James Andrew Plaskitt (born 23 June 1954) is a politician in the United Kingdom. He is the Labour Party Member of Parliament for Warwick and Leamington. June 23 is the 174th day of the year (175th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 191 days remaining. ... 1954 was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Labour Party is a a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom (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. ... Warwick and Leamington is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ...

Born in Grimsby, Plaskitt was educated at the Pilgrim School in Bedford and went up to University College, Oxford to read Philosophy, Politics and Economics. He graduated in 1976 and subsequently took a master's degree in Politics before taking up a lectureship at University College. He moved to Brunel University for four years and then to Christ Church, Oxford. Coat of Arms of Great Grimsby Great Grimsby (typically known simply as Grimsby) is a seaport on the river Humber in the north of England, which has a population of 91,000. ... Bedford is the county town of the English county of Bedfordshire. ... University College (in full, the College of the Great Hall of the University, commonly known as University College in the University of Oxford, usually known by its derivative, Univ), is the oldest of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, and is amongst the largest... The University of Oxford, located in the city of Oxford in England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) is a degree programme taken by many who seek a career in politics or public life - and quite a few who subsequently achieve it. ... 1976 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... A masters degree is an academic degree usually awarded for completion of a postgraduate or graduate course of one to three years in duration. ... Politics is the process and method of making decisions for groups. ... Brunel University is one of the new British universities, having been founded within the last half century. ... Christ Church, Oxford - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... The University of Oxford, located in the city of Oxford in England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ...

His political career began in 1985 when he was elected to Oxfordshire County Council. He was leader of the Labour group from 1990 to 1996. Plaskitt joined Oxford Analytica as a business consultant, and later became its consultancy director. In the 1992 general election he contested Witney for Labour, losing by a substantial margin to Conservative former Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd. As Labour were swept to power in the 1997 general election landslide, Plaskitt was elected MP for the previously Conservative constituency of Warwick and Leamington Spa, beating the incumbent Dudley Smith into second place. He has served on the House of Commons Treasury Select Committee since 1999, and in the 2001 general election was re-elected with an increased margin, although turnout was lower. Plaskitt was a loyal Labour backbencher, voting with the government on major contentious issues such as the 2003 invasion of Iraq, university tuition fees and foundation hospitals. 1985 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Oxfordshire (abbreviated Oxon, from Latin Oxonia) is a county in South East England, bordering on Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Warwickshire. ... In the British Isles, a county council is a council that governs a county. ... 1990 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1996 is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... The UK general election, 1992 was held on April 9, 1992, and was the fourth victory in a row for the Conservatives. ... Witney is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... The Conservative Party is the largest political party on the centre-right in the United Kingdom. ... The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs is a member of the British Government responsible for relations with foreign countries. ... Douglas Richard Hurd, Baron Hurd of Westwell, PC (born March 8, 1930), is a British politician in the Conservative Party, and a patron of the Tory Reform Group. ... The UK general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997. ... 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. ... A constituency is any cohesive corporate unit or body bound by shared structures, goals or loyalty. ... The House of Commons is a component of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also includes the Sovereign and the House of Lords. ... 1999 is a common year starting on Friday of the Common Era, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... The UK general election, 2001 was held on 7 June 2001 and was dubbed the quiet landslide by the media. ... Voter turnout is a measure of the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in any given election. ... 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. ... The 2003 invasion of Iraq, also called simply the Iraq War or Operation: Iraqi Freedom, is a war that began March 20, 2003, fought between a group of troops consisting primarily of American and British, but also Polish, Australian and several other nations forces, and Iraq. ... Top-up fees (not their official name) are a new way of charging tuition to English, Welsh and Northern Irish undergraduate and PGCE students who study at universities in England, Scotland or Northern Ireland. ... An NHS Foundation Trust, or commonly called a foundation hospital, is a public benefit corporation which is authorised to provide goods and services for the purposes of the National Health Service in England under the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003. ...

After the general election of May 2005, he was appointed as a junior minister in the Department for Work and Pensions. In the parliamentary systems of several Commonwealth countries, such as Canada and Australia, it is customary for the prime minister to appoint parliamentary secretaries (in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, parliamentary assistants) from their caucus to assist cabinet ministers with their work. ... The Department for Work and Pensions is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom, created on on June 8, 2001 from the merger of the Employment part of the Department for Education and Employment and the Department of Social Security. ...

External links

• James Plaskitt (http://www.jamesplaskitt.com/) official site
• Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: James Plaskitt MP (http://politics.guardian.co.uk/person/0,9290,-4200,00.html)
• TheyWorkForYou.com - James Plaskitt MP (http://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/james_plaskitt/warwick_and_leamington)
• The Public Whip - James Plaskitt MP (http://www.publicwhip.org.uk/mp.php?firstname=James&lastname=Plaskitt&constituency=Warwick+%26+Leamington) voting record