What I spend my time on
You will find that myself and my colleague John Denham work very hard to help Southampton stay a prosperous, functioning city and thriving community. If you'd like to see some specific areas of work then take a look at my annual reports.
There are several other areas that are of particular interest to me. Partly because I have a Ph.D in politics, I'm very interested in how government functions, and I'm a member of the select committee on constitutional affairs. This may sound rather difficult to relate to 'real life', but how decisions are reached, and our rights are affected, can have a knock-on effect in all our lives.
I'm also very concerned about how we use energy, and how we deal with our waste as a society. I chair two parliamentary groups on renewable energy and sustainable waste, which allows me to ask the difficult questions about how we are to meet our energy needs and environmental commitments.
But I am always interested in what you think is important so please continue to get in touch and let me know.
A short biography
I have just been re-elected as MP for Southampton Test for a third term having lived in Southampton for the last thirty years.
I graduated with a degree in Politics and Philosophy from Southampton University and went on to achieve a Ph.D. in Political Science. In 1980 I became a city councillor and then Leader of the Council when Labour took control in 1984. During my twelve years as Leader, the city prospered and the council helped bring new life back to the city centre.
I worked in research for two national charities during the 1980s and early 90s, and in 1992, came off the city council and became Professor of Public Policy at Southampton Institute. I was first nominated by the Labour Party to stand for Southampton Test in the early 1980s, made solid progress in the seat in 1987 and 1992, and finally won in 1997. As a new Labour MP, I was appointed to the Select Committee on Environment Transport and the Regions and in December 1999 was appointed as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Baroness Blackstone, Minister for Higher and Post 16 Education.
Between June 2001 and May 2002 I was Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions responsible for local government, the regions and the Fire Service. My special interests now include Further and Higher Education (Lifelong Learning), Local Government, Constitution (Democracy), Environment, Energy and Transport.
I am currently Chair of the Associate Parliamentary Renewable and Sustainable Energy Group ; Co-Chair, Associate Parliamentary Sustainable Waste Group ; Secretary of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Poland ; Member, Associate Parliamentary Ports and Merchant Navy Group ; Member, Group on Charitable Giving ; Member, Estonia All-Party Parliamentary Group.
I am also a member of the Justice Committee (formerly the Constitutional Affairs Select Committee) and the Standards and Privileges Select Committee.
I am a Fellow of the Institute of Waste Management, and member of the Board for The Environment Centre (Southampton), the Third Age Centre (Southampton), and Southampton Sustainable Energy Limited.
I play in goal for the Parliamentary football team and am a member of the Saints Trust. I am married with two children.
Alan Whitehead MP July 2005