Clive Betts: Difference between revisions

term_start = 9 April 1992
Clive Betts
term_start = 9 April 1992 Clive Betts
Personal details
Born	January 13, 1950 (age 74); Sheffield
Nationality	British
Political party	Labour
Alma mater	Pembroke College, Cambridge

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Clive James Charles Betts (born January 13, 1950) is a British politician, and the Labour Member of Parliament for Sheffield Attercliffe.

Early life

Born in 1950 in Sheffield, Betts was educated at the Longley School in Sheffield and King Edward VII School, Sheffield (photo); and Pembroke College, Cambridge, where he received a BA in Economics and Politics.

He joined the Labour Party in 1969 and joined the Trades Union Congress in 1971 as an economist. In 1973 he was appointed as an economist with Derbyshire County Council, and moved to the South Yorkshire County Council in 1974.

At the 1979 general election he stood for election to the House of Commons in the safe Conservative seat of Louth against the Conservative MP Michael Brotherton and lost.

Betts had been elected as a councillor to Sheffield City Council in 1976. He was the Council's deputy leader under David Blunkett for a year in 1986, and succeeded Blunkett as the council leader in 1987. He left the council on his election to Westminster. In 1986 he was appointed as an economist with Rotherham Borough Council.

Parliamentary career

He was selected to contest the safe Labour seat of Sheffield Attercliffe following the retirement of the veteran Labour MP Patrick Duffy. At the 1992 general election, Betts was elected with a large majority, and made his maiden speech on 6 May 1992.

Betts was made an opposition whip under Tony Blair in 1996, and after the 1997 general election, he entered the government as an Assistant Whip. He was promoted in 1998 to full Whip, with the title of Lord Commissioner to the Treasury, but like the majority of whips at that time was dropped from the government after the 2001 general election.

Since 2002, Betts has been a Member of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister Select Committee. Since the 2005 general election he has also been a member of the Finance and Services Committee.

Personal life

In 2003 he was outed by the Sun newspaper. He plays cricket and supports Sheffield Wednesday F.C.

External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom Template:Incumbent succession box

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+term_start = [[9 April]] [[1992]]
-| name = Clive Betts
-| honorific-suffix =[[Member of Parliament|MP]]
-| constituency_MP = [[Sheffield Attercliffe (UK Parliament constituency)|Sheffield Attercliffe]]
-| parliament =
-| majority =
-| predecessor = [[Patrick Duffy (UK politician)|Patrick Duffy]]
-| successor = [[Incumbent]]
-| term_start = [[9 April]] [[1992]]
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 Since 2002, Betts has been a Member of the [[Office of the Deputy Prime Minister]] [[Select Committee (Westminster System)|Select Committee]].  Since the [[United Kingdom general election, 2005|2005 general election]] he has also been a member of the Finance and Services Committee.
-== Controversies ==
-=== Suspension from House of Commons ===
-In [[2003]] Betts was suspended from the House of Commons for an incident involving Jose Gasparo - someone who had been working as a gay prostitute with whom Betts had a relationship and then appointed to his staff. Betts had been both fully aware of Gasparo's previous choice of profession, and also fully aware that his visa was due to expire well before the contract of employment that he created. In particular there was concern that Betts had help to forge House of Commons security documents[http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200203/cmselect/cmstnprv/947/94704.htm]
-=== McDonald's World Cup Hospitality ===
-Betts was widely criticised (along with several other MPs) for accepting match tickets, hospitality, and accommodation from McDonalds at both Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup. Of particular concern was that he had received some of the most expensive tickets worth up to £1,000 to matches which were completely sold out, and thus to which most England fans were unable to attend. Rather than being offered the tickets by McDonalds it became apparent that the MPs had in fact requested them from the company themselves.<ref>[http://www.spinwatch.org/content/view/2951/9/ Spinwatch - Anger as MPs grab free World Cup McTickets<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Kevin Miles of the Football Supporter Federation criticised the MP's requests, stating that McDonalds were giving them the tickets to buy influence <ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5046306.stm BBC NEWS | UK | MPs defend free World Cup tickets<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
-In May 2007 it then emerged that Mr Betts was leading a campaign to boost McDonald's image by tabling an Early Day Motion in support of the company's campaign to ban the term "McJob" with critics noting how many of the most prominent supporters had previously benefied from McDonalds corporate hospitably.<ref>[http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=33341&SESSION=885 UK Parliament - Early Day Motions By Details<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>  <ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=457924&in_page_id=1770 MPs handed World Cup tickets back McDonald's bid to boost image | the Daily Mail<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
 == Personal life ==