Denys Alan Reginald Race (born 23 June 1947) is a British Labour Party politician.

Parliamentary career

He unsuccessfully contested 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 ...

-held constituency of Ruislip-Northwood at the February 1974 general election and again at the October 1974 general election. At the 1979 general election, Race was elected as Member of Parliament for the Wood Green constituency in the

London Borough of Haringey The London Borough of Haringey ( , same as Harringay) is a London boroughs, London borough in north London, classified by some definitions as part of Inner London, and by others as part of Outer London. It was created in 1965 by the amalgamation ...

. The constituency was abolished for the 1983 general election. In 1982, Race became the first MP ever to utter the word "

fuck ''Fuck'' () is profanity in the English language that often refers to the act of sexual intercourse, but is also commonly used as an intensifier or to convey disdain. While its origin is obscure, it is usually considered to be first attested ...

" on the floor of the House when referring to advertisements for

prostitutes Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-p ...

reading "Phone them and fuck them". ''

Hansard ''Hansard'' is the transcripts of parliamentary debates in Britain and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries. It is named after Thomas Curson Hansard (1776–1833), a London printer and publisher, who was the first official printe ...

'' recorded it as "f*** them", but the Speaker deprecated even that version. In the run-up to the 1987 UK general election he was shortlisted for the Labour nomination in the safe seat of Coventry North-East, but he came fifth at the selection meeting. In 1990, Race created a group called 'Labour Party Socialists' with

Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North (UK Parliament constituency), Islington North since 1983. Now an Independent ...

and

Tony Benn Anthony Neil Wedgwood Benn (3 April 1925 – 14 March 2014), known between 1960 and 1963 as Viscount Stansgate, was a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician and political activist who served as a Cabinet of the United Kingdom, Cabine ...

After Parliament

For the 2001 general election, Race was selected as the Labour Party candidate for Chesterfield, following the retirement there of long-serving MP

. Race finished in second place to the Liberal Democrat candidate Paul Holmes. Since 2001, Race has been owner and managing director of a healthcare management consultancy based in Chesterfield. He backed

Alan Johnson Alan Arthur Johnson (born 17 May 1950) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Education and Skills from 2006 to 2007, Secretary of State for Health from 2007 to 2009, Home Secretary from 2009 to 2010, and Shadow Chancello ...

in the 2007 Labour deputy leadership election. Race has donated nearly £50,000 to the Labour Party. He was involved in the creation of the 'Saving Labour' campaign website, intended to encourage members of the public to email Labour MPs to urge them not to back

in the 2016 Labour leadership election, and to encourage them to register as £25 Labour supporters, enabling them to vote for a different party leader.

References

1947 births Living people English healthcare chief executives European democratic socialists Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1979–1983 {{England-Labour-UK-MP-stub