Chris Pond

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Person.png Chris Pond  Rdf-entity.pngRdf-icon.png
Born1952-09-25
NationalityBritish
SpouseCarole Tongue
Member ofKönigswinter/Speakers
PartyLabour

Christopher Richard Pond, known as Chris Pond (born 25 September 1952) is a former Labour MP for Gravesham in Kent, from 1997 to 2005.[1]. He was Parliamentary Under-Secretary at Department for Work and Pensions from June 2003 to May 2005. He left Parliament on 11 April 2005.[2]

Early life

Pond went to the Minchenden School[3] (became comprehensive in 1967, and was merged into the Broomfield School in 1984) in Southgate, London. At the University of Sussex, he gained a BA in Economics in 1974.[4]

From 1974-5, he was a research assistant in Economics at Birkbeck College.[5] From 1975-9, he was a research officer at the Low Pay Unit (now called the Low Pay Commission[6]).[7] He lectured in Economics at the Civil Service College (now called the National School of Government) from 1979-80.[8] From 1981-2, he was a visiting lecturer in Economics at the University of Kent.[9] At the University of Surrey, he was a visiting professor from 1984-6. He was a consultant for the Open University from 1987-8, and 1991-2.[10]

Parliamentary career

At the 1987 general election, Pond unsuccessfully contested the Welwyn Hatfield constituency.[11]

He won the Gravesham seat at the 1997 general election, beating the sitting Conservative Party MP, Jacques Arnold. He was re-elected at the 2001 general election, and served as a member of the Social Security Select Committee, Parliamentary Private Secretary in the Treasury and then minister in the Department for Work and Pensions.

Pond introduced a Private Members Bill, the Employment of Children Bill in 1998, which subsequently led to greater protection for children at work. He campaigned with the Marchioness Action Group for a Public Inquiry into the sinking of the Marchioness, for greater safety measures and for the introduction of lifeboats on the Thames. At the May 2005 general election, he lost his seat in Parliament to the Conservative Party candidate, Adam Holloway.[12]

In February 2005, Pond was arrested by the police after an alleged incident of criminal damage. He had removed a sign illegally threatening to clamp his heavily pregnant wife’s car and placed it on the door of a neighbour who he believed had been responsible, leaving traces of glue. After the decision whether to prosecute him was referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions and to the Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith, Pond received a police caution.[13][14][15]

After leaving parliament in 2005, Pond was appointed as Chief Executive of The National Council for One Parent Families.[16] In 2007 he became Director of Financial Capability at the Financial Services Authority.[17] Since 2005, he has been Chair of Capacitybuilders, a Cabinet Office sponsored funding agency for charities and social enterprises.[18] He is a Trustee of the End Child Poverty Campaign and of the National Family and Parenting Institute. He is also an independent director of Cape Claims Services, an asbestos compensation scheme.

Affiliations

Resources

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References

  1. ↑ Ask Aristotle: Chris Pond The Guardian website http://politics.guardian.co.uk/person/0,,-4214,00.html accessed 2009-03-10
  2. ↑ They Work For You, Chris Pond, former MP, accessed 28 November 2008.
  3. ↑ As one door closes… Alison Benjamin 12 October 2005 The Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2005/oct/12/voluntarysector.socialexclusion accessed 2009-03-10
  4. ↑ As one door closes… Alison Benjamin 12 October 2005 The Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2005/oct/12/voluntarysector.socialexclusion accessed 2009-03-10
  5. ↑ Candidate: Chris Pond http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/vote2001/candidates/candidates/2/28006.stm BBC News: Vote 2001 accessed 2009-03-10
  6. ↑ Low Pay Commission
  7. ↑ As one door closes… Alison Benjamin 12 October 2005 The Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2005/oct/12/voluntarysector.socialexclusion accessed 2009-03-10
  8. ↑ As one door closes… Alison Benjamin 12 October 2005 The Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2005/oct/12/voluntarysector.socialexclusion accessed 2009-03-10
  9. ↑ Candidate: Chris Pond http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/vote2001/candidates/candidates/2/28006.stm BBC News: Vote 2001 accessed 2009-03-10
  10. ↑ Candidate: Chris Pond http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/vote2001/candidates/candidates/2/28006.stm BBC News: Vote 2001 accessed 2009-03-10
  11. ↑ UK General Election results June 1987 http://www.psr.keele.ac.uk/area/uk/ge87/i21.htm Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources accessed 2009-03-10
  12. ↑ {Election 2005: Labour restrict their Kent losses http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/vote_2005/england/4519375.stm 6 May 2005 BBC News accessed 2009-03-10
  13. ↑ Ian Gallagher (20 March 2005). "Minister arrested for attack on young mother". The Mail on Sunday. Retrieved 2007-11-03.Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css must have content model "Sanitized CSS" for TemplateStyles (current model is "Scribunto").
  14. ↑ Joanna Bale (21 March 2005). "Parking row MP escapes court action". London: The Times. Retrieved 2007-11-03.Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css must have content model "Sanitized CSS" for TemplateStyles (current model is "Scribunto").
  15. ↑ Mark Townsend and Gaby Hinsliff (20 March 2005). "Minister comes unstuck over 'glue gate'". The Observer. Retrieved 2007-11-05.Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css must have content model "Sanitized CSS" for TemplateStyles (current model is "Scribunto").
  16. ↑ As one door closes… Alison Benjamin 12 October 2005 The Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2005/oct/12/voluntarysector.socialexclusion accessed 2009-03-10
  17. ↑ Former Labour minister given key FSA role Tony Bonsignore 3 October 2007 http://www.citywire.co.uk/adviser/-/news/other/content.aspx?ID=287730 CityWire accessed 2009-03-10
  18. ↑ Biography: Chris Pond 3 October 2007 http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pages/About/Who/Management/Retail/pond.shtml Financial Services Authority accessed 2009-03-10
  19. ↑ Financial Services Authority, "Chris Pond appointed as Director of Financial Capability for the FSA," 03 October 2007, accessed 28 November 2008.
  20. ↑ Cape PLC, Cape PLC Scheme of Arrangement, 09 June 2006, accessed 28 November 2008.
  21. ↑ Financial Services Authority, "Chris Pond appointed as Director of Financial Capability for the FSA," 03 October 2007, accessed 28 November 2008.
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