I was born and brought up in the West of Scotland but after graduating from university in 1973 I moved to London and have been here ever since. I live in Edmonton so I am able to see local issues first hand, and I try to meet as many of my constituents as possible in order to hear of any problems that are occurring in the area.
I had a number of different jobs before I became involved in politics, including managing a small import-export company in North London and working as the secretary to the London Co-operative political committee.
In 1975 I joined the Labour Party and five years later I was elected as a councillor in the London Borough of Haringey, serving two terms and becoming Chairman of the Finance Committee and the Housing Committee. I was also the Chair of the Hornsey and Wood Green Constituency Labour Party between 1987 and 1989.
Before I was elected as the Labour and Co-operative Party Member of Parliament for Edmonton in May 1997 I was the Parliamentary Officer of the Co-operative Movement, working closely with a group of 19 MPs and Peers.
Since 2005 I have been a member of the Treasury Select Committee, which investigates issues surrounding the economy and the banking and financial sectors, and I am also an active member of the All Party Parliamentary Groups on Small Business, Housing, Sri Lanka and Mexico.
I am married to Ruth and outside of politics I like to relax by playing golf, reading and going to the cinema and theatre. Ruth and I are also big fans of Tottenham FC, and we go to White Hart Lane to cheer them on whenever we can.