About Clive Soley
Lord Soley
House of Lords,
London, SW1A OPW
UK
Clive Soley became a member of the House of Lords on 13th July 2005.
Previously Member of Parliament for Hammersmith 1979 – 97, and (following boundary changes) Ealing Acton and Shepherds Bush 1997 – 2005.
Having retired from parliament at the 2005 General election he took up a part time position in April 2005 as Campaign Director of Future Heathrow. Future Heathrow is a coalition of trade unions, business, airlines and professional groups seeking the expansion and modernisation of Heathrow Airport, London.
Parliamentary career:
Chairman Parliamentary Labour Party, 1997 – 2001
Member, Joint Committee on Reform of the House of Lords, 2002 – 4
Member, Select Committee on Constitutional Affairs 2003 – 2005
Member, Modernisation Committee, 1997-2002
Member and later Chair of Northern Ireland Select Committee, 1995-97
Chair, All Party Parliamentary Group on Parenting, 1993-1996
Chair, Labour Planning and Environment Group, 1990-1997
(Including chairing four major conferences on national planning issues)
When Labour was in opposition:
Spokesman on Housing and Planning, 1989-92
Spokesman on Housing and Local Government, 1987-89
Spokesman on Home Affairs, 1984-87
Spokesman on Northern Ireland, 1981-82 and 1983-84 ( In this capacity he initiated formal meetings with Sinn Fein and some of the Unionist Party’s representing the paramilitary groups).
Chair Mary Seacole Memorial Statue Appeal 2003 -
Chair, Arab-Jewish Forum, 2003 -
Chair, Alcohol Education Centre to 1984
Chair, Labour Campaign for Criminal Justice to 1983
Elected member of Labour’s National Policy Forum (representing the Parliamentary Labour Party), May 1993-2001
Elected to the NEC of the Labour Party, 1998-2001. He also chaired the selection panels for prospective MP’s, MEP’s GLA members and the Mayor of London.
One of the international observers to the national elections in Mongolia (1990) and to Peru (1995)
In 1992 Clive Soley brought forward a Bill on Freedom and Responsibility of the Press. The Bill did not become law but led to a major debate about press standards in the UK. The Committee stage of the Bill took evidence in public and was the first Private Members Bill to be filmed. The report of the hearings was published in December 1992.
He is co-author with Tom O’Malley of ‘Regulating the Press' published in 2000 by Pluto Press. ISBN 0-7453-1197-0 and contributor to Rewriting the Sexual Contract, Institute of Community Studies ISBN 0952335581.
General
After being elected to Parliament in 1979 Clive Soley was heavily involved in the politics of Northern Ireland including the contentious issue of the status of convicted terrorists, the dirty protest and hunger strike. This helped inform his interest in conflict resolution and led to his initiative in forming the Arab-Jewish Forum. The Forum aims to create better understanding between Arabs and Jews and was modeled partly on his experience attending the British /Irish Association conferences.
He also takes an active interest in the modern media and the standards of accuracy in news presentation as well as questions relating to privacy. He is a frequent speaker on the subject and has been instrumental in forcing newspapers and the Press Complaints Commission to review their complaints procedure.
Clive Soley has always had a long-term interest in international relations and the problems associated with war and peace, peacekeeping and war prevention. Having been born just before the outbreak of the Second World War he was deeply influenced by the politics of the post war period and the troubling question of how personalities like Adolph Hitler gain and retain power.
The inability of the world to deal with such problems is a question of growing importance with the development of weapons of mass destruction. In 2004 the Fabian society published his pamphlet on Iraq and intervention. (See side bar).
Prior to his election to Parliament Clive Soley was a senior probation officer in London. He worked in the Kings Cross area of London and dealt with violent offenders and alcoholics. He was the probation Officer for John Healy and encouraged him to write the Grass Arena, the autobiography of a vagrant alcoholic which later became the award winning channel four film.
He left Downshall Secondary Modern School in Ilford without any qualifications at age 15 and had many jobs including a period of National Service in the RAF. Rejected by Ruskin College, he went to Newbattle Abbey Adult Education College in Scotland and in 1964 to Strathclyde University where he gained a BA Honours degree in Politics and Psychology. After a short period with the British Council he went to Southampton University and took a Diploma in Applied Social Studies.
He lives with his partner and teenage son and daughter in London.
