Citizen Empowerment: The Labour Vision.  A speech by the Rt. Hon. John Denham MP

Wednesday 27 January 2010  

Grimond Room, Portcullis House, Westminster

7.15- 9.00pm        Please allow 20 minutes to get through security.

This is the second of a series of lectures Unlock Democracy is hosting, examining the vision and philosophy of each of the main three parties regarding Citizen Empowerment.  This follows on from the success of the Sustainable Communities Act, a campaign for which was led by Unlock Democracy. The first of our lectures was given by the Rt Hon. Oliver Letwin MP.

The Sustainable Communities Act gives new powers to communities and their elected councils to drive government policy to tackle local economic, social and environmental issues. It was supported by 80 national organisations, 300 local organisations, over 1000 parish and town councils and thousands of individuals.  

All parties talk of devolving power to local communities.  This series of lectures is designed to find out what exactly they mean by Citizenship Empowerment.

Tickets are free, however numbers are strictly limited so please be advised to RSVP as quickly as possible.

Biography 

The Rt Hon. John Denham MP was born in 1953 and educated at Woodroffe Comprehensive School, Lyme Regis and Southampton University. 

He was Head of Youth Affairs at the British Youth Council from 1979 until 1983, and was responsible for public education and advocacy for War on Want from 1984 to 1988. He subsequently worked for Christian Aid, Oxfam and other development agencies. 

He also served as a local Councillor from 1981 until 1993, prior to being elected as an MP for Southampton Itchen.  Following the election of the Labour Government in 1997, he served as a Government Minister in the Departments of Social Security, Health and the Home Office and in June 2000 he was appointed by the Queen as a Privy Counsellor.  

Following his return to the backbenches after his resignation over the Iraq War, he chaired the powerful Home Affairs Select Committee, before his appointment to Gordon Brown’s first Cabinet as Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills in 2007.  In June 2009, John became Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. 

John has three children and enjoys cookery, walking and music. He is a season ticket holder at Southampton Football Club.