Ivan John Henderson (born 7 June 1958) is a Labour Party politician in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-o ...

from 1997 to 2005. He is currently a member of

Essex County Council Essex County Council is the county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Essex in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county; the non-metropolitan county excludes Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock which ...

for

Early life

Henderson attended the

Sir Anthony Deane Sir Anthony Deane, FRS (1633 1721) was an English shipwright and politician who sat in the English House of Commons and served as mayor of Harwich. Early life Deane was baptised at Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire, on 3 December 1633. He is d ...

Comprehensive, now known as the

Harwich and Dovercourt High School Harwich and Dovercourt High School is a secondary school and sixth form with academy status, located in Harwich in the English county of Essex. It was named the Sir Anthony Deane School until 1974, and was then known as the Harwich School. The ...

. Henderson was previously a Harwich

Town Council A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities. Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions. Republic of Ireland In 2002, 49 urban district councils and 26 town commissi ...

lor and Tendring District Councillor. He was a

stevedore A dockworker (also called a longshoreman, stevedore, docker, wharfman, lumper or wharfie) is a waterfront manual laborer who loads and unloads ships. As a result of the intermodal shipping container revolution, the required number of dockwork ...

for Harwich International Port. He became a trade union official.

Parliamentary career

When elected in

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

, Henderson was Harwich's first Labour MP. He had expected to finish third in votes, and had to tell his dock manager that he could not work a scheduled shift. In Parliament Henderson was a Parliamentary Private Secretary at the Home Office, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, the Department for Work and Pensions, and the Treasury. He worked closely with

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. Previously, he was Chancellor of the Ex ...

, then the

Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and the head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, t ...

, until he lost his seat 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 ...

Douglas Carswell in the 2005 general election. In the 2010 general election Henderson contested the Clacton constituency, aside from the town of Harwich itself, which contained much of the former constituency of Harwich, however he was unsuccessful. Ivan Henderson continues to play an active role in local politics, acting as the Labour Party's spokesman for Harwich and Clacton. Recent work includes the Kirby Cross Sports Pavilion, where funding that was obtained by Tendring District Council came about through Henderson's discussions with the Football Association. When it came to be opened, Ivan managed to secure a visit from

Richard Caborn Richard George Caborn (born 6 October 1943) is a British politician who served as Minister of Sport from 2001 to 2007 and later as the prime minister's ambassador for England's 2018 FIFA World Cup bid. He previously served as a junior ministe ...

MP. He also successfully campaigned for Trinity House HQ to remain in Harwich, he was later reelected to his former East Ward on the Town and District council.

Post-parliamentary career

Boundary changes saw the old Harwich constituency reconstituted into the new Harwich and North Essex and Clacton constituencies. Henderson was selected to contest the Clacton seat for the 2010 general election. In the election Henderson polled 25% of the vote, putting him more than 12,000 votes behind Carswell. After this unsuccessful parliamentary comeback, Henderson was elected to Tendring District Council in

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, winning Harwich East ward in his hometown. In

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

he was elected as an Essex County Councillor for Harwich, unseating the incumbent Conservative Ricky Callender. He was later reelected in

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

. He has since become the leader of the Labour Group on both councils. In 2021 Henderson became Mayor of Harwich, and said he was extremely "proud" to have done so, saying that now he has been a representative at all levels, he feels that "he has completed the set".

Personal life

From his first marriage, he has one son and a daughter; from his second marriage he has one son. He married Jo'Anne Atkinson on 13 June 1992. His children are Joseph Henderson, Stuart Henderson and Melissa Henderson. His wife is also a member of Tendring District Council.

References

External links

* Ivan Henderson'
Official website
* Clacton

Constituency Labour Party A constituency Labour Party (CLP) is an organisation of members of the British Labour Party who live in a particular parliamentary constituency. In England and Wales, CLP boundaries coincide with those for UK parliamentary constituencies. In Sc ...

'
Website

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Henderson, Ivan 1958 births Councillors in Essex English trade unionists Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Living people Members of Essex County Council Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Harwich UK MPs 1997–2001 UK MPs 2001–2005