Fabian Hamilton | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2024 | |
| Shadow Minister for Peace and Disarmament | |
| In office 8 November 2016 – 5 September 2023 | |
| Leader | Jeremy Corbyn Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished |
| Shadow Minister for the Middle East | |
| In office 30 June 2017 – 9 April 2020 | |
| Leader | Jeremy Corbyn |
| Preceded by | Catherine West |
| Succeeded by | Wayne David |
| Shadow Minister for Africa | |
| In office 20 January 2016 – 29 June 2016 | |
| Leader | Jeremy Corbyn |
| Shadow Minister for Europe | |
| In office 29 June 2016 – 4 July 2016 | |
| Leader | Jeremy Corbyn |
| Preceded by | Pat Glass |
| Succeeded by | Khalid Mahmood |
| Member of Parliament forLeeds North East | |
| Assumed office 1 May 1997 | |
| Preceded by | Timothy Kirkhope |
| Majority | 16,083 (35.6%) |
| Leeds City Councillor forWortley Ward | |
| In office 1987–1998 | |
| Preceded by | Pat Fathers |
| Succeeded by | David Blackburn |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Fabian Uziell-Hamilton (1955-04-12)12 April 1955 (age 70) London, England |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse | Rosemary Ratcliffe |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | University of York |
| Website | Official website |
Fabian Uziell-Hamilton (born 12 April 1955) is a BritishLabour Party politician who has been theMember of Parliament (MP) forLeeds North East since1997. He served asShadow Minister for Peace and Disarmament from November 2016 to September 2023.[1][2]
Fabian Uziell-Hamilton was born on 12 April 1955 in London to aBritish Jewish family.[3] His grandfather was arabbi.[4] His father Mario, asolicitor, and his mother Adrianne, ajudge,[5] were members of theLiberal Party, for which his father was several times an election candidate.
He was educated atBrentwood School in Essex where he participated in the school's dramatic productions, playing a minor role in the Shakespeare playJulius Caesar alongsideDouglas Adams andGriff Rhys Jones.[6] He then attended theUniversity of York where he was awarded aBachelor of Arts degree.
From 1978, he worked as ataxi driver for a year before working as agraphic designer. From 1994 until his election to parliament in 1997, he was acomputer systems consultant withApple Macintosh Computer Systems.
He was elected as a councillor to theCity of Leeds Council in 1987, stepping down in 1998. He was elected as the chairman of theLeeds WestConstituency Labour Party in 1987.
Hamilton stood as theLabour candidate inLeeds North East at the1992 general election, coming second with 36.8% of the vote behind the incumbentConservative MPTimothy Kirkhope.[7][8][9]
Despite having achieved the highest Labour swing in the North of England, the constituency Labour Party voted, by a margin of one vote, in favour of anall-women shortlist. Hamilton was quoted byThe Independent as saying:
For six years, I was chair of Leeds city council's equal opportunities committee. Equal ops was my life. And to find that, as far as the Labour Party is concerned, equal opportunity now meanspositive discrimination, came as a real shock to me. I am told that my generation of men will just have to stand back and make way for women. And I understand why certain women in the Party have pushed that policy. But I think they're wrong. What they don't seem to take on board is that I've only got one life, too. I didn't choose my time on earth any more than I chose my sex or my race. And I really mean it when I say that being kept out of a job just because I'm a man offends me as deeply as being kept out of a job just because I'm a Jew.[10]
Leeds North-East made its selection on 1 July 1995, selectingLiz Davies, abarrister and councillor in theLondon Borough of Islington. Davies defeated four local women, two of whom were Leeds city councillors. Her selection was vetoed by theNational Executive Committee, allegedly for herleft-wing politics; unhappy with the situation, opponents took out an unsuccessful private prosecution against Hamilton under the Companies Act in connection with his printing business.[11] Hamilton won the subsequent selection process.
At the1997 general election, Hamilton was elected to Parliament as MP for Leeds North East with 49.2% of the vote and a majority of 6,959.[12][13] He made hismaiden speech on 23 June 1997, in which he explained that his constituency stretches from the inner-cityLeeds district ofChapeltown all the way out toHarewood House, thestately home ofthe Earls of Harewood.[14]
In Parliament he served as a member of the AdministrationSelect committee 1997–2001, and has been a member of theForeign Affairs Select Committee.
Hamilton was re-elected as MP for Leeds North East at the2001 general election with a decreased vote share of 49.1% and an increased majority of 7,089.[15][13] He was again re-elected at the2005 general election, with a decreased vote share of 44.9% and a decreased majority of 5,262.[16]
In November 2006, Hamilton was a signatory of theEuston Manifesto and of the statement of principles of theHenry Jackson Society aneoconservative foreign policy think tank.[17]
In October 2008, Hamilton was the first MP to hold a virtual surgery for constituents who can go to his constituency office while he is in London, and converse via webcam.[18]
In 2009, MP Fabian Hamilton faced accusations fromThe Daily Telegraph of improperly claiming £3,000 for mortgage expenses on an equity release plan, which is not allowed.[19] The newspaper also alleged he "flipped" the designation of his second home to furnish and decorate two properties. Hamilton responded by stating the expense claim was a "genuine mistake," which he repaid upon discovery by the House of Commons Fees Office, and accused the newspaper of "deliberately misrepresenting" him.[20][21]
Hamilton was again re-elected at the2010 general election with a decreased vote share of 42.7% and a decreased majority of 4,545.[22][23]
He was a signatory of an open letter to the then-Labour Party leaderEd Miliband in January 2015 calling on the party to commit to oppose further austerity, take rail franchises back into public ownership and strengthen collective bargaining arrangements.[24]
He supportsLabour Friends of Israel and in April 2015 was critical of Ed Miliband's stance on the2014 Israel-Gaza conflict.[25]
Hamilton was again re-elected at the2015 general election, with an increased vote share of 47.9% and an increased majority of 7,250.[26]
On 7 January 2016, Hamilton was appointed a shadow Foreign Minister, outsidethe Shadow Cabinet.[27][28] On 29 June 2016, Hamilton was appointed as Shadow Europe Minister to replacePat Glass, who resigned over concerns about Corbyn's leadership. Hamilton resigned a few days later on 4 July 2016, saying that he was troubled by Corbyn's response to theChakrabarti Inquiry into anti-Semitism.[29]
At the snap2017 general election, Hamilton was again re-elected with an increased vote share of 63.1% and an increased majority of 16,991.[30][31] He was re-elected as MP for Leeds North East at the2019 general election with a decreased vote share of 57.5% and an increased majority of 17,089.[32][33][34] Hamilton was again re-elected at the2024 general election, with a decreased vote share of 51.5% and a decreased majority of 16,083.[35]
He married Rosemary in 1980: they have two daughters and a son.
He is a keen cyclist, and once cycled toAachen,Germany, raising funds for the Funzi and Bodo Trust, a children's charity based inKenya.[36]
He speaks fluentFrench.[3][28]
As a result of mergers, he has successively been a member ofGraphical, Paper and Media Union,Amicus, andUnite.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forLeeds North East 1997–present | Incumbent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Shadow Minister of State for Europe 2016 | Succeeded by |
| New office | Shadow Minister for Peace and Disarmament 2016–present | Incumbent |
