4:42pm Saturday 27th March 2010
By Carl Brown
AS Walthamstow MP Neil Gerrard prepares to say farewell to Westminster we look back over his career.
ELECTION time is almost upon us and the noise from local politicians desperately trying to get their voice heard is reaching a crescendo.
But for one long-standing Waltham Forest public figure the dissolution of parliament will mean some long-awaited peace and quiet.
Labour's Neil Gerrard has represented the Walthamstow constituency for 18 years and has during that time impressed many by his refusal to tow the Government line.
The grandfather, who has had heart surgery, is looking forward to rest, particularly from the piles of casework that have been mounting up in the Labour party's constituency office in Orford Road.
Originally hailing from Kearsley, near Bolton, Lancashire, Mr Gerrard, after studying chemistry at Oxford, followed his parents by working in the teaching profession.
He moved to Barnet in the 1960s to work in a further education college before buying a house in Walthamstow in 1969, as it was “affordable with good transport links”.
Mr Gerrard first became involved with Labour in the 1964 general election campaign, calling for “change” after 13 years of Conservative rule and campaigning for the end of apartheid in South Africa.
He later became the leader of the Labour group on Waltham Forest Council and in 1986 became leader of the council.
Under his watch the council notoriously raised rates by 60 per cent, prompting widespread protest and the petrol bombing of Mr Gerrard's house.
He said: “When we took over from the Conservative/Lib Dem administration we were shocked by the finances.
“We would have had to put rates up by 35 per cent to do nothing and we had plans, it was a very difficult thing to explain to people.”
Mr Gerrard recovered from the rates criticism to be elected to parliament in 1992.
He said: “When I arrived at the House I thought 'what on earth am I doing here?'
“There was very little in the way of training or education, I was just given a coathanger and told to get on with it, there was group of us wandering around wondering what to do.”
Mr Gerrard began earning a reputation for being a left-wing rebel as the Labour party started to adopt a more right-wing stance.
Mr Gerrard said: “I knew that it was unlikely that Mr Blair would be very keen on me.
“When he was shadow home secretary I organised a substantial rebellion over the decision to abstain from a vote on the Conservative's government's criminal justice bill, which I thought we should be opposing.
“He became leader just two or three weeks later,” added Mr Gerrard with a smile.
In 1997 he was briefly in the Government, as principal private secretary to then treasury minister Dawn Primarolo, but resigned after a few months because he disagreed with a plan to cut benefits for lone parents.
He said: “I'm not saying I wouldn't have minded playing a role in the Government but I was not prepared to go along with things I did not believe in for the sake of keeping a job.
“I am not trying to be holier than thou and I have no problem with those who do go along with things they don't agree with to stay in the government, but that's the choice you have to make.”
Mr Gerrard remains loyal to Labour and says people forget how much has been spent on schools and hospitals and how class sizes and waiting lists have come down.
He cites his work tackling aids in developing countries as one of his proudest achievements as an MP.
He said: “I am going to miss the House, but I am not going to miss all the constituency casework.”
Mr Gerrard is now planning to spend more time going to the theatre and watching films as others battle it out in the run up to polling day.
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