1. Nick Palmer was the Labour Party Member of Parliament for Broxtowe in Nottinghamshire from 1997 until he lost the seat at the 2010 general election to Conservative Anna Soubry, by 390 votes.
32 Facts About Nick Palmer
1. 2.
Nick Palmer then became PPS to the Minister of State, Malcolm Wicks, first in the Department of Trade and Industry, and later in the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform until Wicks stood down in October 2008.
3.
Nick Palmer is the cousin of Anthony Palmer, a former Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff.
4.
Nick Palmer was awarded an MSc at Copenhagen University and a PhD in Mathematics from Birkbeck College, University of London.
5.
Nick Palmer studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he researched artificial intelligence and language translation.
6.
Nick Palmer speaks six languages, and has worked as a professional translator of Danish and German for the European Commission and other clients.
7.
Nick Palmer was born with a cleft palate and was the first such person to enter Parliament.
8.
Nick Palmer has written three books about board wargames.
9.
Nick Palmer designed and developed a computer game about the Battle of Britain, named Their Finest Hour.
10.
Nick Palmer still attends international conventions, winning the Diplomacy championship at the World Boardgaming Championships in 2007, as well as giving a seminar in 2008 comparing the traits needed to succeed in wargaming to the traits needed to succeed in politics.
11.
Nick Palmer co-founded and edited Flagship magazine in 1983, which focused on play-by-mail games.
12.
Nick Palmer joined the Labour Party on his twenty-first birthday and was selected as the Labour candidate for the ultra-safe Conservative seat of Chelsea in the 1983 general election.
13.
Nick Palmer suggested TV Licence exemption for over-75s which was then adopted by the government, along with similar measures like free bus passes for the elderly.
14.
In January 1998, Nick Palmer introduced a bill under the Ten Minute Rule, amending the Firearms act 1968 and raising the age for possession of air weapons, especially to prevent malicious use against pets.
15.
Nick Palmer subsequently brokered a deal to get the government's version through the Lords.
16.
Nick Palmer campaigned for five years for bells to be fitted to all new bicycles in response to a petition from his constituents.
17.
Nick Palmer introduced a bill about fine print, requiring a minimum size of print in documents, especially those relating to advertising and contracts.
18.
Nick Palmer belonged to an All-Party Parliamentary Group on Animal Welfare, Fund for the Replacement of Animals in Medical Experiments and World Government.
19.
Nick Palmer is a member of the East Midlands Labour Group and serves on the Executive of the Labour Friends of Israel.
20.
Nick Palmer helped organise the visit of the Dalai Lama to Britain in 2008, organising meetings and a special exhibit of a mandala in the House of Commons.
21.
Nick Palmer was one of many new Labour MPs elected in what was a landslide election for Labour in 1997.
22.
Nick Palmer held the seat comfortably with an increased majority at the 2001 election, and again with a reduced majority in 2005 election.
23.
An opinion piece suggested that part of the reason that Nick Palmer had held his seat was due to his high constituency work rate.
24.
Nick Palmer campaigned for and organised a bus service to link Kimberley with the Nottingham tram at Phoenix Park.
25.
Nick Palmer said this was partly to keep his national insurance contributions continuous and partly to explore for himself what the unemployment services are like.
26.
Nick Palmer described the experience as sensitive but said he had received plenty of helpful suggestions and was favourably impressed.
27.
Nick Palmer wrote two pieces, one entitled "Student Fees: A Constructive Response" and the other "Animal Welfare: The Neglected Swing Issue".
28.
Nick Palmer then joined Compassion in World Farming to head the UK branch of the charity which campaigns for the welfare of farm animals.
29.
Nick Palmer stood again for the Broxtowe seat at the 2015 general election but failed to regain the seat.
30.
Nick Palmer called on members and parliamentarians to give Corbyn a 'decent chance'.
31.
Nick Palmer led the Labour group on the council and chaired the local party, receiving an award for endurance on the 50th anniversary of his party membership.
32.
Nick Palmer resigned from Waverley Council in August 2024 where he was said to have been "one of the most popular Waverley members".