Saturday, January 20, 2007
Greg Pope
Greg Pope was born in Blackburn on 29 August 1960 and was brought up in Great Harwood in what is now part of the Hyndburn constituency. He attended St Wulstan’s RC Primary School in Great Harwood and St Mary’s College RC Grammar School in Blackburn. He has a degree in politics from Hull University.
Greg was elected to serve on Hyndburn Borough Council in 1984 until 1988 and he also served briefly on Blackburn Borough Council in 1989-90. He contested the Ribble Valley constituency in the 1987 general election.
He was first elected to Parliament in the 1992 general election. Greg has now been returned to represent Hyndburn in the House of Commons in four consecutive elections.
In Parliament, Greg served on the Education Select Committee until appointed an Opposition Whip in 1995. After the 1997 general election Greg served in the Government Whips’ Office as a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury where he worked in first the Foreign Office and later the Department for Trade & Industry. He left the Government after the 2001 general election and is currently a member of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee.
His political interests include housing, foreign policy, education and Ireland. In his spare time he enjoys walking, the gym, chess, music and football. He supports Blackburn Rovers and also follows Accrington Stanley and Great Harwood FC. He is thought to be the only Member of Parliament to have invaded the stage during a gig by The Clash in 1978 and danced to ‘Police and Thieves’ with the band.