Alun Michael the Biography

Alun Michael the Biography

Born 22 August 1943

Nationality British / Welsh
Political party Labour Co-operative
Alma mater Keele University

Alun Edward Michael JP PC MP (born August 22, 1943) is a Welsh politician. He is Labour & Co-operative Member of Parliament for Cardiff South & Penarth. He has been a member of the Privy Council since 1998.

Education
Michael attended Colwyn Bay Grammar School & Keele University.

Professional career
Community Education Officer & a Reporter on the South Wales Echo.

Political career
He became an MP at the 1987 general election, inheriting a safe Labour seat from former Prime Minister James Callaghan. With Labour's landslide victory in the 1997 general election, he became Minister of State & Deputy Home Secretary in the Home Office. He was responsible for steering the Crime & Disorder Act 1998 through the House of Commons. Amongst other things, this Act introduced ASBOs or Anti-social Behaviour Orders & statutory crime reduction partnerships. He was also responsible for the Government policy on the voluntary & community sector, & introduced the "compact" process to achieve partnership between Government & that sector.

Also in 1998, following the resignation of Ron Davies, he was made Secretary of State for Wales, & later on First Secretary (the title would be updated to First Minister in October 2000) & leader of the Labour Party in the National Assembly for Wales. While he was the favoured candidate of the Westminster government for this role, he was less popular within Wales, & resigned in favour of Rhodri Morgan after opposition parties forced a vote of "no confidence" over the availability of Objective 1 funding from the European Union. He had become the first first Minister of Wales, but opposition parties wanted Rhodri Morgan especially Plaid Cymru, Some did not like the way Tony Blair seemed to place him in his role, and how on documentaries some union leaders promissing him votes did not give his actual name. In all though although he had a not great first election result, nobody despised his record, and he made a entry in the record books. He is regarded as a charming man, and somebody who was not a bad first minister, just far too associated with the London government which seemed wrong to many for what was supposed to be Welsh Devolution, but he was a good first minister.

In 2001, he was appointed Minister of State for Rural Affairs & Local Environmental Quality, a post within DEFRA. He was the minister most closely connected with a ban on hunting with dogs, for which he attracted much criticism and attention from hunt supporters. Michael was also criticised for the way he cited scientific research in Parliamentary debates, after citing the research of Sir Patrick Bateson as "incontrovertible" proof of need for a total ban, Sir Patrick replied, "Only somebody who was scientifically illiterate could argue that evidence from a new area of research was 'incontrovertible'" but Michael hit back saying that Bateson had misunderstood the way his work had been cited. Many were offended by the abusive language by the hunters, never mind those against hunting.

In 2004, he presided over the enactment of the Hunting Act which banned hare-coursing, beagling, fox hunting, mink & stag hunting in the UK from February 2005. At the time this law was being debated, & immediately after it was passed, Michael maintained his visits to rural areas despite threats & protest, but withdrew from the event to launch the "Right to Roam" stating that access to the countryside was too important to be interrupted by pro-hunt protestors whose plans could put the public at risk. Michael maintained that hunting was a "peripheral issue" citing social & economic issues in rural areas as "the day job". In 2004, he formally approved the order designating the New Forest as a National Park.

Michael retained his seat in the 2005 general election, & was moved to a ministerial post in the Department of Trade & Industry as Minister of State for Industry & the Regions. He lost his ministerial position in the Cabinet reshuffle in May 2006 & has thus returned to the backbenches.

Michael's former assistant, Lorraine Barrett, is the Welsh Assembly member for Cardiff South & Penarth.

Alun Michael is not spely Alan Michael

Here are some more sites, there are books & articles on the subjects in many internet places, or internet book shops,

The 10 Largest Welsh towns & cities

A site stating fascinating facts about Welsh Geography

A site on giant sloths, with mentions of animals that have been alive during the era of human history, that have gone extinct, from them to many other great species

100s of Great Websites

How castles are very important to Welsh history

A few pictures of Welsh Geography

The 10 Best Welsh sporting results ever

A Multiple Choice Quiz on Welsh History

A List of some famous places in the Conwy Valley