The Right Honourable Frank Gordon Dobson (born March 15, 1940) is a British politician and member of Parliament for Holborn and St. Pancras, for Labour. The Right Honourable (abbreviated The Rt Hon. ... March 15 is the 74th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (75th in Leap years). ... 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... A politician is an individual involved in politics to the extent of holding or running for public office. ... 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. ... Holborn & St. ... 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. ...

Dobson was born in York and attended the London School of Economics where he studied economics. He worked for the Central Electricity Generating Board and the Electricity Council. After fighting for a seat on Camden Borough Council in 1964, he was elected in 1971 and rose so rapidly that he was chosen as Labour Group Leader (and therefore Leader of the Council) after the resignation of Millie Miller in 1973. York is a city in northern England, at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss. ... The London School of Economics and Political Science, often referred to as the London School of Economics or simply the LSE, is a specialist university and a constituent college of the federal University of London, located on Houghton Street in Central London, off the Aldwych and next to the Royal... The London Borough of Camden is an inner-London borough created in 1965 to replace the metropolitan boroughs of Hampstead, Holborn, St Pancras. ... For the Nintendo 64 emulator, see 1964 (Emulator). ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) is a common year starting on Friday (click for link to calendar). ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ...

He stood down as Leader in 1975 and resigned from the Council on taking up a non-partisan job as Assistant Secretary of the Office of Local Ombudsman. In 1979 he was elected as MP for Holborn and St. Pancras. His naturally pugnacious style of politics earned him rapid promotion to the front bench where he served in several important posts from 1982; his liking for 'dirty jokes' and conviviality won him many friends despite his partisanship. As Spokesman on Environment and London from 1994 he led the national Labour response to the series of scandals over Westminster City Council and its former leader Shirley Porter. 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ... This page refers to the year 1979. ... Holborn & St. ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Houses of Parliament and the clock tower containing Big Ben Part of the London skyline viewed from the South Bank London is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ... The City of Westminster is a London borough and a city in its own right, situated to the west of the City of London and north of the River Thames. ... Dame Shirley Porter (born November 29, 1930) is a controversial British former local government leader. ...

However, when Labour won power in 1997, Dobson was appointed as Secretary of State for Health. This was a high-profile post but Dobson found it difficult to make a significant impact because of the decision to stick within spending limits set by the previous Conservative government. The government's proposal to introduce Private Finance Initiative Hospitals was highly controversial. 1997 (MCMXCVII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Minister of Health redirects here. ... The Private Finance Initiative specifies a method, developed initially by the United Kingdom government, to provide financial support for Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) between the public and private sectors. ...

Dobson was manoeuvred by the Labour Party leadership into announcing his resignation in order to stand as Mayor of London in the inaugural elections. He managed to beat Ken Livingstone in the Labour Party's internal selection, helped by an electoral system which was designed to favour him. Livingstone then fought the election as an independent, and Dobson obtained a derisory share of the vote. He has since been a critical friend of the Government and was re-elected, albeit with a reduced majority, in the May 2005 general election. The current Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone. ... Ken Livingstone Kenneth Robert Livingstone (born June 17, 1945), is a British local government leader. ...

External links

• ePolitix - Rt Hon Frank Dobson official site
• Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Frank Dobson MP
• TheyWorkForYou.com - Frank Dobson MP
• "..since 1997" when Dobson became Health Secretary