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Clive Efford | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2017 | |
| Shadow Minister for Sport | |
| In office 8 October 2011 – 28 June 2016 | |
| Leader | Ed Miliband Jeremy Corbyn |
| Preceded by | Ian Austin |
| Succeeded by | Rosena Allin-Khan |
| Shadow Home Office Minister | |
| In office 26 September 2010 – 5 October 2011 | |
| Leader | Ed Miliband |
| Member of Parliament forEltham and Chislehurst Eltham (1997-2024) | |
| Assumed office 1 May 1997 | |
| Preceded by | Peter Bottomley |
| Majority | 8,429 (14.5%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Clive Stanley Efford[1] (1958-07-10)10 July 1958 (age 67) |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse | Gillian Vallins |
| Website | Official website |
Clive Stanley Efford (born 10 July 1958) is a BritishLabour Party politician who has served asMember of Parliament (MP) forEltham and Chislehurst, previouslyEltham, since1997.
Efford was born inLondon and educated atWalworth School andSouthwark College. He worked in his familyjewellery business, until he completedThe Knowledge and qualified asLondon taxi driver in 1987. In 1986, he became an electedcouncillor in theLondon Borough of Greenwich, and continued in both these occupations until being elected toParliament in1997.[citation needed]
Efford was first elected toGreenwich Council in 1986 for the ElthamWell Hall Ward, becoming the Labour Group Chief Whip in 1990. After first contesting the seat ofEltham at the1992 general election, he successfully won the seat five years later in1997. He went on to win the seat at the ensuing general elections in2001,2005 and2010, with his majority declining after each until the2015 general election and increased further in2017. He retained his seat in the2024 United Kingdom general election despite boundary changes unfavourable to the Labour Party.
He made hismaiden speech in theHouse of Commons on 25 June 1997.[2]
In Parliament, he has served on a number ofSelect committees, including being a member of theTransport Select Committee from 2001 to 2008. In 2003, he was one of the Labour MPs who rebelled against the government and voted against UK involvement in theIraq War. In 2005, Efford was responsible for the reformation of the previously defunctTribune Group, though unlike its previous incarnation, membership was restricted to backbench Labour MPs.[3] In 2008, he became theparliamentary private secretary toHousing MinisterMargaret Beckett, later becoming the PPS toJohn Healey in the same role from 2009 to 2010.[citation needed]
He was one of the first MPs to declare his support forEd Miliband, the successful candidate, in the2010 Labour leadership election. Miliband subsequently appointed him to theOpposition Front Bench in 2011 as a Shadow Home Office Minister under newShadow Home SecretaryYvette Cooper. In the reshuffle of October 2011, he became theShadow Minister for Sport.
Clive Efford was one of 36 Labour MPs to nominateJeremy Corbyn as a candidate in theLabour leadership election of 2015[4] and he retained his position in Corbyn's shadow cabinet. He resigned from Corbyn's shadow cabinet following a large number of resignations from theLabour front bench on 28 June 2016.[citation needed] He supportedOwen Smith in the failed attempt to replace Jeremy Corbyn in the2016 Labour leadership election.[5]
Efford was shortlisted for theGrassroot Diplomat Initiative Award in 2015 for his work on National Health Service Bill, and he remains in the directory of the Grassroot Diplomat Who's Who publication.[6]
Efford relaunchedthe Tribune Group of MPs in April 2017, aiming to reconnect with traditional Labour voters while also appealing to the centre ground.[7]
Efford endorsedKeir Starmer in the2020 Labour Party leadership election.[8]
In August 2025 Efford was a founder member ofMainstream (political organisation) described as a soft left pressure group within the Labour Party.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forEltham 1997–present | Incumbent |
