Jeffrey Ennis

Jeffrey Jeff Ennis (born November 13, 1952) is a British politician. He is the Labour Member of Parliament for Barnsley East and Mexborough

[edit] Early life and education

Jeff Ennis was born in Grimethorpe, the son of a coal miner and educated at the Hemsworth Grammar School before attending the Redland Teachers Training College near Bristol where he was awarded a Bachelor of Education degree in 1975. When he left education he became a raw materials inspector with J. Lyons and Co. in 1975, before becoming a teacher in 1976 initially at the Elston Hall Junior School in Fordhouses, Wolverhampton. In 1978 he moved to teach at the Bungreave Middle School in Sheffield, and from 1979 until his election he taught at the Hillsborough Primary School in Sheffield.

Ennis was elected as councillor in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley in 1980, becoming the deputy leader in 1988, and was leader 1995-1996, standing down from the council in 1997.

He was elected to the House of Commons at the 1996 Barnsley East by-election following the death of Terry Patchett. Jeff Ennis held the seat at the December 12, 1996 by-election with a majority of 13,181 and has remained an MP since. He made his maiden speech on January 14, 1997. [1] A few months after his election to Westminster he had to go back to his electorate at the 1997 General Election for the newly drawn Barnsley East and Mexborough seat, following the redrawing of boundaries and the abolishment of the former Barnsley East.

Following the 1997 General Election, Jeff Ennis was appointed the Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Minister of State at the Department of Health Tessa Jowell, and then in her capacity of Minister of State at the Department of Education and Employment. He has been a member of the Education & Skills Select Committee since the 2001 General Election.

Jeff Ennis has been married to Margaret Angela Knight since 1980 and they have three sons. Before his election he was active in the trade union movement and was a branch chairman of the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) 1979-1996 and has been a member of the Transport and General Workers Union since 1997. He has lived in his Barnsley constituency for much of his life, and is a supporter of Barnsley F.C.