ABOUT STEVE
Steve demonstrating to save Frenchay Hospital I was born in Birmingham in July 1965 where I lived with my parents and older brother. I attended the local comprehensive school until I was 18 before going on to Hertford College, Oxford to study Philosophy, Politics & Economics. I dropped politics after a year, because I wasn't very good at it! At the age of 21 I left college and began work in London with the Institute for Fiscal Studies, a non-party think-tank. I soon specialised in researching into poverty, taxes and benefits -interests which I have continued to this day. Whilst working for the IFS I was often called on to offer independent commentary on political issues such as budgets, manifestos etc. and became a specialist adviser to Frank Field's Social Security Committee. During my time at the IFS I also spent some time in the Ukraine on a "technical assistance" mission with the IMF, advising on long-term pension and welfare reform. During my time at the IFS I met Helen, now my wife, who was then a curate at my local church in Clapham. We were married in 1993 and moved to the Bristol area in 1994 when Helen took up a post as a hospital chaplain at Southmead Hospital. By about this time I was starting to get more interested in party politics, having joined the Lib Dems a couple of years earlier. In 1995 I was successful in getting myself chosen as the Lib Dem candidate for the Northavon constituency, just North of Bristol. However, as this had been a Conservative seat for decades with a majority of over 11,000 votes in 1992, it didn't seem like I was set for an immediate career change. Because I was now a party political candidate, I had to leave the independent IFS and was pleased to be appointed as Professor of Social Policy at Bath University in 1995. I was even more pleased to become a father for the first time when our daughter was born at the end of that year. For the following two years I campaigned hard in the constituency on a whole range of issues, from the NHS to schools, pensions to protecting the countryside. In May 1997 the General Election arrived, the votes were counted, and - to almost everyone's astonishment - I was duly elected to serve the Northavon constituency with a majority of 2,137 votes! Since being elected to Parliament I have pursued my interests in
pensions and benefits issues, as well as other
things that concern me such as the problems of
Third World debt. I have also become a father
for the second time, as my son was born in
1998. In the 2001 General Election I was re-elected as MP for Northavon with a majority of 9,877 votes, and continued in my role as the party's lead spokesperson on "Work and Pensions" issues. Click here to see the election results for 2001 and 1997.
Biographical details:Date of Birth: 18th July 1965 Dartmouth High School, Birmingham 1976-1983 Institute for Fiscal Studies 1986-1995 MP for Northavon 1997-2005 Pensions/benefits, Third World issues, Constituency issues Internet/computing, music, armchair supporter of West Bromwich
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