20 Facts About Gordon Prentice

Gordon Prentice was born on 28 January 1951 and is a British-Canadian former politician of the Labour Party who was the Member of Parliament for Pendle in Lancashire from 1992 to 2010.

Gordon Prentice was educated at the independent George Heriot's School in Edinburgh and the University of Glasgow, where he received an MA in Politics and Economics in 1975, and was president of the union.

Gordon Prentice then worked for the Labour Party Policy Directorate from 1982 to 1992.

Gordon Prentice was initially selected as the prospective parliamentary candidate for Pendle in October 1990, and was first elected at the 1992 general election with a majority of 2,113.

Gordon Prentice held the constituency at the 1997 general election with a greatly increased majority of 10,824, the largest ever in Pendle and its predecessor constituency of Nelson and Colne.

In 1999, Gordon Prentice introduced a Right to Roam Bill as a private member's bill, which aimed to establish a freedom to roam over certain upland and uncultivated areas of England and Wales.

Gordon Prentice campaigned against fox hunting and in May 2000 tabled an amendment to the government's Hunting Bill, vowing not to withdraw it unless the government gave a "cast-iron statement" that promised to introduce legislation before the next election.

Gordon Prentice later became a target of the Countryside Alliance, who named him top of a "most wanted" list published in December 2003 and attempted to remove him as an MP at the next election.

In 2000, Gordon Prentice organised hustings for the election of the Speaker of the House of Commons, and later branded the election system "a farce" when interviewed by BBC One.

Gordon Prentice said that neither ministers nor the chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party should get involved in the election.

Gordon Prentice was angrily told off by Tony Blair in October 2004, when he asked during Prime Minister's Questions if there had been any single act of renewal in the Labour Party within the ten years Blair had been the party leader.

Gordon Prentice had previously been warned by the party in 1996 when he criticised Blair's performance as opposition leader.

In 2005, Gordon Prentice was appointed to parliament's Public Administration Committee.

In March 2006, Gordon Prentice spoke out against the proposed merger of Lancashire Constabulary with Cumbria Constabulary.

Gordon Prentice later welcomed the merger being called off, saying it wasn't appropriate for taxpayers in Lancashire to pay higher tax bills than those living in Cumbria.

Gordon Prentice called for "merger rethink" in the House of Commons shortly before the plans were announced.

Gordon Prentice claimed he was "shocked by revelations" involving her.

Gordon Prentice lost his seat at the 2010 election and announced he would not stand at the next election, stating he was now a private citizen.

Gordon Prentice married Bridget Gordon Prentice, later an MP for Lewisham East, whom he had met while at university.

Gordon Prentice ran for Deputy Mayor of Newmarket in 2022.