Vernon Coaker

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Coaker served in government as Minister of State for Policing, Crime and Security from 2008 to 2009, and Minister of State for Schools and Learning from 2009 to 2010. In opposition, he was Shadow Secretary of State for Defence from 2013 to 2015 and Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 2011 to 2013, and again from 2015 to 2016. Coaker lost his seat at the 2019 general election.

Early lifeEdit

Born in Westminster, London, Coaker attended Drayton Manor Grammar School in London.<ref name=ww>‘COAKER, Vernon Rodney’, Who's Who 2013, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2013; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2012; online edn, Nov 2012 accessed 9 Jan 2013</ref> He studied for an Economics and Politics BA (Hons) degree at the University of Warwick, then obtained a PGCE at Trent Polytechnic (Clifton College of Education).<ref name=ww/>

Coaker worked as a teacher, becoming a history teacher at Manvers Pierrepont School (now the Carlton Road Centre of Castle College Nottingham) from 1976 to 1982, then head of department at Arnold Hill School from 1982 to 1988.<ref name=ww/> From 1989 to 1995, he was a senior teacher at Bramcote Park School and thence until 1997 he was deputy headmaster at Big Wood School in Bestwood, Nottingham.<ref name=ww/> He is a member of the NUT.

Political careerEdit

Coaker served as a district councillor for the Cotgrave Ward in Rushcliffe, Nottinghamshire from 1983 to 1997 and was leader of the Labour group on the council between 1987 and 1997.<ref name=ww/> He stood for the Rushcliffe constituency seat in 1983. He contested Gedling in 1987 and 1992, before defeating Andrew Mitchell at the 1997 election, becoming the first Labour MP to win the Gedling seat.

After a number of parliamentary private secretary roles, Coaker became a government whip in May 2005, having been an assistant whip since June 2003.<ref name=ww/> He served as a minister of state at the Home Office between 2008 and 2009 before being moved to take up the role of minister of state for schools and learning between 2009 and 2010.<ref name=ww/>

Following the Labour defeat at the 2010 general election, Coaker was appointed as Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in October 2011.<ref name="ww" /> Coaker joined dozens of shadow ministers in resigning from his position on 26 June 2016 in Labour's parliamentary disquiet over the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He supported Owen Smith in the failed attempt to replace Jeremy Corbyn in the 2016 Labour leadership election.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He lost his seat in the 2019 general election.

In December 2020, it was announced he would be conferred a life peerage after a nomination by Labour Party Leader Keir Starmer.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> On 22 March 2021, he was introduced to the House of Lords as Baron Coaker, of Gedling in the County of Nottinghamshire.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He made his maiden speech on 17 May 2021 during the Queen's Speech debate, and was later appointed to the front bench as a Home Affairs and Defence spokesperson.

Expenses scandalEdit

Coaker was found to have claimed large sums every month in cash for his second home without submitting any receipts.<ref name="telegraph1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Over the course of four years, he claimed £3,425 for cleaning, £6,320 for services and maintenance and £5,205 for repairs. This was initially for his semi-detached home in Cotgrave, and then for his one-bedroom flat in Kennington in London.

A spokesman for Coaker subsequently stated that expenses were claimed in accordance with the rules administered by Commons fees office at the time.<ref name="telegraph1"/>

Political positionsEdit

Coaker supports the modernisation of the UK Trident missile system, and Britain's membership of NATO. He supports the multilateral disarmament of nuclear weapons.<ref name=belfasttelegraph-20150928>Template:Cite news</ref> Coaker belongs to the Labour Friends of Israel lobby group.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Shortly after being appointed minister for drugs and crime reduction in the May 2006 reshuffle, he revealed to the Coventry Evening Telegraph that he had had "one or two puffs" of cannabis as a student but did not enjoy it.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> His admission was made during a nationwide tour to evaluate the effectiveness of the government's drugs strategy.

He also supports people taking part in shooting sports and angling.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In January 2010, Coaker apologised for remarks that misled MPs. He had earlier told MPs that 70 police officers were hurt as a result of a global warming protest at Kingsnorth power station. In fact there were only 12 injuries that were legally reportable with just four of those involving contact with another person.<ref name=BBC_12Dec08>Template:Cite news</ref> The remaining eight injuries included "wasp sting", an injury while "sitting in a car", and an officer succumbing "to sun and heat". There were 68 injuries in total with the rest being treated by first-aiders at the scene. The whole operation had involved more than 1,000 officers.<ref name=BBC_12Dec08/>

Personal lifeEdit

Coaker married Jacqueline Heaton on 23 December 1978 in Basford in Nottingham; the couple have a daughter and a son.<ref name=ww/> He supports Tottenham Hotspur. His wife, who is a teacher, was a town councillor in Cotgrave, where they live in the district of Rushcliffe.<ref>Parish Council Election Results 2003 Template:Webarchive</ref>

HonoursEdit

He was awarded an Honorary Professorship of Modern Slavery Policy by the University of Nottingham on 23 July 2020.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

He was awarded the Freedom of the Borough of Gedling on 17 June 2022.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

ReferencesEdit

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External linksEdit

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