Member of Parliament ( MP )
Which position did Andrew Dismore hold from May 1997 to May 2001?
Andrew Dismore Andrew Hartley Dismore ( born 2 September 1954 ) is a British Labour politician who has been the Member of the London Assembly for Barnet and Camden since 2012 , and was the Member of Parliament ( MP ) for Hendon from 1997 until 2010 . Early life . Dismore was born in Bridlington , East Riding of Yorkshire , the son of a hotelier . He was educated at Bridlington Grammar School before attending the University of Warwick , where he received a LLB in 1975 , and the London School of Economics , where he was awarded his LLM in 1976 . He graduated from The College of Law in 1978 . Professional life . Dismore joined the Labour Party in 1974 . After a brief time during his studies when he worked as an education officer with the General , Municipal , Boilermakers and Allied Trade Union , he began his professional career as a partner with Robin Thompson and Partners Solicitors in 1978 . He became a partner in the firm Russell Jones & Walker Solicitors in 1995 . He was elected as a councillor on Westminster City Council in 1982 , becoming the Labour group leader in 1990 . During his time there , he led the criticism of Shirley Porter and the homes for votes scandal . Member of Parliament . He was elected to the House of Commons at the 1997 general election for the new seat of Hendon , defeating John Gorst , the sitting Conservative MP for the former constituency of Hendon North , by 6,155 votes . He made his maiden speech on 6 June 1997 , in which he criticised the government of John Major for closing the Edgware General Hospital A & E department . He became a member of the Social Security select committee in 1998 , and after the 2001 general election its replacement , the Work and Pensions Select Committee , on which he remained until 2005 . He was a member of the Standards and Privileges Select Committee from 2001 until 2010 and the Human Rights and Liaison committees from 2005 to 2010 ( chairing the Joint Committee on Human Rights ) . Dismore asked Tony Blair a parliamentary question about Holocaust memorial and education , and received a written answer on 10 June 1999 . This led to the establishment of Holocaust Memorial Day in the UK . He set the 21st century record for a filibuster in the House of Commons by talking for 197 minutes during the debate of the Criminal Law ( Amendment ) ( Protection of Property ) Bill . In the 2010 general election Andrew Dismore lost his seat by 106 ( 0.2% ) votes to Conservative candidate and former Hendon ward councillor Matthew Offord . In his losing speech Dismore complained that Offord had used his record of expenses against him . He was a member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Tribal Peoples . In 2015 , Andrew Dismore stood once again as the Labour Party candidate for Hendon in the General Election but failed to regain his seat , instead losing by a bigger majority as the Conservatives improved their position overall . In 2009 , The Daily Telegraph reported that he had claimed expenses equivalent to 487 journeys between Parliament and his constituency home , although the Commons only sat for 145 days . It was revealed by the BBC in March 2010 , that Mr Dismore had annual trips to Cyprus , funded by the Cypriot Parliament . Mr Dismore failed to declare this interest on a number of Parliamentary Questions and Early Day Motions , despite providing this information on the register of members’ interests . London Assembly . Following his defeat as MP for Hendon , Andrew Dismore was selected as the Labour Party candidate for the Barnet and Camden constituency in the 2012 London Assembly election , defeating Conservative incumbent Brian Coleman . He was re-elected in 2016 with a reduced majority . Dismore currently serves as Chair of the London Assemblys Fire , Resilience and Emergency Planning Committee . During his time on the Assembly , he has campaigned on issues including tube noise and the impact of Brexit on London . External links . - Andrew Dismore GLA Assembly Members website - Andrew Dismore- Hendon Parliamentary Campaign Website - Guardian Unlimited Politics – Ask Aristotle : Andrew Dismore MP - TheyWorkForYou.com – Andrew Dismore MP - BBC Politics - Entry on list of MPs - Joint Committee of Human Rights - News items - Long speech in December 2005 blocks householder v intruder bill - Long speech in July 2004 blocks bill on volunteers activities bill - Discusses evidence of torture by UK troops - Rejection of anti-Israel boycott - Andrew Dismore MP : Foreign trips and rule breaches