John Grogan: biography

John Grogan is a former British politician and member of the Labour party. He was Member of Parliament for Selby from the 1st of May 1997 to the 6th of May 2010, before standing down at the 2010 General Election. This article outlines his beginnings, his subsequent political career and his achievements whilst serving as an MP.

Begginings

Education
John Grogan was born in Halifax, West Yorkshire on 24 February 1961. He attended St Michael's RC college in Leeds before going on to study at St John's College, Oxford, where he graduated with a BA in Modern History and Economics in 1982. Pre-Parliamentary career
Grogan joined the City of Leeds Council in 1987, serving as their Communications coordinator for the next seven years. In 1995 he became the Labour party's Press Officer at the European parliament in Brussels.

Career

Unsuccessful Election Attempts
John Grogan first attempted to gain election to parliament in 1987, running for the Selby seat. However he was defeated by the Conservative candidate by a margin of 13,779 votes. He ran for Selby again in the 1992 General Election, but again was second to the Conservative Party's Michael Alison. Parliamentary Career
Grogan finally won the seat at Selby for the Labour Party in the 1997 General Election, with a majority of 3,836. Between 1997 and 2001 he served as a member of the Northern Ireland Select Committee. He retained the Selby seat in the 2001 and 2005 General Elections, although by the latter his majority had dwindled away to 467 votes. After the re-drawing of electoral borders in 2010 saw his Selby constituency broken up, Grogan announced he would not be standing in that year's election.

Achievements

Student Union President
Whilst studying at Oxford in the early 1980s, Grogan served as the University's Student Union President. Chairmanship of All-Party Groups
Throughout his parliamentary career John Grogan variously served as chairperson of Westminster's cross party groups on the BBC and Mongolia. Pressure Campaigns
In 1999 Grogan led calls for a memorial to be erected on Trafalgar Square's empty plinth, dedicated to the efforts of women during the Second World War. He was also at the forefront of the campaign to save Selby Coalfield from closure in 2002.