGinnity was asked to step down by his doctor for an indefinite period due to ongoing health problems. Robinson was given the job permanently on 3 November after McGinnity was forced to resign due to his health problems. On 10 October 2007, he announced that he would step down as Chairman as "there are not enough hours in the day". [6] He still remains a Director of the club.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b The Independent, 3 February 1997, New statesman or new conspirator?
  2. ^ James Robinson "Mike Danson takes full ownership of New Statesman", The Guardian, 14 April 2009
  3. ^ BBC, 4 May 2001, Profile: Geoffrey Robinson
  4. ^ The Guardian, 2 July 1999, Mandelson broke rules over loans, says watchdog
  5. ^ Daily Telegraph, 16 October 2000, Mandelson 'lied over home loan'
  6. ^ "Coventry chairman Robinson quits". BBC News. 2007-10-10. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/coventry_city/7037127.stm. Retrieved on 2007-10-10. 

[edit] External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Maurice Edelman		 Member of Parliament for Coventry North West
1976 – present		 Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by
Michael Bates		 Paymaster-General
1997 – 1998		 Succeeded by
Dawn Primarolo
Business positions
Preceded by
Mike McGinnity		 Coventry City F.C. chairman
2005 – 2007		 Succeeded by
Ray Ranson
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_Robinson"
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