David George Hanson, Baron Hanson of Flint, PC (born 5 July 1957), is a British Labour Party politician who has served as Minister of State for the Home Office since July 2024.[1] He previously served as the member of Parliament (MP) for Delyn from 1992 to 2019. He held several ministerial offices in the Blair and Brown governments, serving in the Home Office, the Ministry of Justice, the Wales Office, the Northern Ireland Office and the Whips' Office. Hanson sat on Ed Miliband's opposition front bench as a shadow treasury minister, and later the shadow immigration minister.
The Lord Hanson of Flint | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Official portrait, 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minister of State for the Home Office | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 9 July 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Keir Starmer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Office established | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minister of State for Security, Counter-Terrorism, Crime and Policing | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 8 June 2009 – 11 May 2010 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Gordon Brown | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Vernon Coaker | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Nick Herbert | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minister of State for Justice | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 9 May 2007 – 9 June 2009 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister |
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| Preceded by | Office established | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Maria Eagle | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minister of State for Northern Ireland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 11 May 2005 – 8 May 2007 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Tony Blair | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | John Spellar | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Paul Goggins | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 29 Jul 1999 – 7 Jun 2001 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Tony Blair | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Don Touhig | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 18 July 2024 Life peerage | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Member of Parliament for Delyn | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 9 April 1992 – 6 November 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Keith Raffan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Rob Roberts | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 5 July 1957 Liverpool, Lancashire, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | Labour | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | Margaret Hanson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | University of Hull | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Early life
editHanson was born in Liverpool, Lancashire to Brian Hanson, a forklift truck driver, and Glenda Hanson, a personnel records clerk. He has a younger sister named Helen. Hanson was educated at Roscoe Primary School in Liverpool, Grange Primary School and Verdin County Comprehensive School in Winsford, Cheshire, and the University of Hull, where he received a BA in 1978 and a CertEd in 1980. Whilst in Hull, he was the vice president of the university students' union and a member of Hull University Labour Club.[citation needed]
He began his career with the Cooperative Society in 1980 as a trainee manager, becoming a manager in Plymouth in 1981. He worked for the Spastics Society, now Scope, from 1982 until 1989, when he was appointed as a director at the Society for the Prevention of Solvent Abuse.[citation needed]
Political career
editHanson was elected as a councillor to the Vale Royal Borough Council in 1983, serving as the Labour group and council leader from 1989 until 1991, when he stood down to stand in Delyn at the 1992 general election. He was also elected as a councillor to the Northwich Town Council in 1987 and also led the Labour group there in 1989 for a year, leaving the Town Council in 1991.
He unsuccessfully contested Eddisbury at the 1983 general election where he was defeated by the sitting Conservative MP Alastair Goodlad by 14,846 votes. In 1984 he contested the West Cheshire seat for the European Parliament but was again unsuccessful. He contested Delyn in Wales at the 1987 general election but was defeated by the Tory Keith Raffan by 1,224 votes. It proved third time lucky for Hanson when he was elected to the House of Commons at the 1992 general election when, following Raffan's retirement, he won the Clwyd seat at Delyn by 2,039. He made his maiden speech on 6 May 1992.[2]
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In parliament he was a member of the Welsh affairs select committee from 1992 until he joined the public accounts committee in 1996. He became the Parliamentary Private Secretary PPS to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury Alistair Darling in 1997 and became a member of the Tony Blair government in his first reshuffle in 1998 when he was appointed as an Assistant Government Whip. He was promoted in 1999 on his appointment as the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Wales Office. Following the 2001 general election he became the PPS to Prime Minister Tony Blair. He served as the Minister of State at the Northern Ireland Office from the 2005 general election until 8 May 2007, when the Northern Ireland Assembly was restored after its period of suspension. He was the Minister of State at the new Ministry of Justice from 9 May 2007 until 8 June 2009.[3] On 21 February 2007, his appointment to the Privy Council was announced.[4]
He was Minister of State for Security, Counter-Terrorism, Crime and Policing at the Home Office from 8 June 2009 until the 2010 general election. He then shadowed that role, and after the Labour leadership election was appointed Shadow Treasury Minister.
In September 2011 he contributed to the book What Next for Labour? Ideas for a new Generation, with a piece entitled "What Awaits Labour in 2015?"[5]
Hanson lost his seat in the 2019 general election to Rob Roberts, the Conservative Party candidate.[6] He was knighted in the 2020 Birthday Honours for political service.[7][8]
On 9 July 2024, Hanson was appointed as a minister of state in the Home Office by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.[9][10] Hanson was nominated for a life peerage and was created Baron Hanson of Flint, of Flint in the County of Flintshire, on 19 July.[11] He was introduced to the House of Lords on 23 July.[12]
Personal life
editHe married Margaret Rose Mitchell, who has also been a politician in Vale Royal. She was narrowly defeated at the 1999 Eddisbury by-election, the same constituency he himself had fought in 1983.[13] They have a son and three daughters.
References
edit- ^ "Minister of State (Lords Minister) – GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
- ^ "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 6 May 1992". publications.parliament.uk. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
- ^ "www.number10.gov.uk". Archived from the original on 5 October 2007. Retrieved 9 May 2007.
- ^ "www.number10.gov.uk". Archived from the original on 5 October 2007. Retrieved 21 February 2007.
- ^ "Contributors – What Next for Labour?". www.whatnextforlabour.com. Archived from the original on 16 October 2011. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
- ^ "Delyn parliamentary constituency – Election 2019". BBC News. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
- ^ "No. 63135". The London Gazette (Supplement). 10 October 2020. p. B2.
- ^ Nuttall, Andrew (9 October 2020). "'Honoured and humbled' by knighthood from the Queen, says former Delyn MP". The Leader. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
- ^ "The Rt Hon Sir David Hanson". GOV.UK. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
- ^ "Ministerial Appointments: July 2024". GOV.UK. Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
- ^ "No. 64469". The London Gazette. 25 July 2024. p. 14366.
- ^ "Introduction: Lord Hanson of Flint". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 839. Parliament of the United Kingdom: House of Lords. 23 July 2024. col. 357.
- ^ "Labour selects by-election candidate". BBC News. 5 July 1999. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
External links
edit- David Hanson official constituency website
- David Hanson MP Welsh Labour Party profile
- Minister of State for Justice archived government profile
- Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
- Contributions in Parliament at Hansard
- Contributions in Parliament at Hansard 1803–2005
- Voting record at Public Whip
- Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou