Colin Robert Challen (born June 12, 1953) British politician. He is the Labour Member of Parliament for Morley and Rothwell. June 12 is the 163rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (164th in leap years), with 202 days remaining. ... 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link is to a full 1953 calendar). ... A politician is an individual who is a formally recognized and active member of a government, or a person who influences the way a society is governed through an understanding of political power and group dynamics. ... The Labour Party is a centre-left or social democratic political party in Britain (see British politics), and one of the United Kingdoms three main political parties. ... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters of an electoral district to a parliament; in the Westminster system, specifically to the lower house. ... Morley and Rothwell is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ...

He was born in Scarborough, and educated at the Norton Secondary School in Stockton-on-Tees and the Malton Grammar School, before completing a philosophy degree at the University of Hull in 1983. In 1971, he was a supplier accountant for the Royal Air Force before becoming a postman in 1974. He set up business as a printer and publisher in 1982 until 1990 when he took up politics professionally as an organiser for the Labour Party. He was elected a councillor to Kingston upon Hull City Council for eight years from 1986. This article is on the English seaside resort. ... Stockton-on-Tees is an industrial town and port on the River Tees in north-eastern England. ... Malton is a market town in North Yorkshire, England, lying on the River Derwent. ... A grammar school is a type of school found in some English-speaking countries; some of which date back to earlier than the 16th century. ... Philosopher in Meditation (detail), by Rembrandt. ... A Bachelor of Arts (B.A. or A.B., from the Latin Artium Baccalaureus) is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course or program in the arts and/or sciences. ... The University of Hull, also known as Hull University, is an English university in the East Riding of Yorkshire which was founded in 1927. ... 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... Accountancy (British English) or accounting (American English) is the process of maintaining, auditing, and processing financial information for business purposes. ... The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the air force branch of the British Armed Forces. ... A mail carrier, post carrier, or postman (sometimes known as a mailman or letter carrier in North America and a postie in Australia and the UK) is an employee of the post office or postal service, who delivers mail and parcels (post) to residences and businesses. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... Look up Printer in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A publisher is a person or entity which engages in the act of publishing. ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... Hull or Kingston upon Hull is a British city situated on the north bank of the Humber estuary. ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Challen unsuccessfully stood for parliament at the 1992 General Election in the constituency of Beverley. He finished in third place and more than 22,000 votes behind the winner James Cran. He entered parliament at the 2001 General Election for Morley and Rothwell following the retirement through ill health of Labour MP John Gunnell. Colin Challen was elected with a majority of 12,090 and made his maiden speech on June 25, 2001,[1] in which he spoke of Herbert Henry Asquith who was born in Morley. The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... The UK general election, 1992 was held on April 9, 1992, and was the fourth victory in a row for the Conservatives. ... Beverley was a constituency in Yorkshire which returned two Members of Parliament (later one) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... James Douglas Cran (born 28 January 1944) is the Conservative member of Parliament for Beverley and Holderness in northern England. ... Tony Blair William Hague Charles Kennedy The UK general election, 2001 was held on 7 June 2001 and was dubbed the quiet landslide by the media. ... John Gunnell (born 1 October 1933) is a politician in the United Kingdom. ... June 25 is the 176th day of the year (177th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 189 days remaining. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... The Right Honourable Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, KG, PC (12 September 1852–15 February 1928) served as the Liberal Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916. ... Morleys Coat of Arms Morley is a town in the county of Yorkshire (since 1974, West Yorkshire), England, in Leeds Metropolitan Borough and is situated five miles south-west of Leeds City Centre, with a population of roughly 50,000. ...

A member of the League Against Cruel Sports for almost thirty years, he has been a backbencher since his election and has served on several select committees: The Environmental Audit Commiteee (since 2001), the Joint Committee on Consolidation of Bills (since 2001), and the Unopposed Bills Panel (since 2004). He is an Honorary Associate of the National Secular Society. The League Against Cruel Sports is an animal welfare organisation registered as a limited company (prohibited by law from acting as a charity because its aims are political) campaigning against blood sports, in particular fox hunting and hare coursing. ... A backbencher is a Member of Parliament or a legislature who does not hold governmental office and is not a Front Bench spokesperson in the Opposition. ... A Select Committee is a committee made up of a small number of parliamentary members appointed to deal with particular areas or issues originating in the Westminster System of parliamentary democracy. ... The National Secular Society is an organisation of the United Kingdom which promotes secularism. ...

Works

• The Price of Power: Secret Funding of the Tory Party (VISION Investigations) by Colin Challen, 1998, Vision Paperbacks / Satin Publications, ISBN 1-901250-18-0

• In Defence of the Party: The Secret State,the Conservative Party and Dirty Tricks by Colin Challen, Mike Hughes 1996, Medium Publishing Co., ISBN 1-872398-01-4

External links

• Colin Challen MP official site
• Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Colin Challen MP
• TheyWorkForYou.com - Colin Challen MP
• Comment on Jeremy Clarkson (2nd comment)

Offices held