Tom Levitt
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Tom Levitt (born 10 April 1954) is a former British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for High Peak from the
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 ...
to 2010 general elections.


Early life

Born in
Crewe Crewe () is a railway town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, the parish had a population of 55,318 and the built-up area had a population of 74,120. ...
in 1954, Levitt was raised in
Leek A leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of ''Allium ampeloprasum'', the broadleaf wild leek (synonym (taxonomy), syn. ''Allium porrum''). The edible part of the plant is a bundle of Leaf sheath, leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a "s ...
, Staffordshire. He was one of the first male intakes when a girls' grammar school, Westwood High, became a comprehensive. He is a
biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...
graduate of
Lancaster University Lancaster University (officially The University of Lancaster) is a collegiate public university, public research university in Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The university was established in 1964 by royal charter, as one of several new univer ...
and has a teaching qualification from
Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...
.


Early career

Levitt taught in comprehensive schools and in further education. He is the author of a textbook on intertidal ecology. As a consultant on disabled access to services and information (1993–97), Levitt wrote three books: ''Sound Policies'', ''Sound Practice'' and ''Clear Access''. These deal with the way local authorities provide services for people with hearing and visual impairments. Levitt also worked as a successful Deaf Awareness trainer.


Political career

After unsuccessfully contesting
Stroud Stroud is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District. The town's population was 13,500 in 2021. Sited below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the ...
in the 1987 general election and High Peak in
1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...
, Levitt was first elected to the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
for the latter seat at the 1997 general election. He had 14 years service at all levels of local government, including
Derbyshire County Council Derbyshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Derbyshire in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county, which additionally includes Derby. The county council is ba ...
, where he was for a year a vice chair of Education. He was also a member of the management committee of High Peak Citizens Advice Bureau. As one of the few MPs with a qualification in
British Sign Language British Sign Language (BSL) is a sign language used in the United Kingdom and is the first or preferred language among the Deafness in the United Kingdom, deaf community in the UK. While private correspondence from William Stokoe hinted at a f ...
, Levitt was an elected Trustee of the Royal National Institute for Deaf People ( RNID) from 1998 to 2003. Levitt was the first MP to use BSL in the House of Commons. He chaired the Community Development Foundation from 2004 to 2010. From 1997 to 2003, Levitt was on the Standards & Privileges Committee, responsible for monitoring standards of MPs' professional conduct. In 2004 he sat on the Scrutiny Committee for the Draft Disability Bill. Following his election he held several junior positions. He was Parliamentary Private Secretary to Barbara Roche MP (1999–2003), first in the
Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...
and then in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. Following this he was the Parliamentary Private Secretary to Hilary Benn, the
Secretary of State for International Development The minister of state for development, formerly the minister of state for development and Africa and the secretary of state for international development, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The offic ...
, from 2003 to 2007. He was a member of the Work and Pensions Committee from 2007 and assistant to the Regional Minister for the East Midlands. Levitt is known to be in favour of the Longdendale Bypass, which would run through the north of his former constituency. In November 2009, Levitt told the Labour Party that he would not be a candidate at the 2010 general election. Levitt resigned his membership of the Labour Party in April 2019, describing the leadership of
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 ...
as "incompetent, hypocritical and profoundly wrong on key issues". He subsequently declared his support for and involvement in Change UK - The Independent Group.


Expenses

During the furore over MPs' expenses in 2009, it was revealed Levitt had submitted a £16.50 claim in 2006 for a memorial wreath. He said the claim had been submitted by accident by a member of staff and that the claim had been rejected. Levitt spent £8,013 on a new bathroom in his London flat; however, only £6,335 of this was paid because he had exceeded the maximum spend. This was in addition to an initial claim of £5,281 for renovation work on his London flat. Levitt has said that he believed he had been 'moderate' in his claims for accommodation in London. In 2007, it had been revealed that Levitt had, of all MPs, claimed the eighth highest total expenses—£168,660 in 2006–2007, an increase of £29,103 on the previous year. Despite the adverse reaction in the local press, in following years Levitt's expenses remained at the same level, with £164,620 claimed in 2007–2008, and £168,318 claimed in 2008–2009.


Business interests

In 2010 Levitt set up Sector4Focus, a consultancy which promotes relationships between the private, public and charitable sectors. He has also written two books on similar subjects, ''Welcome to Good Co'' and in 2018, the ''Company Citizen'' about which former
Unilever Unilever PLC () is a British multinational consumer packaged goods company headquartered in London, England. It was founded on 2 September 1929 following the merger of Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie with British soap maker Lever B ...
CEO Paul Polman said ‘Never has the case for business to step up and help solve society’s challenges been greater. And rarely has it been better put than in this excellent account’. In 2015 he helped found the anti-poverty social enterprise, Fair for You, and has held various other charity trusteeships and non-executive roles in social enterprises.


Personal life

Levitt lived in
Buxton Buxton is a spa town in the High Peak, Derbyshire, Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, in the East Midlands region of England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.Alston, Cumbria also claims this, but lacks a regu ...
from 1991 to 2011 and now lives in west London. He is the author of two plays, ''Making Allowances'' (2010) and ''PowerPlay'' (2018).


External links


TheyWorkForYou.com – Tom Levitt MP


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Levitt, Tom 1954 births Living people Alumni of Lancaster University Change UK politicians High Peak, Derbyshire Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for constituencies in Derbyshire Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for High Peak People from Crewe People from Leek, Staffordshire Politicians from Staffordshire UK MPs 1997–2001 UK MPs 2001–2005 UK MPs 2005–2010