Stephen John Byers (born 13 April 1953) is a British politician. He is the Labour Member of Parliament for Tyneside North and is a former cabinet minister. A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a parliament. ... Tyneside North is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... Open seat redirects here. ... is the 121st day of the year (122nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the band, see 1997 (band). ... Wallsend was a parliamentary constituency centred on Wallsend, a town on the north bank of the River Tyne in North Tyneside. ... is the 99th day of the year (100th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 121st day of the year (122nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the band, see 1997 (band). ... William Edward (Ted) Garrett (21 March 1920 - 30 May 1993) was a Labour Party (UK) Member of Parliament for Wallsend from 1964 until he retired in 1992. ... is the 103rd day of the year (104th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... January 7 - President Harry S. Truman announces the United States has developed a hydrogen bomb. ... Wolverhampton is an industrial, commercial and university city and metropolitan borough in the English West Midlands, traditionally part of the county of Staffordshire. ... The Labour Party is a political party in the United Kingdom. ... Alma mater is Latin for nourishing mother. It was used in ancient Rome as a title for the mother goddess, and in Medieval Christianity for the Virgin Mary. ... Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) is a university in Liverpool, England. ... is the 103rd day of the year (104th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... January 7 - President Harry S. Truman announces the United States has developed a hydrogen bomb. ... The Politics series Politics Portal This box:      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 political party in the United Kingdom. ... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a parliament. ... Tyneside North is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Early career

Stephen Byers was born in Wolverhampton. He was educated at the fee paying Wymondham College, the City of Chester Grammar School and the Chester College of Further Education, gained a law degree at Liverpool John Moores University and became a law lecturer at Northumbria University from 1977 until his election to Parliament in 1992. Wolverhampton is an industrial, commercial and university city and metropolitan borough in the English West Midlands, traditionally part of the county of Staffordshire. ... For the larger local government district, see Chester (district). ... A grammar school is a school that may, depending on regional usage as exemplified below, provide either secondary education or, a much less common usage, primary education (also known as elementary). Grammar schools trace their origins back to medieval Europe, as schools in which university preparatory subjects, such as Latin... The degree of Bachelor of Laws is the principal academic degree in law in the majority of common law countries other than the United States, where it has been replaced by the Juris Doctor degree. ... Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) is a university in Liverpool, England. ... For other uses, see Law (disambiguation). ... Lecturer is a term of academic rank. ... Northumbria University is a modern university located in Newcastle upon Tyne in North East England. ... Also: 1977 (album) by Ash. ... “Houses of Parliament” redirects here. ...

Byers was elected as a councillor to the North Tyneside District Council in 1980, and was its deputy leader from 1985 until he became an MP. He contested the safely Conservative seat of Hexham at the 1983 General Election, finishing in third place and some 14,000 votes behind the former Cabinet minister Geoffrey Rippon. He was first elected to Parliament at the 1992 General Election for the safe seat of Wallsend, following the retirement of Ted Garrett, and secured a majority of 19,470. North Tyneside is a metropolitan borough in the North East of England, part of the Tyne and Wear urban area centred on Newcastle and formerly part of Northumberland. ... Year 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar). ... This article is about the year. ... Hexham is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... The UK general election, 1983 was held on June 9, 1983 and gave the Conservatives and Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945. ... This article is about the governmental body. ... (Aubrey) Geoffrey Frederick Rippon, Baron Rippon of Hexham, PC, (May 28, 1924- 28 Jan 1997) was a British Conservative politician. ... Type Lower House Speaker Michael Martin, (Non-affiliated) since October 23, 2000 Leader Harriet Harman, (Labour) since June 28, 2007 Shadow Leader Theresa May, (Conservative) since May 5, 2005 Members 659 Political groups Labour Party Conservative Party Liberal Democrats Scottish National Party Plaid Cymru Democratic Unionist Party Sinn Féin... The United Kingdom general election of 1992 was held on 9 April 1992, and was the fourth consecutive victory for the Conservative Party. ...

In 1993 Byers joined the influential Home Affairs Select Committee. He became an ally of Tony Blair, a fellow northeastern Labour MP who was also a supporter of modernising the Labour Party. Blair gave him a job as soon as he became the Leader of the Opposition, placing him in the Whips Office. He became a spokesman on Education and Employment in 1995, and he became something of an "outrider" for the New Labour project, regularly floating radical ideas on Blair's behalf to test reaction, such as when he briefed journalists in 1996 that the party might sever its links with the trade unions. Byers was swiftly appointed to Shadow ministerial posts and became the Minister for School Standards with the title of Minister of State at the Department of Education and Employment following the victorious 1997 General Election. While at this post Byers first drew attention to himself when he said 8 times 7 was 54 in a BBC interview promoting a Government numeracy drive.^[1] It is also worth noting that his Wallsend constituency had been abolished and he was elected for the equally safe Tyneside North and had a staggering 26,643 vote majority in 1997. Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... The modern concept of Small Office and Home Office or SoHo , or Small or Home Office deals with the category of business which can be from 1 to 10 workers. ... 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. ... For other people of the same name, see Tony Blair (disambiguation) Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born May 6, 1953)[1] is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, Leader of the Labour Party, and Member of Parliament for the constituency... The Leader of the Opposition in the United Kingdom is the politician who leads Her Majestys Most Loyal Opposition. ... In politics, a whip is a member of a political party in a legislature whose task is to ensure that members of the party attend and vote as the party leadership desires. ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full 1995 Gregorian calendar). ... New Labour is an alternative name of the British political Labour Party. ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... Minister of State is a title borne by officials in certain countries governed under the parliamentary system. ... The UK general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997. ...

Minister

He entered the Cabinet in July 1998 as Chief Secretary to the Treasury, and became a Member of the Privy Council. After the sudden resignation of Peter Mandelson, Byers was appointed as Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in December 1998. After the 2001 General Election he was made Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government & the Regions, a move that was widely regarded as a demotion. His time in this job turned out to be highly controversial. Critics argued that Transport should be a job in its own right from the outset. The move to transport was to be the last of his Ministerial career. Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... The Chief Secretary to the Treasury is a junior position in the British Cabinet. ... Her Majestys Most Honourable Privy Council is a body of advisors to the British Sovereign. ... This article or section cites very few or no references or sources. ... The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry is a cabinet position in the United Kingdom government. ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... 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. ... The Secretary of State for Transport is the member of the cabinet responsible for the British Department for Transport. ...

Railtrack

The first source of controversy was the decision, taken at short notice and implemented over a weekend, to ask the High Court to put the privatised railway infrastructure company Railtrack into administration (7 October 2001), leading to the creation of Network Rail - effectively renationalisation of Britain's railway infrastructure company. Although the UK Office for National Statistics insists that it is correct to have classified Network Rail as in the private sector, in Parliament on 24 October 2005, Byers said that he made "no apology for [his decision to apply for the administration order] and for unwinding the Tory privatisation that was Railtrack". For the generic term, see rail tracks. ... is the 280th day of the year (281st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ... Network Rail is a British not for dividend company limited by guarantee whose principal asset is Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, a company limited by shares. ... Office for National Statistics logo The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is the United Kingdom government executive agency charged with the collection and publication of statistics related to the economy, population and society of the United Kingdom at national and local levels. ... is the 297th day of the year (298th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Byers' decision angered private investors who had lost money, and under pressure from The City, the government eventually had to offer compensation terms. It also led to the largest class legal action ever seen in the British courts. Motto: Domine dirige nos Latin: Lord, guide us Shown within Greater London Sovereign state Constituent country Region Greater London Status City and Ceremonial County Admin HQ Guildhall Government  - Leadership see text  - Mayor David Lewis  - MP Mark Field  - London Assembly John Biggs Area  - Total 1. ...

Stephen Byers, and the rest of the Government, deny that they have nationalised Railtrack in order to prevent Railtrack's shareholders claiming the four year average price of Railtrack, about £10 per share, via the European Court of Human Rights. Railtrack's shareholders have been given £2.62p

Political troubles

At almost the same time, it was revealed that Byers' political adviser Jo Moore had sent an email on 11 September 2001 suggesting that the terrorist attacks made it "a very good day to get out anything we want to bury." Moore (and Byers) survived the resulting outrage, but in February 2002 the row broke out again. A leaked email from the Department of Transport's head of news Martin Sixsmith, a former BBC news reporter, seemed to warn Moore not to "bury" any more bad news on the day of Princess Margaret's funeral, implying that she was attempting to do so. On 15 February it was announced that both Moore and Sixsmith had resigned, but Sixsmith later said he had not agreed to go, and that Byers had insisted on Sixsmith's departure as the price for losing Moore. In May it was confirmed by the Department that Byers had announced Sixsmith's resignation prematurely, though the Government said that this was due to a misunderstanding, and he had done nothing wrong. Jo Moore (born 1963) served as a British political advisor and press officer, and was embroiled in scandal while working as advisor to the Transport, Local Government and Regions Secretary Stephen Byers. ... is the 254th day of the year (255th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ... The World Trade Center on fire The September 11, 2001 attacks were a series of coordinated terrorist attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001. ... Martin Sixsmith (born 1956) is a British journalist and writer. ... For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ... HRH The Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon Her Royal Highness The Princess Margaret (Margaret Rose Armstrong-Jones, née Windsor; (August 21, 1930—February 9, 2002) was a member of the British Royal Family, the second eldest daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, and sister of the current British... is the 46th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Byers' troubles continued over the following months. The Labour-dominated House of Commons Transport Select Committee criticised the party's transport strategy, and a long-running row over Byers' decision as Trade Secretary to allow pornographic-magazine publisher Richard Desmond to buy the Daily Express newspaper returned to the limelight. The pressure on Byers was too much, and he resigned on 28 May 2002. In the reshuffle that followed his resignation the post was split up with local government and the regions becoming a part of the remit of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and the Transport portfolio retained by a full time Secretary of State for Transport. Private Eye cover depicting Desmond following his purchase of the Daily Express newspaper Richard Clive Desmond (born December 8, 1951) is a British publisher, current owner of Express Newspapers and founder of Northern and Shell plc. ... For other uses, see Daily Express (disambiguation). ... is the 148th day of the year (149th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is a department of the British government. ... The Secretary of State for Transport is the member of the cabinet responsible for the British Department for Transport. ...

On the backbenches Byers has kept up pressure for the Labour Party to keep to the right. In August 2006, for example, he controversially suggested that Labour heir-apparent Gordon Brown should scrap inheritance tax in order to prove his "New Labour" credentials to Middle England. This suggestion was widely criticised by many MPs, who claimed that the publicity surrounding Byers' plan would "frighten constituents in the high-priced south into believing they would have to pay death duties, when most won't". In reality only 37,000 estates were liable for the tax out of 600,000 deaths in 2005, and Labour had already announced plans to increase the lower threshold for paying the tax from £285,000 to £325,000 in 2007.^[2] For others with the same or similar names, see Gordon Brown (disambiguation). ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... Middle England originally indicated the central region of England, now almost always referred to as the Midlands. ...

Alleged misfeasance in public office

The legality of the decision to put Railtrack into administration was challenged by the individual shareholders who launched legal action alleging that Byers had committed the common law offence of misfeasance in public office. This was the largest class action ever conducted in the English courts, brought by 49,500 small shareholders in Railtrack. Keith Rowley, QC, the barrister for the shareholders, alleged Byers had "devised a scheme by which he intended to injure the shareholders of Railtrack Group by impairing the value of their interests in that company without paying compensation and without the approval of Parliament". The case was heard in the High Court in July 2005; some embarrassment was caused to Byers when he admitted that an answer he had given to a House of Commons Select Committee was inaccurate. This article concerns the common-law legal system, as contrasted with the civil law legal system; for other meanings of the term, within the field of law, see common law (disambiguation). ... Misfeasance in public office is a cause of action in the civil courts of England and Wales. ...

However the Judge found on 14 October 2005 that there was no evidence that Byers had committed the tort of misfeasance in public office. This would have required the shareholders to establish that Byers had been motivated by a deliberate desire to injure them, and the Judge found that his motive was to improve railway organisation. Byers asserted that he had been entirely vindicated by the judgment, but the reality was that the judge had only found that there was no evidence of malice on Byers' part. is the 287th day of the year (288th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Not to be confused with torte, an iced cake. ...

The case had also led to the public disclosure of thousands of documents and communications from within government - including confidential minutes of meetings with the prime minister and the chancellor of the exchequer - which would not otherwise have seen the light of day. The public and City criticism which their disclosure generated was highly damaging to the reputation of the British government for fair and honest dealings with its citizens.

The circumstances in which Railtrack had been put into administration were highly controversial, with allegations in Parliament on 24 October 2005 that the company had not been insolvent at the time and so the administration order had been wrongly obtained. This was because of the jurisdiction of the independent rail regulator to provide additional money to maintain the company's financial position. Alan Duncan MP, then the shadow transport secretary, said in Parliament that this aspect of the affair - which was not dealt with in the shareholders' case in the High Court - was "perhaps the most shameful scar on the Government's honesty" and "an absolute scandal". In November 2006, the business section of the Sunday Express reported that Geoffrey Weir, the lead shareholder in the misfeasance case, had asked the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration to investigate whether there was maladministration on the part of civil servants at the Department for Transport when the administration order was sought. The basis of his complaint appears to be an alleged failure on the part of officials at the Department for Transport to disclose all relevant facts to the judge who was asked to make the order. The newspaper reported that the Parliamentary Commissioner had opened a file and the investigation was getting under way. How far this new line of challenge will get remains to be seen. is the 297th day of the year (298th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Alan Duncan Alan James Carter Duncan MP (born March 31, 1957) is a British Conservative politician, and Member of Parliament for Rutland and Melton. ... The Daily Express is a British newspaper, currently tabloid, and it is owned by Richard Desmond. ...

Byers apologised in the House of Commons on 17 October 2005 for having given a "factually inaccurate" reply to the Select Committee but said that he had not intended to mislead them. This personal statement to Parliament was not accepted by the MP who had asked the original question, and the matter was remitted to the House of Commons Standards and Privileges Committee for investigation. As a result of that committee's report, Mr Byers made another statement of apology to Parliament. is the 290th day of the year (291st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

MG Rover

Byers has also been heavily criticised for his part in the collapse of the MG Rover Group. Byers, as Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, advocated the 2000 deal^[3] with the Phoenix Consortium which formed the group. Although this deal ensured the survival of the group for five years it ultimately collapsed at extensive cost to the UK tax payer and with large profits to the Phoenix Consortium.^[4] Byers answered this criticism in his submission to the Trade and Industry committee,^[5] stating that his actions had largely been in line with government policy and that the long slow collapse of MG Rover Group had been preferable to a short sudden collapse. MG Rover was the last British-owned mass-production car manufacturer in the British motor industry. ... The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry is a cabinet position in the United Kingdom government. ... The Phoenix Consortium is a group of four businessmen which purchased the British car company the Rover Group in April 2000, when BMW decided it was no longer willing to operate it. ... The Phoenix Consortium is a group of four businessmen which purchased the British car company the Rover Group in April 2000, when BMW decided it was no longer willing to operate it. ... MG Rover was the last British-owned mass-production car manufacturer in the British motor industry. ...

Footnotes

BBC News is the department within the BBC responsible for the corporations news-gathering and production of news programmes on BBC television, radio and online. ... For other uses, see Guardian. ... For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ... Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full 2000 Gregorian calendar). ... For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative institution in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories (it alone has parliamentary sovereignty). ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• ePolitix - Stephen Byers official site

•The European Human Rights Nationalisation Law explained. http://www.guardian.co.uk/transport/Story/0,,529571,00.html

•An article by Simon Jenkins about the Railtrack High Court case, which explains that the Government wanted to work its way around the nationalisation law.. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/article544925.ece

• Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Stephen Byers MP
• BBC News report on Stephen Byer's sacking from the UK Government by Tony Blair
• TheyWorkForYou.com - Stephen Byers MP
• Byers admits lying over Railtrack - BBC, 14 July 2005