Sir Hugh Nigel Edward Bayley (born 9 January 1952) is a British Labour politician who served as the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

(MP) for York Central, previously

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

and

City of York The City of York is a unitary authority area with city status in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. The district's main settlement is York, and it extends to the surrounding area including the town of Haxby and the villages of ...

, from 1992 to 2015.

Early life

Bayley was born in Maidenhead, Berkshire, and was educated at

Haileybury and Imperial Service College Haileybury is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) near Hertford in England. It is a member of the Rugby Group and, though originally a major boys' public school in the Victorian era, it is now co-educational, enrol ...

, the

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

, where he obtained a Politics

BSc A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

degree in 1974, before pursuing further studies at the University of York, where he was awarded a

BPhil Bachelor of Philosophy (BPhil, BPh, or PhB; la, Baccalaureus Philosophiae or ) is the title of an academic degree that usually involves considerable research, either through a thesis or supervised research projects. Unlike many other bachelor's ...

degree in Southern African studies in 1976. After his studies in 1975 he became a District Officer and later a National Officer with NALGO until 1982. Bayley was elected as a councillor in the

London Borough of Camden The London Borough of Camden () is a London borough in Inner London. Camden Town Hall, on Euston Road, lies north of Charing Cross. The borough was established on 1 April 1965 from the area of the former boroughs of Hampstead, Holborn, and ...

in 1980 and became the general secretary of the International Broadcasting Trust in 1982. Bayley stepped down as a councillor and moved to

to take up a post as research officer in

health economics Health economics is a branch of economics concerned with issues related to efficiency, effectiveness, value and behavior in the production and consumption of health and healthcare. Health economics is important in determining how to improv ...

at the University of York from 1987 to 1992. He was a lecturer in social policy at the university from 1986 until 1998.

Parliamentary career

Hugh Bayley was nominated as the Labour candidate for York at the 1987 general election but was defeated by just 147 votes by the

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

Conal Gregory. After the election, Hugh Bayley became a Health Economics Research Fellow at the University of York, and became a member of the local health authority. Conal Gregory and Hugh Bayley again fought it out at the 1992 general election in York and this time Bayley won by a comfortable margin. After his election he made his

maiden speech A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament. Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country. In many Westminster system governments, there is a convention th ...

on 7 May 1992 and joined the

Health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...

Select committee. The name of the York constituency was changed (though with unaltered boundaries) and Bayley won a majority of over 20,000 at the 1997 general election. After the election, Bayley became the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the

Secretary of State for Health The secretary of state for health and social care, also referred to as the health secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the work of the Department of Health and Social Care. The incumbent ...

Frank Dobson Frank Gordon Dobson (15 March 1940 – 11 November 2019) was a British Labour Party politician. As Member of Parliament (MP) for Holborn and St. Pancras from 1979 to 2015, he served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Health from 1997 t ...

, who lived near York. In 1998 he was appointed to

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

's Government as the

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (or just Parliamentary Secretary, particularly in departments not led by a Secretary of State) is the lowest of three tiers of government minister in the UK government, immediately junior to a Minister ...

in the

Department of Social Security The Department of Social Security (DSS) was a governmental agency in the United Kingdom from 1988 to 2001. The old abbreviation is still often used informally. Advertisements for rented accommodation used to describe prospective tenants who wou ...

, responsible for

Incapacity Legal capacity is a quality denoting either the legal aptitude of a person to have rights and liabilities (in this sense also called transaction capacity), or altogether the personhood itself in regard to an entity other than a natural person ( ...

, Maternity, Disability benefits and Vaccine damage. He was deputed to bring the Welfare Reform and Pensions Bill through the Commons, which attracted much criticism from backbench Labour MPs over plans to means-test and restrict access to incapacity benefit. He was dropped from government after the 2001 general election. Bayley has since served on the

International Development Committee The International Development Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the Committee is to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the international aid functions of ...

and pioneered the foundation of the Africa

All-Party Parliamentary Group An all-party parliamentary group (APPG) is a grouping in the Parliament of the United Kingdom that is composed of members of parliament from all political parties, but have no official status within Parliament. Description and functions All-party ...

, serving as chair for several years, now being its vice-chair. He was president of the

NATO Parliamentary Assembly Founded in 1955, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (NATO PA) serves as the consultative interparliamentary organisation for the North Atlantic Alliance. Its current President is Gerald E. Connolly from the United States, elected in 2019. Its curre ...

from November 2012 to 2014. He was also a chairman of the

Public Bill Committee In the British House of Commons, public bill committees (known as standing committees before 2006) consider Bills – proposed Acts of Parliament. The House of Lords does not have such committees, as Bills are usually considered by the House as a ...

. The City of York constituency was abolished in 2010, with Bayley being elected in the 2010 general election to represent the successor constituency York Central. A loyal backbencher, Bayley rarely voted against his party whip. At the outset of the 2010 parliament, Speaker of the House of Commons

John Bercow John Simon Bercow (; born 19 January 1963) is a British former politician who was Speaker of the House of Commons from 2009 to 2019, and Member of Parliament (MP) for Buckingham between 1997 and 2019. A member of the Conservative Party prior t ...

appointed Bayley as a temporary Deputy Speaker to serve for two weeks until the election of Deputy Speakers. Bayley accepted the appointment, but stated that he would serve only temporarily and would not run for a Deputy Speakership, as he preferred to be able to represent his constituents by speaking out on issues before the House. On 5 December 2014, Bayley announced his intention to stand down as a Labour MP at the 2015 general election. Bayley was knighted in the 2015 New Year Honours for his "services to parliamentary engagement with NATO".

Personal life

Sir Hugh was active in the

Anti-Apartheid Movement The Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM), was a British organisation that was at the centre of the international movement opposing the South African apartheid system and supporting South Africa's non-White population who were persecuted by the policie ...

in his student days. On 22 December 1984, in Camden, he married Fenella Jeffers from

Nevis Nevis is a small island in the Caribbean Sea that forms part of the inner arc of the Leeward Islands chain of the West Indies. Nevis and the neighbouring island of Saint Kitts constitute one country: the Federation of Saint Kitts and ...

; they have a son and a daughter.

References

External links

Hugh Bayley's official site

''Debrett's People of Today''
* *

News items

''Terrys'' closure in April 2004
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bayley, Hugh 1952 births Living people Alumni of the University of York Councillors in the London Borough of Camden Knights Bachelor Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies People educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College People from Maidenhead Politicians awarded knighthoods UK MPs 1992–1997 UK MPs 1997–2001 UK MPs 2001–2005 UK MPs 2005–2010 UK MPs 2010–2015 Labour Party (UK) councillors