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Photo of Harry Cohen

Harry Cohen

Labour MP for Leyton & Wanstead

  • Also represented Leyton
  • Entered Parliament on 9 June 1983 — General election
  • Standing down at the next election
  • Majority: 6,857 votes. — 271st out of 643 MPs.

Voting record (from PublicWhip)

How Harry Cohen voted on key issues since 2001:

  • Voted moderately against a transparent Parliament. votes, speeches
  • Voted moderately for introducing a smoking ban. votes, speeches
  • Voted very strongly for introducing ID cards. votes, speeches
  • Voted strongly for introducing foundation hospitals. votes, speeches
  • Voted moderately against introducing student top-up fees. votes, speeches
  • Voted a mixture of for and against Labour's anti-terrorism laws. votes, speeches
  • Voted very strongly against the Iraq war. votes, speeches
  • Voted strongly for an investigation into the Iraq war. votes, speeches
  • Voted very strongly against replacing Trident. votes, speeches
  • Voted strongly for the hunting ban. votes, speeches
  • Voted strongly for equal gay rights. votes, speeches
  • Voted a mixture of for and against laws to stop climate change. votes, speeches

Read about how the voting record is decided.

More on well-known issues (from the Guardian) & their full record

Committees and topics of interest

Select Committee membership
  • Member, Work and Pensions Committee (since 14 Jul 2005)

Asks most questions about

  • Departments: Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Defence, Home Department, Health, Treasury

  • Subjects (based on headings added by Hansard): Iraq, London Underground, Data Protection, Afghanistan, Departmental Public Appointments

(based on written questions asked by Harry Cohen and answered by departments)

Public Bill Committees (sittings attended)

RSS feed Most recent appearances

Written Answers — International Development: Somalia: Overseas Aid (17 Mar 2010)

“To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 8 March 2010, Official Report, column 67W, on Somalia: overseas aid, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of arrangements for food supplies to be delivered and disbursed in the camps at Afgooye; and if he will make a statement.”

Written Answers — Home Department: Entry Clearances: Palestinians (17 Mar 2010)

“To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received on his Department's decision not to issue visas to Palestinian olive oil producers to visit the UK during Fairtrade Fortnight; and if he will make a statement.”

Raising of the Pension Age (9 Mar 2010)

“That is a very good point. Does the hon. Gentleman not think that if the Conservatives are looking to increase the male retirement age to 66 by 2016 they may say that because of the legal challenge to the equality law, they have to introduce it for women by 2016 as well?”

More of Harry Cohen's recent appearances

Numerology

Please note that numbers do not measure quality. Also, representatives may do other things not currently covered by this site. (More about this)

  • Has spoken in 28 debates in the last year — above average amongst MPs.
  • Has received answers to 109 written questions in the last year — above average amongst MPs.
  • Is a member of 1 select committee (0 as chair).
  • Replied within 2 or 3 weeks to a low number of messages sent via WriteToThem.com during 2008, according to constituents.
  • Has voted in 73% of votes in parliament with this affiliation — average amongst MPs. (From Public Whip)
  • People have made 10 annotations on this MP’s speeches — average amongst MPs.
  • This MP's speeches, in Hansard, are readable by an average 17–18 year old, going by the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level score.
  • 94 people are tracking whenever this MP speaks — email me whenever Harry Cohen speaks.
  • Has used three-word alliterative phrases (e.g. "she sells seashells") 842 times in debates — well above average amongst MPs. (Why is this here?)

Register of Members’ Interests

2. Remunerated employment, office, profession etc
Surveys completed for:
IPSOS MORI, 79-81 Borough Road, London SE1 1FY. Received £150. Hours: 1 hr. (Registered 20 January 2010)
ComRes, 4 Millbank, London SW1P 3JA.
Received £50. Hours: 1 hr. (Registered 20 January 2010)
Received £75. Hours: 1.5 hrs. (Registered 20 January 2010)
Received £75. Hours: 1.5 hrs. (Registered 20 January 2010)
8. Land and Property
House in Colchester from which rental income was received from 2003-04 until August 2008.

Register last updated: 10 Mar 2010. More about the Register

View the history of this MP's entries in the Register

Expenses

Figures in brackets are ranks.Data from parliament.uk (source). Read 2004/05 – 2008/09 and 1st quarter 2009/10 receipts.

Type2008/09 (ranking out of 647)2007/08 (ranking out of 645)2006/07 (ranking out of 645)2005/062004/05 (ranking out of 659)2003/04 (ranking out of 658)2002/03 (ranking out of 657)2001/02 (ranking out of 657)
Staying away from main home£23,961 (69th) £23,083 (joint 1st with 142 others) £22,110 (joint 1st with 183 others) £21,634 £20,902 (joint 1st with 187 others) £20,333 (joint 3rd with 149 others) £19,722 (joint 1st with 230 others) £15,909 (194th)
London costs£0 £0 £0 £0 £0 £0 £0 £0
Office running costs£17,465 (331st) £11,341 (562nd) £19,039 (430th) £19,821 £19,061 (joint 225th with 1 other) £18,799 (joint 13th with 178 others) £18,234 (joint 1st with 183 others) £14,284 (371st)
Staffing costs£103,780 (72nd) £100,494 (14th) £88,677 (99th) £81,259 £77,798 (67th) £77,985 (2nd) £72,309 (25th) £46,142 (312th)
Communications Allowance£8,315 (353rd) £9,027 (279th) N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Members' Travel£2,598 (562nd)1 £2,956 (551st)2 £3,247 (547th)3 £2,570 £4,403 (554th) £3,280 (582nd) £3,225 (587th) £2,081 (594th)
Members' Staff Travel£79 (joint 351st with 1 other) £65 (397th) £65 (joint 402nd with 1 other) £72 £100 (421st) £0 £0 £0
Members' Spouse Travel£0 £132 (314th) N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Members' Family Travel£0 £0 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Centrally Purchased Stationery£1,754 (545th) £699 (361st) £519 (523rd) £534 £1,811 (130th) £636 (joint 443rd with 1 other) £1,593 (145th) £946 (353rd)
Stationery: Associated Postage Costs£3,109 (223rd) £1,897 (430th) £2,047 £5,434 (123rd) £949 (573rd) N/A N/A
Centrally Provided Computer Equipment  £1,310 (joint 167th with 2 others) £1,125 (joint 205th with 11 others) £944 £1,736 (joint 499th with 1 other) £1,736 (joint 490th with 1 other) £1,736 (462nd) £1,380 (509th)
Other Costs£0 £2,810 (46th) £0 £0 £0 £0 £0 £0
Total£157,952 (223rd) £155,026 (185th) £136,679 (344th) £128,881 £131,245 (168th) £123,718 (231st) £116,819 (237th) £80,742 (475th)

1 Regular journeys between home/constituency/Westminster: Mileage £2,291 (339th). Misc £15 (239th). Other: Mileage £292 (24th).

2 Regular journeys between home/constituency/Westminster: Mileage £2,380 (357th). Misc £16 (239th). Other: Mileage £560 (8th).

3 Car £3,247 (295th).