Brian Sedgemore

Labour MP Hackney South and Shoreditch

Date of birth

17 March 1937

Political profile

One of Labour's veteran backbenchers, Brian Sedgemore was first elected to the Commons in February 1974 (representing Luton West).

He lost his seat in 1979 and returned in 1983 for his present constituency.

In all his time in Parliament, he has never held any frontbench positions apart from a brief stint as parliamentary private secretary to Tony Benn.

He was originally on the left of the party as a member of the Campaign Group, but has now left his former colleagues behind after being converted into a strong supporter of the European Union.

He has instead become the backbenches' most irrepressible maverick, who pays almost no heed to the constraints of party or politics in speaking in his mind.

He has ridiculed female Labour MPs as "Stepford Wives" and Tony Blair as "an eminently forgettable barrister".

He has also made serious contributions on the Treasury select committee, on which he sat for 14 years before losing his place in 2001.

In his inquiries into monetary policy committee membership he combined his intelligence and knowledge, gained from years as a barrister and senior civil servant, with his malicious wit, dubbing one nominee "more Kidderminster Harriers than Manchester United".

He is also a prolific author of both political tracts and fiction.

Contact

020 7219 3410

[e-mail]