Geoffrey Edge (born 26 May 1943) is a former British Labour Party politician.

Biography

Geoffrey Edge was born in

West Bromwich West Bromwich ( ) is a market town in the borough of Sandwell, West Midlands, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is north-west of Birmingham. West Bromwich is part of the area known as the Black Country, in terms of geography, ...

. He was educated at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

, from which he received a BA in

Geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...

, and the

University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

. He then became a university lecturer.

Political career

Edge was elected

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for the newly created constituency of Aldridge-Brownhills at the February 1974 general election with a majority of only 366 votes. He was re-elected in October 1974 with an increased majority, but lost the seat in

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

to the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

candidate

Richard Shepherd Sir Richard Charles Scrimgeour Shepherd (6 December 1942 – 19 February 2022) was a British politician who was Member of Parliament for Aldridge-Brownhills from 1979 to 2015. A Eurosceptic, Shepherd was one of the Maastricht Rebels that had ...

. Whilst in parliament, Edge served as

Parliamentary Private Secretary A Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) is a Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom who acts as an unpaid assistant to a minister or shadow minister. They are selected from backbench MPs as the 'eyes and ears' of the minister in the H ...

(PPS) for ministers in the

Department for Education The Department for Education (DfE) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for child protection, child services, education (compulsory, further and higher education), apprenticeships and wider skills in England. A Department ...

and the Privy Council Office. After losing his seat, Edge served on

West Midlands County Council West Midlands County Council (WMCC) was, from 1974 to 1986, the upper-tier administrative body for the West Midlands county, a metropolitan county in England. History The WMCC existed for a total of twelve years. It was established on 1 April 19 ...

, where he created an economic development department. For 25 years (1982-2007) he was chairman, later chairman and chief executive, of West Midlands Enterprise, which provided long term finance to local companies. He also served as a Labour councillor and Leader of

Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council Walsall Council, formerly Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council was created in 1974 to administer the newly formed Metropolitan Borough of Walsall. Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council was assessed by the Audit Commission in 2008 and judged to ...

. Edge stood unsuccessfully at the 1987 general election in

Birmingham Yardley Birmingham Yardley is a constituency of part of the city of Birmingham represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Jess Phillips of the Labour Party. Yardley Rural District was annexed to Birmingham under the 1911 ...

, but was beaten by the incumbent Conservative David Gilroy-Bevan.

Other activities

Edge worked as a Senior Associate at P E International plc (1987–97) and also as an Associate Director of W S Atkins plc. He is currently (as of 2021) managing director of Genomics Limited, a company he formed in 2007. The company website states that it is "a specialist regeneration, strategy and business consultancy".Genomics Ltd website
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References

*''Times Guide to the House of Commons 1979'' * 1943 births Living people Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 People from West Bromwich Alumni of the London School of Economics Alumni of the University of Birmingham {{England-Labour-UK-MP-stub