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| term_start2 = [[6 May]] [[2005]]
| term_start2 = [[6 May]] [[2005]]
| term_end2 = [[5 May]] [[2006]]
| term_end2 = [[5 May]] [[2006]]
| primeminister2= [[Tony Blair]]
| predecessor2 = [[Geoff Hoon]]
| predecessor2 = [[Geoff Hoon]]
| successor2 = [[Des Browne]]
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| predecessor3 = [[Alan Milburn]]
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| primeminister4= [[Tony Blair]]
| predecessor4 = [[Robin Cook]]
| predecessor4 = [[Robin Cook]]
| successor4 = [[Peter Hain]] (Commons)<Br>[[Gareth Williams, Baron Williams of Mostyn|Gareth Williams]] (Lord President)
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| term_start5 = [[25 January]] [[2001]]
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| term_end5 = [[24 October]] [[2004]]
| term_end5 = [[24 October]] [[2004]]
| primeminister5= [[Tony Blair]]
| predecessor5 = [[Peter Mandelson]]
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| term_start6 = [[17 May]] [[1999]]
| term_start6 = [[17 May]] [[1999]]
| term_end6 = [[25 January]] [[2001]]
| term_end6 = [[25 January]] [[2001]]
| primeminister6= [[Tony Blair]]
| predecessor6 = [[Donald Dewar]]
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| birth_date = {{euro birth date and age|1947|05|08}}
| birth_date = {{euro birth date and age|1947|05|08}}
| birth_place = {{flagicon|Scotland}} [[Bellshill]], [[Lanarkshire]], [[Scotland]], [[UK]]
| birth_place = {{flagicon|Scotland}} [[Bellshill]], [[Lanarkshire]], [[Scotland]], [[UK]]
| death_date =
| death_place =
| nationality = [[United Kingdom|British]]
| nationality = [[United Kingdom|British]]
| spouse =
| party = [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]]
| party = [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]]
| relations =
| children =
| residence =
| alma_mater = [[University of Stirling]]
| alma_mater = [[University of Stirling]]
| occupation = [[Academia|Academic]] ([[Historian]]), [[Activism|Activist]]
| occupation = [[Academia|Academic]] ([[Historian]]), [[Activism|Activist]]
| profession =
| religion = [[Roman Catholic]]
| religion = [[Roman Catholic]]
| signature =
| website =
| footnotes =
}}
}}
'''John Reid''' (born [[8 May]] [[1947]]) is a [[United Kingdom|British]] [[politician]] who is the former [[Home Secretary]]<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6629877.stm</ref> and [[Member of Parliament]] (MP) for the [[Scotland|Scottish]] constituency of [[Airdrie and Shotts (UK Parliament constituency)|Airdrie and Shotts]] in the [[United Kingdom]].
'''John Reid''' (born [[8 May]] [[1947]]) is a [[United Kingdom|British]] [[politician]] who is the former [[Home Secretary]]<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6629877.stm</ref> and [[Member of Parliament]] (MP) for the [[Scotland|Scottish]] constituency of [[Airdrie and Shotts (UK Parliament constituency)|Airdrie and Shotts]] in the [[United Kingdom]].

Revision as of 13:15, 5 July 2007

The Rt Hon Dr John Reid
Home Secretary
In office
5 May 2006 – 27 June 2007
Prime MinisterTony Blair
Preceded byCharles Clarke
Succeeded byJacqui Smith
Secretary of State for Defence
In office
6 May 2005 – 5 May 2006
Preceded byGeoff Hoon
Succeeded byDes Browne
Secretary of State for Health
In office
13 June 2003 – 6 May 2005
Preceded byAlan Milburn
Succeeded byPatricia Hewitt
Lord President of the Council & Leader of the House of Commons
In office
4 April 2003 – 13 June 2003
Preceded byRobin Cook
Succeeded byPeter Hain (Commons)
Gareth Williams (Lord President)
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
In office
25 January 2001 – 24 October 2004
Preceded byPeter Mandelson
Succeeded byPaul Murphy
Secretary of State for Scotland
In office
17 May 1999 – 25 January 2001
Preceded byDonald Dewar
Succeeded byHelen Liddell
Member of Parliament
for Airdrie and Shotts
Assumed office
5 May 2005
Preceded byHelen Liddell
Majority14,084 (42.5%)
Personal details
Born (1947-05-08) May 8, 1947 (age 77)
Scotland Bellshill, Lanarkshire, Scotland, UK
NationalityBritish
Political partyLabour
Alma materUniversity of Stirling
OccupationAcademic (Historian), Activist

John Reid (born 8 May 1947) is a British politician who is the former Home Secretary[1] and Member of Parliament (MP) for the Scottish constituency of Airdrie and Shotts in the United Kingdom.

Background

Born in Bellshill, North Lanarkshire, to mixed-denomination parents, Reid was educated at St. Patrick's High School in Coatbridge, attending the school at the same time as his Secretary of State for Scotland successor Helen Liddell. Having left school at 16, Reid worked as a clerk at a Glasgow Law office, following this he attended the Open University in his mid-twenties to study a Foundation Course and then later attended the University of Stirling, gaining a Bachelor's degree in history and a Ph.D in economic history, with a thesis on the slave trade written from a Marxist perspective[2].

After graduation he worked as a research officer for the Labour Party and as a trade union organiser. He entered parliament at the 1987 general election as MP for the Motherwell North constituency. After boundary changes, he was returned at the 1997 election for the new constituency of Hamilton North and Bellshill; and after further boundary changes in 2005, he was returned at the 2005 election for the new constituency of Airdrie and Shotts.

Reid was married to the late Cathie McGowan, with whom he had two sons Kevin and Mark, from 1969 until her death in 1998. In 2002 he married the Jewish Brazilian film director Carine Adler [3]. An alcoholic, Reid stopped drinking alcohol in 1994 and stopped smoking cigarettes in 2003. [4]

Political ideology

Reid grew up in a very working-class environment. He left school at 16, worked as an insurance clerk, and married, only later returning to school through the Open University. At university, Reid for a time became a member of the Communist Party of Great Britain of which he has said: "I used to be a Communist. I used to believe in Santa Claus"[5]. However, the secretary of the Young Communist League, Jim White, who went to university with Reid, recalls: "He told us he was a Leninist and Stalinist. Although I was suspicious about his transition, we couldn't tell if he was acting. We let him join." On securing the support of the Communists and Labour students, Reid was able to run for president of the student's union and win the election. His political career was launched. [6]

He moved on from Leninism after leaving university with his doctorate, and became a researcher for Scottish Labour party. [7]

His intellectual familiarity with Marxism helped him in the early 1980s when he compared the split within Labour between the left-wing Tony Benn and Neil Kinnock as one between Bennite "quasi-Leninists", and "Luxemburgers", (named after the German revolutionary Rosa Luxemburg), who favoured the more soft-left Neil Kinnock. He lent his support to Kinnock.

He regards New Labour as a natural development of Bevanism. More controversially, during the 1990s Bosnian War, Reid struck up a friendship with Serb rebel leader (and later indicted war-criminal) Radovan Karadžić; Reid admitted he spent three days at a luxury Geneva lakeside hotel as a guest of Karadžić in 1993.[8] This was during the period (April 1992- July 1995) in which the crimes for which Karadžić was indicted in 1995 were committed.[9]

Government career

As of 8 May 2006 Reid has held seven Cabinet posts in seven years:

Junior Ministerial positions

John Reid served as Minister of State for Defence from May 1997 until he became Minister of State for Transport in 1998. Although the latter appointment was not a Cabinet position, it did allow him to sit in on Cabinet meetings.

Cabinet positions 1999-2003

Secretary of State for Scotland

Reid was appointed Secretary of State for Scotland on 17 May 1999. His time in this position was characterised by conflict with the newly devolved Scottish Parliament, and Reid was labelled "a patronising bastard" by Henry McLeish. [10]

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

John Reid became Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in January 2001 following the resignation of Peter Mandelson. Reid was the first Roman Catholic to hold the position [11].

Chairman of the Labour Party

Reid was appointed Chairman of the Labour Party and Minister Without Portfolio in October 2002.

Leader of the House of Commons

File:RumsfeldReid.jpg
John Reid and US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld answer press questions in Taormina, Sicily (Feb 9, 2006)

In March 2003, Robin Cook resigned as Leader of the House of Commons due to his objections to the legality of Britain's involvement in the Iraq war. John Reid was appointed to take over the Office brief on 4 April as a heavyweight figure was more likely to ensure the Commons' continued support for the war. He was soon needed elsewhere in the Government however and held the position for only three months and was succeeded by Peter Hain.

Secretary of State for Health

John Reid was made Secretary of State for Health in June 2003, replacing Alan Milburn after the latter's resignation. He was reportedly less than happy with the appointment, being quoted by Private Eye at the time as reacting "Oh fuck, it's health."[12] His autocratic management style came under considerable fire from National Health Service (NHS) leaders. A former director at the Department of Health criticised Reid's style of leadership, saying: "when John Reid came in we produced a series of major policy changes without consulting people, without even sharing them at draft stage... It’s not surprising, therefore, that [the NHS managers] didn’t feel the same level of ownership [of the policy changes]"[13].

As Health Secretary, John Reid had been in favour of limiting the government's proposed smoking ban as much as possible. In their 2005 election manifesto, Reid introduced a pledge to ban smoking in all places where food was served. However, his successor Patricia Hewitt favoured a complete ban. Reid won in the cabinet, gaining an exemption for private clubs and pubs that did not serve food [14]. However, the House of Commons rebels proposing a complete ban were successful when MPs were given a free vote on the issue. Patricia Hewitt voted with the rebels against the Cabinet's proposals [15].

In March 2005, Reid called BBC Newsnight presenter Jeremy Paxman a "West London wanker", after Paxman introduced John Reid in an interview as "an all-purpose attack dog" who "came out snarling and spent less time promoting Labour policy than trying to put the opposition into intensive care". Paxman later accused Reid of having a chip on his shoulder.[16]

Secretary of State for Defence

John Reid answers questions at a Pentagon briefing on Nov 7, 2005

Following the incumbent Labour Party's 2005 general election victory, John Reid was appointed Secretary of State for Defence. He replaced Geoff Hoon who had been subject of severe criticism for his role in the Iraq war following the death of Dr. David Kelly and the Hutton Report.

Reid took an aggressive approach to defending his government's international policy. After speaking ahead of a conference on NATO modernization in Germany on 4 February 2006, Reid asserted in a press interview that "no institution has the divine right to exist" [17]. Similarly on 19 March 2006, in response to former interim Iraqi prime minister Iyad Allawi's claim that Iraq is in the grip of civil war, Reid defended the British Government's contrary view, saying: "Every single politician I have met here [in Iraq] from the prime minister to the president, the defence minister and indeed Iyad Allawi himself said to me there's an increase in the sectarian killing, but there's not a civil war and we will not allow a civil war to develop".

Some unease as to Reid's impartiality in the international arena was expressed as a result of his early membership of Labour Friends of Israel[18]. By the time of the 2006 Israel-Lebanon Conflict however, Reid was no longer Defence Secretary, having been succeeded by Des Browne.

On 29 April 2006, police found a small quantity (less than 1 gram) of cannabis resin in a guest room of his home[19]. Reid denied all knowledge of the drug, and Strathclyde Police have stated that he is not under suspicion of having committed any offence. The street value of the drugs would have been less than 85p. However the house in question is searched on a weekly basis by the Police, with no substance found on any previous occasion.

Home Secretary

Reid was appointed Home Secretary on 5 May 2006, replacing Charles Clarke after the latter was removed in the wake of a Home Office scandal involving the release of foreign national prisoners [20]. Reid caused considerable controversy by attacking the leadership and management systems previously in place in the Home Office. He declared it to be "not fit for purpose" and vowed to "make the public feel safe"[21]. An early decision during his time at the Home Office was to move child molesters living in hostels near schools further away from them.[22] Reid also caused controversy in August 2006 by calling for the creation of an independent committee to impose a national annual limit on the number of immigrants entering the UK [23]. The Guardian claimed that Reid was "playing to the racist gallery" and compared his plans to Soviet-style central planning of the economy. [24]

Because of the prisons' overcrowding crisis in Birmingham he announced emergency measures on October 9 2006 amid fears that the prison population was nearing maximum capacity [25]. John Reid has announced his support of measures to restrict the ability of extremist messages to be disseminated on the internet so as to make the web a more hostile place for terrorists [26].

In 2006 Reid and the Home Office lost their appeal against the High Court ruling in the Afghan hijackers case 2006.[27]. In this controversial case, a group of nine Afghan men who hijacked a Boeing 727 in February 2000, while fleeing the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, were granted leave to remain in the United Kingdom.[28] The original ruling in 2004 ruled that returning the men to Afghanistan would breach their human rights under the Human Rights Act 1998. The Home Office granted the men "temporary leave to remain", which involved restricting their freedom of movement and did not allow them to work[29]; however, in 2006, the High Court ruled that the men must be granted "discretionary leave to remain", which includes the right to work.[30]. Reid challenged the ruling in the Court of Appeal, arguing that the Home Office "should have the power to grant only temporary admission to failed asylum seekers who are only allowed to stay in the UK due to their human rights".[31]

In May 2007, Reid announced his intention to resign from the Cabinet when Tony Blair leaves office, and stated his plans to return to the Labour backbenches. He stated he will support Gordon Brown in the leadership election and his administration.[32]

Boundary changes

An MP since 1987, John Reid's seat has twice been abolished in boundary changes. He was originally MP for Motherwell North but was then elected to the constituency of Hamilton North and Bellshill after boundary changes in 1997. That seat was itself abolished in boundary changes prior to the 2005 general election designed to reduce the over-representation of Scottish MPs in the UK Parliament following Scottish devolution. As Reid is a Roman Catholic there was much speculation that he would become MP for the predominantly Catholic safe Labour seat of Glasgow East. However, he was nominated instead for the seat of Airdrie and Shotts, a predominantly Protestant area, which he took with 59% of the vote. His parliamentary seat is seen as a rather safe Labour Party seat with a majority of 14,084.

Labour leadership speculation and resignation from the Cabinet

Reid is an "ardent Blairite" in the eyes of many[citation needed] and he was thus considered to be a frontrunner in the 2007 Labour Party leadership contest if the Blairites decided to run against Brown. However, after weeks of speculation - including the withdrawal of both David Miliband and Reid's predecessor at the Home Office, Charles Clarke amid talk that Brown was "unbeatable" - Reid declared that he would not stand against Brown for the leadership. In addition, Reid resigned as Home Secretary with effect from June 27, 2007, to coincide with the resignation of Tony Blair.

On May 13, 2007, the Mail on Sunday published a story in which it is alleged that Reid "sexually harassed" Dawn Primarolo.[33] If Reid had been a confirmed candidate at this time, many feel it would have led to his withdrawal from the race[citation needed].

Reid has also stated that he will "support a Gordon Brown government" and "serve [him] from the backbenches". He has been touted as a possible future Leader of the Labour Party, although the Primarolo story, his history of alcoholism and his perceived failure at the Home Office may forever tarnish his political reputation. [34].

Trivia

  • According to George Galloway, Reid is an accomplished singer and guitar player. Such a claim is supported by the fact that, in January 2001, he was named an honorary member of the Scottish group "The Big Elastic Band" and promised to play guitar on their next album[35].

References

  1. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6629877.stm
  2. ^ The operator
  3. ^ Wedding bells beckon for NI secretary BBC News | February 5, 2002
  4. ^ The hard-drinking, hard smoking health secretary, Men's Health Forum, February 1 2005
  5. ^ Profile: John Reid - The Blairite bruiser Find Articles | January 27, 2001
  6. ^ The Dark Horse The Guardian | September 23, 2006
  7. ^ Profile of John Reid The Guardian | March 20, 2001
  8. ^ The operator The Guardian | March 2, 2002
  9. ^ The International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, case no. IT-95-5-I ICTY | July 1995
  10. ^ Labours chiefs in "comments" row, BBC News, June 8 2001
  11. ^ Profile: John Reid BBC News | September 14, 2006
  12. ^ Private Eye, 12 June 2003. Since then, the publication has regularly included the phrase "oh fuck, it's health" in any mention of his name.
  13. ^ Catcalls, barracking and laughter force Hewitt to abandon speech Guardian Unlimited | April 27, 2006
  14. ^ Cabinet agrees England smoking ban BBC News | October 25, 2005
  15. ^ Campaigners welcome smoking ban BBC News | February 15, 2006
  16. ^ [1]
  17. ^ Future of NATO at risk, says Reid BBC News | February 4, 2006
  18. ^ David Blunkett to return to the Cabinet in major reshuffle The Daily Telegraph | May 1, 2005
  19. ^ Cannabis found at John Reid home BBC News | April 29, 2006
  20. ^ Profile: John Reid BBC News | September 14, 2006
  21. ^ Reid vowing to make Britain safer BBC News | May 24, 2006
  22. ^ Abusers moved from near schools BBC News | June 18, 2006
  23. ^ Reid calls for migration debate BBC News |August 6, 2006
  24. ^ Get a grip, Mr. Reid Guardian Unlimited | August 7, 2006
  25. ^ Police cells to ease prison crisis Birmingham Mail | October 9, 2006
  26. ^ John Reid & EU partners to crack down on the web used as propaganda BBC News Politics | 26 October, 2006
  27. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5244936.stm
  28. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5245302.stm
  29. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5232922.stm
  30. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5245302.stm
  31. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5232922.stm
  32. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6629877.stm
  33. ^ The day leadership rival John Reid propositioned the young Brown ally Dawn Primarolo - and never drank again, Simon Walters, Mail on Sunday, 13th May 2007
  34. ^ Iain Dale blog post
  35. ^ Profile:Dr. John Reid BBC News | October 24, 2002

See also

External links

Wikisource has original works by or about:
John Reid
Template:Incumbent succession boxTemplate:Succession box one to two
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Motherwell North
1987–1997 		Succeeded by
constituency abolished
Preceded by
new constituency
 Member of Parliament for Hamilton North and Bellshill
1997–2005 		Succeeded by
constituency abolished
Political offices
Preceded by Secretary of State for Scotland
1999–2001 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
2001–2002 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister without Portfolio
(Labour Party Chair)
2002–2003 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Secretary of State for Health
2003–2005 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Secretary of State for Defence
2005–2006 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Secretary of State for Home Affairs
2006–2007 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Reid,_Baron_Reid_of_Cardowan&oldid=142657453"