Geoffrey Edge (born 26 May 1943) is a former British Labour Party politician.

Biography

Geoffrey Edge was born in

West Bromwich West Bromwich ( ), commonly known as West Brom, is a market town in the borough of Sandwell, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is northwes ...

. He was educated at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

, from which he received a BA in

Geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

, and the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

. He then became a university lecturer.

Political career

Edge was elected member of parliament for the newly created constituency of Aldridge-Brownhills at the February 1974 general election with a majority of only 366 votes. He was re-elected in October 1974 with an increased majority, but lost the seat in

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

to the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

candidate

Richard Shepherd Sir Richard Charles Scrimgeour Shepherd (6 December 1942 – 19 February 2022) was a British politician who was Member of Parliament for Aldridge-Brownhills from 1979 to 2015. A Eurosceptic, Shepherd was one of the Maastricht Rebels that ha ...

. Whilst in parliament, Edge served as Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) for ministers in the

Department for Education The Department for Education (DfE) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for child protection, child services, education in England, educati ...

and the Privy Council Office. After losing his seat, Edge served on

West Midlands County Council West Midlands County Council (WMCC) was, from 1974 to 1986, the upper-tier administrative body for the West Midlands county, a metropolitan county in England. History The WMCC existed for a total of twelve years. It was established on 1 April 1 ...

, where he created an economic development department. For 25 years (1982–2007) he was chairman, later chairman and chief executive, of West Midlands Enterprise, which provided long term finance to local companies. He also served as a Labour councillor and Leader of

Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council Walsall Council, formally Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council, is the Local government in England, local authority for the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The town of Walsall had been a Bo ...

. Edge stood unsuccessfully at the 1987 general election in

Birmingham Yardley Birmingham Yardley is a constituency of part of the city of Birmingham represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Jess Phillips of the Labour Party. Yardley Rural District was annexed to Birmingham under the 1911 ...

, but was beaten by the incumbent Conservative David Gilroy-Bevan.

Other activities

Edge worked as a Senior Associate at P E International plc (1987–97) and also as an associate director of W S Atkins plc. He is currently (as of 2021) managing director of Geonomics Limited, a company he formed in 2007. The company website states that it is "a specialist regeneration, strategy and business consultancy".

References

*''Times Guide to the House of Commons 1979'' * 1943 births Living people Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 People from West Bromwich Alumni of the London School of Economics Alumni of the University of Birmingham {{England-Labour-UK-MP-stub