Andrew Dismore

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Andrew Hartley Dismore (born September 2, 1954) British politician and solicitor He is the Labour Member of Parliament for Hendon in London.

Andrew Dismore was born in Bridlington, North Yorkshire, the son of a hotelier, and educated locally at the Bridlington Grammar School before attending the University of Warwick where he received a Bachelor of Laws in 1975,and the London School of Economics where he was awarded his Master of Laws in 1976. He finished his education by graduating at the The College of Law, Guildford in 1978. Having joined the Labour Party in 1974 and after a brief time during his studies when he worked as an education officer with the General, Municipal, Boilermakers and Allied Trade Union, he began his professional career as a partner with Robin Thompson and Partners Solicitors in 1978, before becoming a partner in the firm Russell Jones & Walker Solicitors since 1995. He was elected as a councillor in the City of Westminster in 1982, becoming the Labour group leader in 1990, stepping down from both positions on his election to Westminster.

He was elected to the British House of Commons at the 1997 General Election for the new seat of Hendon, defeating the sitting veteran Conservative MP for the former Hendon North John Gorst by 6,155 votes, and has remained an MP since. Andrew Dismore made his maiden speech on June 6, 1997, in which he criticised the government of John Major for closing the Edgware general hospital.[1]. He became a member of the Social Security select committee in 1998, and after the 2001 General Election its replacement, the Work and Pensions Select Committee, on which he remained for the duration of the parliament until 2005. He has been a member of the Standards and Privileges Select Committee since 2001, and has also been a member of the Human Rights and Liaison committees since the 2005 General Election.

Andrew Dismore asked Tony Blair a parliamentary question about Holocaust memorial and education, and received a written answer on 10 June 1999. This led to the establishment of Holocaust Memorial Day in the United Kingdom.[2]. He set the 21st century record for a filibuster in the House of Commons [3] by talking for 197 minutes during the debate of the Criminal Law (Amendment) (Protection of Property) Bill, a Private Member's Bill introduced by Anne McIntosh. [4]

Whilst a councillor in Westminster he led the attack on Shirley Porter and the homes for votes scandal, which he has continued to raise in parliament. He received some criticism in 2001, when he allowed the Mayor of London Ken Livingstone to campaign for him at the election, despite the fact that Livingstone had been expelled from the Labour Party for standing against the Labour mayoral candidate Frank Dobson. He is a regular speaker in the Commons chamber and speaks fluent French and German