Geoffrey Robinson

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Geoffrey Robinson (born May 25, 1938 in Sheffield) has been a British Member of Parliament for Coventry North West, a safe Labour seat, since a by-election on 4 March 1976 caused by the death of former MP Maurice Edelman. Robinson was educated at Emanuel School, Clare College, Cambridge, and Yale University. He is a member of the Labour Party and a former Paymaster General (1997-98). He resigned from that post in December 1998 after it was revealed that he had secretly lent his government colleague Peter Mandelson £373,000 to buy a house, whilst under investigation for fraud by Mr Mandelson's department. He is the owner of the New Statesman, a left-leaning weekly political magazine. In 2002 he was arrested for speeding and detained for suspected possession of cocaine, but no evidence was found to link the discovery to him.

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. 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. Also, he owns a house designed by Edwin Lutyens- Orchards at Munstead (Goldaming, Surrey, 1898-99) have been described as 'among the finest Surrey Houses'. Marshcourt (Stockbridge, Hampshire, 1901-1904) was brought and restored by Robinson, but sold again in 1999 following the scandal which saw him resign as Paymaster General.

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. 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 September 21, 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 November 3 after McGinnity was forced to resign due to his health problems.

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

Robinson was criticised recently due to his apparent flouting of the British Thames Valley hosepipe ban. It subsequently emerged however that he actually has his own borehole, allowing him to continually water the plants in his Surrey mansion all summer. The Environment Agency confirmed that he was within his rights to do this, since the water did not come directly from their own sources. However, they have sent a letter to all borehole owners in the Thames region, including Robinson, urging them to limit their water usage.

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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
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