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Parliamentarian of the Year

Dr Tony Wright MP

Dr Tony Wright MP was the unanimous choice of the jury for Parliamentarian of the Year. He was elected as an MP in 1992 and the panel particularly commended his achievements as chair of the Public Administration Select Committee from 1999. It observed how under his watch the Committee has worked hard to hold government to account and through its inquiries and reports, such as those on lobbying, and good government, demonstrated the analytic parliamentary function at its finest. Given this track record it is a tribute but no surprise that he has been asked to chair the important new commission on the reform of Parliament.

Tony Wright's distinguished political career supplanted a promising academic career in political science. After gaining a First Class BSc in Government at the London School of Economics he won a Kennedy scholarship to Harvard and subsequently gained his doctorate at Balliol College, Oxford in 1973. After a two year spell at Bangor, Dr Wright went on to lecture in politics at the University of Birmingham from 1975 to 1992. He is now an honorary professor of the university.

A long-serving co-editor of The Political Quarterly, Dr Wright has written many books, articles and pamphlets. The focus of much of his work has been on the history, ideology and future of the Labour Party, but he also has a long standing interest in constitutional issues, and contributed a chapter on the British constitution to the book Party Ideology in Britain (1989) which he edited with Leonard Tivey. More recently he has published articles on parliamentary reform in Talking Politics (1997), Parliamentary Affairs (2004), Prospect (2004) and i (2009). Other recent publications include British Politics: A Very Short Introduction (2003), the Fabian pamphlet A New Social Contract: From Targets to Rights in Public Services, and Restating the State? (coeditor, 2004).

Dr Wright has a long history of involvement in political activity both inside and outside parliament. He has been co-chair of the Campaign for Freedom of Information, chair of the Fabian Society, and chair of the Centre for Public Scrutiny. He currently co-chairs the Constitution, Parliament and Citizenship Associate Parliamentary Group.

He was elected to the House of Commons in 1992 as Labour MP for Cannock and Burntwood, and since 1997 he has been MP for Cannock Chase. From 1997 to 1998, he served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the former Lord Chancellor, Lord Irvine. Since 1999 Dr Wright has chaired the Public Administration Select Committee, which oversees the work of the Parliamentary Ombudsman and the civil service. Earlier this year the government accepted a proposal from Dr Wright to 'work with a special parliamentary commission comprising Members from all sides of this House, convened for a defined period to advise on necessary reforms, including making Select Committee processes more democratic, scheduling more and better time for non-Government business in the House, and enabling the public to initiate directly some issues for debate'.

The resulting Select Committee on the Reform of the House of Commons begins its work at the start of this parliamentary session, and will continue until the end of the parliament, focusing on a range proposed reforms including giving the public the means to initiate debates and proceedings in the House. Given the experience, expertise and energy of its chairman this committee will undoubtedly be one to watch.