Geoffrey Robinson

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Geoffrey Robinson MP
Geoffrey Robinson
Member of Parliament
for Coventry North West
Incumbent
Assumed office 
4 March 1976
Preceded by Maurice Edelman
Born 25 May 1938 (1938-05-25) (age 70)
Sheffield
Nationality British
Political party Labour
Alma mater Clare College, Cambridge

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, where he accepted a tap for Wolf's Head Society. 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.

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 (Godalming, Surrey, 1898-99) has been described as 'among the finest Surrey Houses'. Lutyens' Marshcourt (Stockbridge, Hampshire, 1901-1904) was bought 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. On October 10, 2007, he announced that he would step down as Chairman as "there are not enough hours in the day". [1] He still remains a Director of the club.

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

[edit] References

  1. ^ Coventry chairman Robinson quits. BBC News (2007-10-10). Retrieved on 2007-10-10.

[edit] External links

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