Richard Allan, Baron Allan of Hallam

Richard Beechcroft Allan (born 11 February 1966, Sheffield) was the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Sheffield Hallam from the general election of Thursday 2 May 1997 until the dissolution of Parliament on 11 April 2005.

Early life

He went to the independent Oundle School in north-east Northamptonshire. He studied at Pembroke College, Cambridge, and gained a BA in Archaeology and Anthropology in 1988. From Bristol Polytechnic, he gained an MSc in Information Technology in 1990. He was a field archaeologist in Britain, France and the Netherlands from 1984-5, and in Ecuador from 1988-9. He was a computer manager at Avon FHSA from 1991-7.

Parliamentary career

In 1997, he unseated Irvine Patnick of the Conservative Party achieving a majority of 8,221 with a swing of 15.3%. In 2001, he was re-elected with an increased majority of 9,347. During his tenure, Allan held various committee seats, including the Chair of the House of Commons Information Select Committee and a seat on the House of Commons Liaison Select Committee. Richard Allan was the founding chairman of the Parthenon 2004 campaign for the return of the Parthenon Marbles.

Allan did not seek reelection at the 2005 general election. He was succeeded by fellow Liberal Democrat Nick Clegg (majority 8682), for whom he acted as campaign manager. He is now Head of Government Affairs for Cisco Systems UK, a visiting fellow of the Oxford Internet Institute and deputy chairman of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles.

Personal life

He married Louise Netley on 25 May 1991 in Bath. They have have since separated & he has two daughters with his current partner.

External links

• Post Political Times Richard Allan's weblog
• Oxford Internet Institute
• Sheffield Liberal Democrats
• Guardian Politics Ask Aristotle - Richard Allan
• TheyWorkForYou.com - Richard Allan
• The Public Whip - Richard Allan voting record
• BBC News - Richard Allan profile 10 February, 2005