Wyvill Richard Nicolls Raynsford (born 28 January 1945), known as Nick Raynsford, is a British politician who served as a government minister from 1997 to 2005. A member of the Labour Party, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for Greenwich and Woolwich, formerly Greenwich, from 1992 to 2015, having previously been MP for Fulham from 1986 to 1987.
Raynsford was a councillor for the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham from 1971 to 1975. Before he was elected to Parliament he was director of the Shelter Housing Aid Centre.[1] He says a major reason he chose to seek parliamentary office was his involvement in campaigning for better provision for the homeless, achieved through the 1977 Homeless Persons Act. The 1977 Act extended local council responsibility "to provide accommodation for homeless people in their area,"[4] and instituted the right of homeless families to a permanent local council tenancy.[5]
In opposition, Raynsford was Shadow Minister for Housing and Construction from 1994, and frontbench spokesperson for London from 1993. From 1992 to 1993, he was a member of the Environment Select Committee.[9]
Ministerial career: 1997–2005
Raynsford joined the government in 1997 and held responsibility for construction, housing, planning and the regions. During this time he was responsible for the implementation of the Decent Homes Standard. In 1997, there were 2.1m houses owned by local authorities and housing associations that didn't meet the Decent Homes Standard. By the end of 2010, 92% of social housing met the standard of being warm and weatherproof with reasonably modern facilities.[10]
As the government minister responsible for construction, Raynsford was credited with introducing building regulations which significantly improved standards, including making mandatory disabled access in new builds, increasing energy efficiency standards and fire safety.[11] His position also included responsibility for the Fire Service and the creation of the London Resilience Forum to oversee London's preparedness for dealing with emergencies (see Operation Sassoon). As a local government minister, he led the Local Government Act 2000 through Parliament, which repealed the controversial Section 28.[12]
After the 2005 general election, Raynsford returned to the backbenches. In June 2009, he publicly called for Gordon Brown to resign as Prime Minister, stating at the time, "I personally have considerable respect for Gordon Brown but his leadership is now so seriously damaged that I can't see the likelihood of him leading Labour successfully into the next general election. It's now appropriate for the party to look for a new leader".[13]
On 28 March 2010, The Sunday Times reported that Raynsford earned £9,000 per month from jobs in industries connected to his ministerial career. They focused around three areas of activity – housing, construction and local government – with which Raynsford has been involved throughout his working life.[14]
In opposition again in the 2010–15 Parliament, Raynsford was a consistent critic of the bedroom tax, and in July 2014 co-sponsored the Affordable Homes Bill, which sought to limit the impact of the bedroom tax on tenants in the social rented sector.[15] He also co-chaired a parliamentary inquiry into youth unemployment which encouraged the promotion of apprenticeships in the construction industry.[16]
As a constituency MP, Raynsford promoted regeneration in the Greenwich Borough, including campaigns for the North Greenwich Station on the Jubilee Line, the extension of the DLR to Greenwich and Woolwich, and the campaign to secure a Crossrail Station in Woolwich, and support for bringing the Olympics to his constituency.[17] He also advocated improved river crossings in East and South East London[18] In May 2014, he expressed his opposition to a memorial to murdered soldier Lee Rigby, suggesting it ""would not in my view be helpful" because it "might attract undesirable interest from extremists". Greenwich Council noted they had been "overwhelmed by interest in a local memorial", but also opposed the tribute.[19]
In March 2013, Raynsford announced his intention to stand down as MP for Greenwich and Woolwich at the next general election and cited his age as the reason behind his decision.[20]
Later career
Raynsford remains involved with UK construction. He is chair of CICAIR Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Construction Industry Council. He is a board member of the Construction Industry Council and he chaired the group from 2006 to 2008.[21] The group maintains and operates the Approved Inspectors Register regulating approved inspectors qualified to undertake building control work.[22] Since January 2019, he has been deputy chairman of Crossrail Limited.[23]
^ abGuide to the House of Commons. London. 2005. p. 166. ISBN0-00-721182-1. ((cite book)): |work= ignored (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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