Andrew Pelling
Andrew John Pelling | |
---|---|
Member of Parliament | |
In office 6 May 2005 – 12 April 2010 | |
Preceded by | Geraint Davies |
Succeeded by | Gavin Barwell |
Member of the London Assembly | |
In office 4 May 2000 – 1 May 2008 | |
Preceded by | Constituency created |
Succeeded by | Steve O'Connell |
Personal details | |
Born | Wolverhampton,Staffordshire, England | 20 August 1959
Political party |
|
Alma mater | New College, Oxford |
Andrew John Pelling(born 20 August 1959) is a British politician. He was Member of Parliament forCroydon Centralfrom 2005 to 2010, first as aConservative,then from 2007 as an independent. He contested the seat as an independent at the2010 general election,[1]but lost to his former party.
He was also a councillor inCroydonand a member of theLondon Assembly.He joined theLabour Partyin February 2011 but was subsequently expelled from Labour in February 2022.[2]In early 2024 he joined the Liberal Democrats, and stood unsuccessfully for the party in the2024 general election.
Education and local government
[edit]Pelling and his family have lived in Croydon for six generations. He was educated atTrinity School,Croydon and thenNew College, Oxford,where he led theOxford University Conservative Association.He was elected to the position of Librarian of theOxford Union,a senior position, and ran for President several times without being elected, on one occasion losing toWilliam Hague.Before becoming a full-time politician, Pelling was an internationalinvestment banker.
He was elected toCroydon Councilin 1982 inBroad Greenward and later represented the ward of Heathfield. He served as Chair, first of the Education Committee in the early 1990s and subsequently became Deputy Leader of the Conservative Group when they lost control of the Council in 1994. From 2002 until 2005, he was the leader of the Conservative group in Croydon and stepped down from the Council in 2006 after 24 years.
Pelling was first elected to theLondon Assemblyin 2000, and retained his seat in 2004. He was a member of theLondon Development Agencyand chaired the GLA budget committee.
Political career
[edit]At the2005 general election,Pelling won the Croydon Central parliamentary seat by 75 votes, beating the incumbent, Labour'sGeraint Davies.
On 28 May 2007 Pelling was one of 18 Conservative MPs to vote in favour of an amendment to the Freedom of Information Act proposed byDavid Maclean,which would have seen the Houses of Parliament and MPs exempted from the disclosure requirements of the Act. However, he was 625th out of 646 MPs in the expenses league table and did not take a second-home allowance.[citation needed]
On 18 September 2007 Pelling was arrested on suspicion of assaulting his wife Lucy after theMetropolitan Policereceived a complaint. He was released on bail later that night after being questioned.[3]The police later announced that no charges were to be made against Pelling nor would theCrown Prosecution Serviceprosecute.[4]The allegations caused the Conservatives to remove thewhip,suspending him from the party.
In December 2007, Pelling announced that he would not seek re-election for Parliament nor the London Assembly,[5]but he subsequently decided to contest the Croydon Central seat as an independent, saying "I am very much up for representing Croydon for another term, there are lots of important issues to speak about." He said that as an independent, he had the political freedom to best serve Croydon.[6]
He has been quoted in 2010 as saying "Independence has allowed me to do politics differently, enabling me to put Croydon residents ahead of party politics and to lobby effectively for Croydon by being non-partisan. I do not have to obey party bosses and so can speak out for Croydon and on issues like immigration, an EU membership referendum and foolish overseas wars that the parties prefer not to speak of."[1]
According to Pelling's own website, "The Leader of London's Green Party once called me 'the acceptable face of Conservatism'."[7]
As an independent Pelling lost his seat to the Conservatives at the2010 general electionobtaining 6.5% of the vote inCroydon Central.He remained active in political circles, and attended the 2010 Labour Party Conference in Manchester. By 2011 Pelling had joined the Labour Party.[8]In June 2013 it was announced Pelling would contest the marginal seat of Waddon in the upcoming Croydon Council elections. He was elected to Croydon Council on 22 May 2014.[9]
In February 2022, Andrew Pelling was expelled from the Labour Party for leaks to the press, campaigning for a directly-elected mayor, and voting against the party on council tax cuts.[10]
In the fourth episode of theAl Jazeeradocumentary "The Labour Files" it was revealed that much of the evidence used to prove Andrew Pelling had been leaking to the press was obtained through an email hacking against the blog "Inside Croydon", and that the Chief Whip, with permission from the London Regional Officer, used these hacked emails as evidence during the disciplinary case. It was also revealed that these hacked communications had been sent toShadow Secretary of State for JusticeSteve Reed,who in turn forwarded it toGeneral SecretaryDavid Evans[11]
In March 2024, Pelling switched party allegiance to theLiberal Democrats.[12]Describing the Conservatives as out of touch with their 'one nation' roots, angered by their culture wars and believing that Britain was best suited inside Europe.[13]Pelling was selected as the Liberal Democrat candidate in the new seat ofCroydon Eastfor the2024 general election.[12]
Personal life
[edit]Pelling was married to Sanae for 16 years, and the couple had three children.[citation needed]In 2006, Pelling married Lucy. They have since separated after allegations of assault.[14]
References
[edit]- ^abPress Association (30 March 2010)."Tories dealt blow as MP Andrew Pelling announces he will stand as independent".The Guardian.Croydon Central MP had whip removed in 2007 but will fight seat again at election – potentially splitting Tory vote in key marginal.Archivedfrom the original on 3 April 2010.Retrieved17 April2010.
- ^"Croydon councillor expelled from Labour after demanding leader resign over Fairfield Halls".My London. 22 February 2022.
- ^"MP quizzed over 'assault on wife'".BBC News. 19 September 2007.Retrieved17 April2010.
- ^"MP will not face assault charges".BBC News. 20 October 2007.Archivedfrom the original on 22 October 2007.Retrieved17 April2010.
- ^"MP to stand down at next election".BBC News. 4 December 2007.Retrieved17 April2010.
- ^Whalley, Kirsty (30 March 2010)."Croydon MP Andrew Pelling to fight general election as an independent".Croydon Guardian.Retrieved17 April2010.
- ^"Andrew – Putting Croydon first".Andrew Pelling. Archived fromthe originalon 28 March 2007.Retrieved30 December2010.
- ^"Former Croydon Tory MP joins the Labour party".Croydon Guardian. 22 February 2011.
- ^Andrew Pelling to stand for Labour in WaddonArchived29 October 2013 at theWayback MachineCroydon Advertiser,12 June 2013; Retrieved 27 October 2013
- ^O'Connor, Tara (22 February 2022)."Croydon councillor expelled after demanding leader resign over Fairfield Halls".MyLondon.Retrieved1 October2022.
- ^"The Labour Files".Al Jazeera Investigative Unit.Retrieved1 October2022.
- ^ab"Veteran Croydon politician stands for third political party in the borough".Your Local Guardian.11 April 2024.Retrieved14 May2024.
- ^Pelling, Andrew (28 March 2024)."Putting Croydon First: the reasons I am now a Liberal Democrat".Inside Croydon.Retrieved1 April2024.
- ^"It's over, says wife of MP in 'assault' claim".The Telegraph.Telegraph Media Group. September 2007. Archived fromthe originalon 28 December 2013.
External links
[edit]- 1959 births
- Living people
- Alumni of New College, Oxford
- Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
- Politics of the London Borough of Croydon
- Conservative Members of the London Assembly
- Councillors in the London Borough of Croydon
- UK MPs 2005–2010
- Presidents of the Oxford University Conservative Association
- Politicians from Wolverhampton
- People educated at Trinity School of John Whitgift
- Liberal Democrats (UK) parliamentary candidates
- Labour Party (UK) councillors
- Independent members of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom
- London AMs 2000–2004
- London AMs 2004–2008