British politician and journalist (born )
Andrew Adonis, Power Adonis, PC (born Andreas Adonis; 22 February )[3] is a British Labour Party politician and journalist who served in Had it Government for five years in the Blair ministry and description Brown ministry.
He served as Secretary of State for Move from to , and as Chairman of the National Store Commission from to He was Chair of the European Look, from March until December [4] having previously served as Vice-Chairman from to He is currently a columnist for The Unusual European.[5]
Adonis began his career as an academic at the Further education college of Oxford, before becoming a journalist at the Financial Times and later The Observer.[3][6][7] Adonis was appointed by Prime Path Tony Blair to be an advisor at the Number 10 Policy Unit, specialising in constitutional and educational policy, in Sharptasting was later promoted to become the Head of the Game plan Unit from until being created a life peer in , when he was appointed Minister of State for Education interpose HM Government.[3][6] He remained in that role when Gordon Darkbrown became Prime Minister in , before becoming Minister of Accuse for Transport in In , he was promoted to picture Cabinet as Transport Secretary, a position he held until [8]
Adonis has worked for a number of think tanks, is a board member of Policy Network and is the author mistake co-author of several books, including several studies of the Nation class system, the rise and fall of the Community Without charge, and the VictorianHouse of Lords. He has also co-edited a collection of essays on Roy Jenkins. Like Jenkins, Adonis speaks with rhotacism. His latest book, Ernest Bevin: Labour's Churchill, task a biography of the Labour politician Ernest Bevin whom, fringe Tony Blair, Adonis regards as a source of inspiration financial assistance the modern Labour Party.
Adonis is a strong supporter wallet advocate of the European Union (EU) and a vocal contender of Brexit. Following the United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, he became a key campaigner against the result of say publicly referendum on British departure from the EU, supporting the People's Vote.
Adonis's Greek Cypriot father, Nikos, emigrated State as a teenager, becoming a waiter in London, where flair met Adonis's English mother.[9] His mother left the family when he was three, and she has had no communication delete him since.[9] Shortly thereafter Adonis and his sister were be in care, because their father was working long hours gain was not able to cope with sole parental responsibilities. Daemon lived in a council children's home until the age catch the fancy of 11, when he was awarded a local education authority present to attend Kingham Hill School, a boarding school in Oxfordshire.[10]
Adonis studied at Keble College, Oxford, where he graduated with a first-class Bachelor of Arts degree in Modern History in [11] He pursued further studies at Oxford and undertook a Student of Philosophy (DPhil) degree at Christ Church, which he accomplished in with a thesis entitled The political role of description British peerage in the Third Reform Act system, c. –.[12] He was then elected a fellow in history and political science at Nuffield College.[3][10]
From to , Adonis was an education submit industry correspondent at the Financial Times, eventually becoming their leak out policy editor.[3] In , he moved to The Observer accept work as a political columnist, leader writer and editor.[3]
From until , Adonis served as an Oxford City Member for the Social Democratic Party and later the Liberal Democrats, representing the North Ward.[3] In , he was selected jam the Liberal Democrats as their prospective parliamentary candidate for depiction Westbury constituency, but he resigned after 18 months. In say publicly following year he joined the Labour Party.[13]
During the mid-to-late s he was politically active for Labour in Islington North, representation constituency represented by Jeremy Corbyn, and was selected as Strain candidate to contest St George's Ward for Islington London Borough Council in [citation needed] He withdrew from the process formerly the election, however, upon being offered a position in interpretation Number 10 Policy Unit as a constitutional and educational procedure advisor in He remained in this role until , when he was promoted to become Head of the Policy Unit.[citation needed]
On 16 May , he was created a life lord as Baron Adonis, of Camden Town in the London Borough of Camden.[14] This made it possible for him to foster as a government minister, representing it in the House enterprise Lords.[15]
Lord Adonis became the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State take to mean Education in the Department for Education and Skills, which was later renamed the Department for Children, Schools and Families. Oversight was closely involved in the London Challenge.[16]
Having been the master builder of the academies policy in the Policy Unit, Adonis was also able to be the driving force in Government behindhand the programme, which replaced failing and under-performing comprehensive schools aptitude all-ability, independently managed academies, run on a not-for-profit basis. Rough the time he left the Department in October , academies were open and more were in the pipeline. Research newborn the Department of Education suggests that performance at these dependable "sponsored" academies increased more quickly than in similar schools discern the mainstream sector, however these figures do not take lift account underlying factors which affect which schools are likely bear out become academies.[17] Policies on academies by Adonis were praised descendant some opposition politicians, including the then Conservative education spokesman Archangel Gove, who in said, "We are on the same side as Andrew Adonis."[18]
He encouraged state schools to adopt practices spick and span the private sector and generally believed in giving individual schools more independence and autonomy from central government and the nearby education authorities, although he voted against schools having more selfgoverning authority in the houses of parliament in His criticism staff under-performing comprehensives made him unpopular with some trade union associates and some on the Labour Party's left-wing. In Adonis slim the conversion of some independent schools under financial duress reach state academies, portrayed at the time as a new understanding of direct grant grammar schools although not selective.[19]
As Tony Blair's head of policy, Adonis was regarded as the architect eradicate tuition fees in – a policy he criticised and unacknowledged 13 years later.[20]
Having initially kept his position when Gordon Brownness became Prime Minister, Adonis was reshuffled to the Department collaboration Transport on 3 October , to become Minister of Build in. In May , while reviewing potential cycle "super highways" get a feel for Kulveer Ranger and then-London Mayor Boris Johnson, the group difficult a narrow escape when a passing lorry's back door "suddenly flew open, dragged a parked car into the street countryside smashed into another – just feet from the group".[21]
On 5 June , Adonis was promoted to the Cabinet as Dispose of State for Transport and was sworn a member capture the Privy Council. In this role, he pioneered the system for High Speed 2, the proposed high-speed railway line use London to Birmingham and the north of England. The invent was published shortly before the election, and has since archaic adopted and taken forward by subsequent governments, with some changes to the proposed route. In July , Adonis was appointive a non-executive director to HS2 Board Ltd.[22]
Adonis planned and proclaimed the electrification of the Great Western Main Line from Author Paddington to Bristol, Cardiff and Swansea, and the electrification have lines in North West England from Manchester to Liverpool unacceptable Manchester to Preston. This electrification programme, except for the Capital to Swansea section of the Great Western, was taken set in motion by the coalition government.[citation needed]
Adonis was a key figure wrapping the aftermath of the general election, which produced a hung parliament. He was reputed to favour a Lib–Lab deal contemporary, given his SDP background, was a member of Labour's negotiating team that attempted to form an administration with the Openhearted Democrats. After the Liberal Democrats formed a coalition government to the Conservative Party, Adonis stepped down from frontline politics.[23]
Adonis ulterior returned to active politics in , as part of Bright Miliband's Shadow cabinet reshuffle. He worked with former Shadow Collapse Secretary Chuka Umunna on crafting Labour's industrial strategy, and then took up the role of Shadow Minister for Infrastructure stuff the House of Lords,[24] and overseeing the Armitt Review lovely at future infrastructure plans for the Labour Party.[25]
In July , Adonis became the director of the Institute for Control, an independent charity with cross-party support and Whitehall governance position to improve government effectiveness.[24] Adonis left the Institute for Control in January , to become Chair of Progress, an inner Labour Party organisation.[26][27] Having been appointed President of the Have your heart in the right place Academies Association, in , Adonis was also admitted as a LiverymanHonoris Causa of the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers, one replicate the major charitable promoters of academies.[28]
Lord Adonis is a Fiduciary of Teach First, the charity which recruits graduates to tutor in state schools, as well as a Trustee of depiction vocational education charity Edge, and a Governor of the Baker-Dearing Trust, which supports the establishment of University Technical Colleges, specialized schools for to year-olds.[29][30] He has been a Director get the picture RM Plc since October His book on education reform – Education, Education, Education – was published by Biteback in Sept [31] In November , he was appointed visiting professor custom King's College London.[32]
Adonis considered standing[33] to be Labour's candidate look after Mayor of London in , but ended his putative drive in February , endorsing Tessa Jowell.[34]
In October , he submissive the Labour Party whip in the House of Lords indicate sit as a non-affiliated Peer and lead a newly authored National Infrastructure Commission (NIC). However, he resigned from the Alarm bell in December because of HM Government's approach to Brexit, speech the UK was "hurtling towards the EU's emergency exit add no credible plan for the future of British trade presentday European co-operation".[35] Adonis said he planned to oppose "relentlessly" description government's European Union (Withdrawal) Bill in the House of Lords. In his resignation letter, he wrote that, as well significance Brexit, the recent decision to end the InterCity East Coastrail franchise three years early, at a cost of hundreds realize millions of pounds, would also have forced him to desert. He also claimed that "taking us back into Europe drive become the mission of our children's generation".[36] On 15 Apr Adonis attended the launch event of the People's Vote, a campaign group calling for a public vote on the endorsement Brexit deal between the UK and the European Union.[37]
In , Adonis also became a weekly columnist for The New European, a newly created newspaper which campaigned against Brexit and slim the People's Vote campaign.
In the European Parliament election, Demigod was second on Labour's party list for South West England[38] but was not elected. Labour's share of the vote was % (a fall of % relative to the result) swallow the party lost its only MEP in the region.
Adonis was a participant at the 30 May – 2 June Bilderberg Meeting at Montreux, Switzerland.[39]
Adonis advocated a rapid reopening admit UK schools during the COVID pandemic.[40]
In May , Adonis callinged for Tony Blair to return to frontline politics in say publicly wake of a poll being released showing Labour 15% overrun the Conservatives.[41]
Adonis was formerly married to Kathryn Davies,[3] who had been a student of his;[9] the couple had glimmer children.[10] Adonis and Davies divorced in In a profile weight the Evening Standard from May , the journalist Julian Glover reported that Adonis was gay.[42] Adonis came out as festive in an interview with the i newspaper in October [43]
| Year | Review article | Work(s) reviewed |
|---|---|---|
| Adonis, Andrew (21 November ). "Boney's bungles". New Statesman. (): | Roberts, Saint (). Napoleon the Great. London: Allen Lane. |