Alan Whitehead | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2017 | |
| Shadow Minister for Energy Security[a] | |
| Assumed office 8 October 2016 | |
| Leader | Jeremy Corbyn Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | Himself |
| In office 18 September 2015 – 28 June 2016 | |
| Leader | Jeremy Corbyn |
| Preceded by | Jonathan Reynolds |
| Succeeded by | Himself |
| Shadow Minister for Waste and Recycling | |
| In office 14 January 2020 – 9 April 2020 | |
| Leader | Jeremy Corbyn |
| Preceded by | Sandy Martin |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions | |
| In office 11 June 2001 – 28 May 2002 | |
| Prime Minister | Tony Blair |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished |
| Member of Parliament for Southampton Test | |
| Assumed office 1 May 1997 | |
| Preceded by | James Hill |
| Majority | 6,213 (13.8%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 15 September 1950 Isleworth, Middlesex, England |
| Political party | Labour |
| Alma mater | University of Southampton |
| Website | Official website |
| Academic background | |
| Thesis | Petitions, Parliament and the public: an analysis of the changing nature of corruption, 1868–1883 (1976) |
Alan Patrick Vincent Whitehead (born 15 September 1950) is a British politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Southampton Test since 1997. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Shadow Minister for Energy Security,[1] previously Green New Deal and Energy, since 2015. He served as a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions from 2001 to 2002.[2]
Whitehead was born in the London suburb of Isleworth and attended Isleworth Grammar School. He studied Politics and Philosophy at the University of Southampton, where he became President of University of Southampton Students' Union and received a PhD in Political Science. From 1979 to 1982 he was Director of OUTSET, then from 1983 to 1992 he worked for BIIT, being Director, both being charities. Before becoming an MP, Whitehead was the Leader of Southampton City Council from 1984 to 1992 and a professor of Public Policy at Southampton Institute.[3]
Whitehead stood for Parliament unsuccessfully for New Forest in 1979. He then stood three times for Southampton Test before finally gaining the seat in 1997.
Previous committee memberships:
Other Memberships
Whitehead voted against the Iraq War on the basis of the mission not receiving endorsement from the UN.[10] He lobbied for changes to the Government's Education White Paper. He does not support building new nuclear power stations, believing that nuclear is uneconomic. He voted in favour of ID cards and for a ban on fox hunting. He supported Owen Smith in the 2016 Labour Party (UK) leadership election.[11]
Whitehead was one of the 52 Labour MPs who defied Jeremy Corbyn and voted against triggering Article 50.[12] He claimed that triggering Article 50 without clarity on what would be done was not in the UK's best interest, and he was not prepared to stand by and allow the country to go down what he regarded as a potentially very dangerous path.[13]
Whitehead has lobbied for the increased use of sustainable energy sources, particularly microgeneration. He criticised the results of the Energy Review,[14] and was the co-author of EDM 2204[15] which states 'the case for nuclear has not yet been made' and urges the government to 'recognise the enormous potential for reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by energy efficiency and conservation, greater use of combined heat and power, and rapid investment in the full range of renewable technologies, including microgeneration.'
As leader of Southampton City Council in 1986, Whitehead proposed that the city council take measures to become a 'self sustaining city' with regard to energy generation.[16] One such measure was the conversion of Southampton Civic Centre to being heated by local reservoirs of geothermal energy.
Whitehead sits as a non-executive director of a non-profit making company called SSEL Ltd,[citation needed] formed to deliver a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) project, which was partially funded by the Government as part of the regeneration of outer Shirley.[17]
The CHP system recycles the by-product 'low grade heat' made during the electricity generation process and uses the by-product to heat water which is piped to local homes. This scheme has been criticised by the current Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Environment & Transport, Matthew Dean, for being unviable and the council's involvement in the project has now ended.[citation needed]
Whitehead's Private Members Bill,[18] was 'talked out' by Conservative backbenchers in 2005, but many of the Bill's most important aspects were incorporated into the Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Act 2006, sponsored by Mark Lazarowicz MP.
Whitehead's amendments to the bill[citation needed] included:
Whitehead is an outspoken supporter of action on anthropogenic climate change, and has called debate by members of parliament who reject the scientific view a "flat earth love-in".[19]
Due to the high concentration of houses in multiple occupation in Southampton, in 2007 Whitehead proposed changing planning regulations which would mean a landlord would be required to apply for planning permission if they wanted to convert a family home into an HMO housing more than four people.[20] The proposal was considered as part of the government's current review of the private housing sector, to report in October 2008.[21]
Alan Whitehead is currently[when?] campaigning with the National Housing Federation to end the current pricing practice used by several energy companies which sees customers who pay for their electricity or gas via pre-pay meters pay more for the same amount of energy than customers who pay via direct debit.[22] Whitehead argues: "Ten per cent of pre-pay electricity customers are in fuel poverty compared with only 3.5 per cent of direct debit customers. In short, those who need affordable energy most pay far more for it than those who do not. What is worse, because of the nature of pre-payment, most of them are not aware of that fact."
Along with fellow Labour MPs Estelle Morris, John Denham and Martin Salter, Whitehead co-wrote the so-called alternative education white paper 'Shaping the Education Bill- Reaching for Consensus,' which criticised the weakening of the role of local education authorities in the provision of education services and called for the schools admissions code to be made mandatory. He voted for the Bill when Alan Johnson, the new Education Secretary, accepted many of the alternative white paper's proposals.
Whitehead has rebelled against a government 3-line whip on the following issues:
Whitehead's rebellion against a government 3-line whip on Trident renewal is not surprising, given that archived documents have emerged showing that in 1982–83 Whitehead paid a subscription to Southampton CND.[23]
In June 2006, the UK Parliamentary Football Team ran a charity match in Portugal against the Portuguese Parliament, which coincided with part of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The match and the trip were sponsored by McDonald's as part of their Football in the Community Programme. The UKPFC by the British Medical Association was criticised for accepting McDonald's sponsorship.[24] Whitehead, who at the time played in goal for the UKPFC, fully declared the sponsorship in his register of members interests.[25] He also pointed out the trip was part of a long-standing fundraising campaign between the UKPFC and McDonald's that raised over 20,000 euros for local charities.[26]
Whitehead is a Fellow of the Institute of Waste Management, and member of the Board for The Environment Centre (Southampton) and Third Age Centre (Southampton). He is a visiting professor in the Faculty of Media, Arts and Society at Southampton Solent University.[27]
In January 2022 Whitehead announced that he would be standing down at the next general election.[28]
Whitehead married Sophie Wronska in 1979, and they have a son and daughter.[3]
He is a member of the Saints Trust and plays in the UK parliamentary football team. After looking at the possibility of being the first MP to install a wind turbine installed on his constituency home roof in Highfield, Southampton, Whitehead installed a number of solar panels that were integrated into the roof. During the summer months, Whitehead says he sells electricity from this source back to the national grid.[citation needed]
