John Heppell
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
John Heppell (born November 3, 1948) is a British politician. He is the Labour Member of Parliament for Nottingham East and is the Vice-Chamberlain of the Household (Government Whip).
John Heppell was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyneside and was educated locally at the Rutherford Grammar School, the South East Northumberland Technical College, and he completed his education at the Ashington Technical College. He worked for the National Coal Board from 1964 as a fitter until he left in 1970 to work as a fitter in Nottingham. He joined British Rail in 1975, originally as a diesel fitter, becoming a workshop supervisor in 1978 until he left in 1989.
He was elected as a councillor to the Nottinghamshire County Council in 1981, serving as the deputy leader for three years from 1989, he stepped down from the council in 1993. He was elected to the House of Commons at the 1992 General Election for Nottingham East by defeating the sitting Conservative MP Michael Knowles by 7,680 votes and has remained the MP there since. He made his maiden speech on May 11, 1992, in which he recalled that it was in his constituency at Sneinton that the founder of the Salvation Army William Booth launched his crusade against poverty in the early 19th century.[1]
In parliament he was appointed as the Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Leader of the House of Lords Ivor Richard in 1997 and became the PPS to the Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott in 1998. He became a member of the Tony Blair government following the 2001 General Election when he was appointed as a Lord Commissioner to the Treasury and Government Whip and was promoted within the Whips Office becoming the Vice-Chamberlain of the Household following the 2005 General Election. He has been a member of the selection select committee since 2001.
He has been married to Eileen Golding since 1974 and they have two sons and a daughter, two grandchildren, two dogs and a cat. He used to have the words love and hate tattooed on his knuckles, but they have since been removed. He is a member of the General, Municipal, Boilermakers and Allied Trade Union having resigned from the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers in 2002. He is a keen ornithologist.
[edit] External links
- John Heppell official site
- Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: John Heppell MP
- TheyWorkForYou.com - John Heppell MP
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Michael Knowles |
Member of Parliament for Nottingham East 1992 – present |
Incumbent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Jim Fitzpatrick |
Vice-Chamberlain of the Household 2005–present |
Succeeded by Current incumbent |
