Nick Smith (British Politician)
Nicholas Desmond John Smith (born 14 January 1960) is a Welsh politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney, previously Blaenau Gwent, since 2010. A member of the Labour Party, he served as a Member of Camden Council from 1998 to 2006. Early life Born in 1960 into a family of miners and steel workers, Smith grew up in Tredegar and was educated at its comprehensive school. As a young man Smith was a member of the Tredegar Workman's Hall Snooker Club. Now he co-chairs the parliamentary group in support of the sport. Smith went on to study at Birkbeck College, University of London, where he graduated with an MSc in Economic Change. at nick-smith.net Career Smith became a Labour Party organiser in Wales, and later worked around the world as an International Democracy Adviser, for the Democratic Party in the United States, and for the Westminster Foundation for Democracy. His first significant job for the Labour Party was as agent for Frank Dob ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Member Of Parliament (United Kingdom)
In the United Kingdom, a Member of Parliament (MP) is an individual elected to serve in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Electoral system All 650 members of the UK House of Commons are elected using the first-past-the-post voting system in single member United Kingdom Parliament constituencies, constituencies across the whole of the United Kingdom, where each constituency has its own single representative. Elections All MP positions become simultaneously vacant for elections held on a five-year cycle, or when a snap election is called. Since the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022, Parliament is automatically dissolved once five years have elapsed from its first meeting after an election. If a Vacancy (economics), vacancy arises at another time, due to death or Resignation from the British House of Commons, resignation, then a constituency vacancy may be filled by a by-election. Un ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Westminster Foundation For Democracy
The Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) is a United Kingdom non-departmental public body set up to support democratic institutions overseas. It was established on 26 February 1992 and registered as a company limited by guarantee in the UK. It receives funding from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). Former diplomat Anthony Smith has been CEO since August 2014. History Established on 26 February 1992, not long after the fall of the Berlin wall, WFD initially focused on providing support to political parties in Eastern European countries as they transition to democracy. By the 2000s, WFD became well known as an organisation with specialty in strengthening parliamentary capacity through their programmes. Objectives WFD works to achieve sustainable political change in emerging democracies. Working with and through partner organisations, WFD seeks to strengthen the institutions of democracy through capacity building initiatives, technical support, an ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Independent (politician)
An independent politician or non-affiliated politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicians have political views that do not align with the platforms of any political party and therefore they choose not to affiliate with them. Some independent politicians may be associated with a party, perhaps as former members of it or else have views that align with it, but choose not to stand in its name, or are unable to do so because the party in question has selected another candidate. Others may belong to or support a political party at the national level but believe they should not formally represent it (and thus be subject to its policies) at another level. In some cases, a politician may be a member of an unregistered party and therefore officially recognised as an independent. Officeholders may become independents after losing or repudiating a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Prospective Parliamentary Candidate
In British politics, a prospective parliamentary candidate (PPC) is a candidate selected by political parties to contest under individual Westminster constituencies in advance of a general election. The term originally came into use because of the strict limits on the maximum expenditure permitted to be incurred by an election candidate, regardless of whether the election had been formally called. The candidates were termed "prospective" because referring to them simply as a candidate would arguably trigger the moment when money spent to promote them would need to be included in their declaration of expenses after the election. In 2004, however, the law was changed so that the trigger for election expenses being accountable was to be the calling of an election and not the announcing of a candidacy. Some political parties had already started to use terms such as "parliamentary spokesperson", believing that some voters were confused by the unusual word "prospective"; however, the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Royal College Of Speech And Language Therapists
The Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (abbreviated as RCSLT) is the professional body for speech and language therapist, speech and language therapists in the United Kingdom and is a registered charity. It was established on 6 January 1945 to promote the study of speech therapy in the UK, to seek improvement and maintain a high standard of knowledge and to unite all members of the profession. The RCSLT’s current patron is the Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, Duchess of Edinburgh. The RCSLT has offices in Edinburgh, Belfast, Cardiff and London. History The RCSLT was founded in 1945 as the College of Speech Therapists (CST), after the amalgamation of the Association of Speech Therapists and the British Society of Speech Therapists in 1944. In 1945, CST fellows and licentiates were granted application to the Register of Medical Auxiliaries. By 1955, the College had withdrawn from the register and published its own member directory. Its first patron, in 1948, was King Geor ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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House Of Commons Of The United Kingdom
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 members known as Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), members of Parliament (MPs), who are elected to represent United Kingdom constituencies, constituencies by the First-past-the-post voting, first-past-the-post system and hold their seats until Dissolution of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, Parliament is dissolved. The House of Commons of England began to evolve in the 13th and 14th centuries. In 1707 it became the House of Commons of Great Britain after the Acts of Union 1707, political union with Scotland, and from 1801 it also became the House of Commons for Ireland after the Acts of Union 1800, political union of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922, the body became the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and No ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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National Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Children
The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) is a British child protection charity founded as the Liverpool Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (LSPCC) by Thomas Agnew on 19 April 1883. The NSPCC lobbies the government on issues relating to child welfare, and creates child abuse public awareness campaigns. Since the 1980s, the charity has had statutory powers allowing it to apply for help on behalf of children at risk. In the 1990s, the charity's publication, ''Satanic Indicators'', fueled panic in social workers who went and accused parents and removed children from homes when they should not have. It operates a telephone help line. The Paddington Bear character has partnered with the charity to raise funds for the charity. History Victorian era On a trip to New York in 1881, Liverpudlian businessman Thomas Agnew was inspired by a visit to the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. On his return to Liverpool, he ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Brussels
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalities, 19 municipalities, including the City of Brussels, which is the capital of Belgium. The Brussels-Capital Region is located in the central portion of the country. It is a part of both the French Community of Belgium and the Flemish Community, and is separate from the Flemish Region (Flanders), within which it forms an enclave, and the Walloon Region (Wallonia), located less than to the south. Brussels grew from a small rural settlement on the river Senne (river), Senne to become an important city-region in Europe. Since the end of the Second World War, it has been a major centre for international politics and home to numerous international organisations, politicians, Diplomacy, diplomats and civil servants. Brussels is the ''de facto' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts European legislation, following a proposal by the European Commission. The Parliament is composed of 720 members (MEPs), after the June 2024 European elections, from a previous 705 MEPs. It represents the second-largest democratic electorate in the world (after the Parliament of India), with an electorate of around 375 million eligible voters in 2024. Since 1979, the Parliament has been directly elected every five years by the citizens of the European Union through universal suffrage. Voter turnout in parliamentary elections decreased each time after 1979 until 2019, when voter turnout increased by eight percentage points, and rose above 50% for the first time since 1994. The voting age is 18 in all EU member states e ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Councillor
A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or regional government, or other local authority. The title of a councillor varies geographically, with a name generally being preceded by their title (or the shortened version Cllr when written) in formal or council-related situations in many places. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unlike most provincial elections, municipal elections are usually held on a fixed date of 4 years. Finland ''This is about honorary rank, not elected officials.'' In Finland councillor (''neuvos'') is the highest possible title of honour which can be granted by the President of Finland. There are several ranks of councillors and they have existed si ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2005 United Kingdom General Election
The 2005 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 5 May 2005, to elect List of MPs elected in the 2005 United Kingdom general election, 646 members to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons. The governing Labour Party (UK), Labour Party led by Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, with Blair becoming the second Labour leader after Harold Wilson to form three majority governments. However, its Majority government, majority fell to 66 seats; the majority it won 2001 United Kingdom general election, four years earlier had been of 167 seats. The UK media interpreted the results as an indicator of a breakdown in trust in the government, and especially in Blair. This was the first time the Labour Party had won a third consecutive election, but would be the last election victory for Labour until 2024 United Kingdom general election, 2024. The Liberal Democrats (UK), Liberal Democrats, led by ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Islington South And Finsbury
Islington South and Finsbury is a constituency created in 1974 and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2005 by Emily Thornberry of the Labour Party. Thornberry served as Shadow Foreign Secretary from 2016 until 2020 and as Shadow Attorney General for England and Wales from 2021 to 2024. Constituency profile This densely populated seat covers Barnsbury, part of Highbury, Islington proper, and Clerkenwell and Finsbury adjoining the City. It contains many desirable apartments and townhouses as well as 20th century social housing developments. The borough constituency has been described as "the natural habitat of the hypocritical, well-off, ostensibly liberal chattering classes" including higher earners, leaders in the public sector, critics, entertainers, writers and former Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Boris Johnson. Despite this reputation for liberal affluence there is also significant deprivation in the constituency and its neighbour Islington Nort ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |