Fabian Hamilton

Fabian Uziell-Hamilton (born 12 April 1955) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leeds North East since 1997. He served as Shadow Minister for Peace and Disarmament from November 2016 to September 2023.

Early life and career

Fabian Uziell-Hamilton was born on 12 April 1955 in London to a British Jewish family. His grandfather was a rabbi. His father Mario, a solicitor, and his mother Adrianne, a judge, were members of the Liberal Party, for which his father was several times an election candidate.

He was educated at Brentwood School in Essex where he participated in the school's dramatic productions, playing a minor role in the Shakespeare play ''Julius Caesar'' alongside Douglas Adams and Griff Rhys Jones. He then attended the University of York where he was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree.

From 1978, he worked as a taxi driver for a year before working as a graphic designer. From 1994 until his election to parliament in 1997, he was a computer systems consultant with Apple Macintosh Computer Systems.

He was elected as a councillor to the City of Leeds Council in 1987, stepping down in 1998. He was elected as the chairman of the Leeds West Constituency Labour Party in 1987.

Parliamentary career

Hamilton stood as the Labour candidate in Leeds North East at the 1992 general election, coming second with 36.8% of the vote behind the incumbent Conservative MP Timothy Kirkhope.

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 an all-women shortlist. Hamilton was quoted by ''The Independent'' as saying:

Leeds North-East made its selection on 1 July 1995, selecting Liz Davies, a barrister and councillor in the London Borough of Islington. Davies defeated four local women, two of whom were Leeds city councillors. Her selection was vetoed by the National Executive Committee, allegedly for her left-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. Hamilton won the subsequent selection process.

At the 1997 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. He made his maiden speech on 23 June 1997, in which he explained that his constituency stretches from the inner-city Leeds district of Chapeltown all the way out to Harewood House, the stately home of the Earls of Harewood.

In Parliament he served as a member of the Administration Select committee 1997–2001, and has been a member of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee.

Hamilton was re-elected as MP for Leeds North East at the 2001 general election with a decreased vote share of 49.1% and an increased majority of 7,089. He was again re-elected at the 2005 general election, with a decreased vote share of 44.9% and a decreased majority of 5,262.

In November 2006, Hamilton was a signatory of the Euston Manifesto and of the statement of principles of the Henry Jackson Society a neoconservative foreign policy think tank.

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.

Hamilton was again re-elected at the 2010 general election with a decreased vote share of 42.7% and a decreased majority of 4,545.

He was a signatory of an open letter to the then-Labour Party leader Ed 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.

He supports Labour Friends of Israel and in April 2015 was critical of Ed Miliband's stance on the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict.

Hamilton was again re-elected at the 2015 general election, with an increased vote share of 47.9% and an increased majority of 7,250.

On 7 January 2016, Hamilton was appointed a shadow Foreign Minister, outside the Shadow Cabinet. On 29 June 2016, Hamilton was appointed as Shadow Europe Minister to replace Pat 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 the Chakrabarti Inquiry into anti-Semitism.

At the snap 2017 general election, Hamilton was again re-elected with an increased vote share of 63.1% and an increased majority of 16,991. He was re-elected as MP for Leeds North East at the 2019 general election with a decreased vote share of 57.5% and an increased majority of 17,089. Hamilton was again re-elected at the 2024 general election, with a decreased vote share of 51.5% and a decreased majority of 16,083.

In November 2024, Hamilton voted in favour of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which proposes to legalise assisted suicide.

Expenses scandal

In 2009 ''The Daily Telegraph'' reported that Hamilton had incorrectly claimed £3,000 on expenses for mortgage payments. In addition to the interest on the mortgage, which can be claimed as an expense, Hamilton claimed for interest on an equity release scheme on the house, which cannot.

Hamilton responded in a statement that this was "a genuine mistake" and that the money was paid back when the error was discovered by the House of Commons Fees Office. The ''Telegraph'' also accused Hamilton of "flipping" his second home designation to decorate and furnish both his constituency home in Leeds and London flat. Hamilton defended his actions and accused the ''Daily Telegraph'' of "deliberately misrepresenting" him.

Personal life

He married Rosemary in 1980: they have two daughters and a son.

He is a keen cyclist, and once cycled to Aachen, Germany, raising funds for the Funzi and Bodo Trust, a children's charity based in Kenya.

He speaks fluent French.

As a result of mergers, he has successively been a member of Graphical, Paper and Media Union, Amicus, and Unite.

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Fabian
1955 births
Living people
Alumni of the University of York
Jewish English politicians
Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
Labour Friends of Israel
People educated at Brentwood School, Essex
People from Westminster
Tibet freedom activists
UK MPs 1997–2001
UK MPs 2001–2005
UK MPs 2005–2010
UK MPs 2010–2015
UK MPs 2015–2017
UK MPs 2017–2019
UK MPs 2019–2024
Councillors in Leeds
British taxi drivers
Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East
UK MPs 2024–present