Rudolf Jan Vis (4 April 1941 – 30 May 2010) was a Dutch-born British
Labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
politician who served as
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 ...
(MP) for
Finchley and Golders Green
Finchley and Golders Green is a constituency created in 1997 represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. The current MP is Mike Freer of the Conservative Party, who has held the seat since 2010.
Boundaries
1997–2010: The ...
from
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
to
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
.
Early life
Vis was born in 1941 in the town of
Alkmaar
Alkmaar () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland, about 30 km north of Amsterdam. Alkmaar is well known for its traditional cheese market. For tourists, it is a popular cultural destination. The ...
, in the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, where he went to the high school. He gained a
BSc
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...
in economics from the
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of Mary ...
, in 1970 and was a graduate of 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 ...
, gaining an
MSc in economics in 1972.
He gained a PhD in economics from
Brunel University
Brunel University London is a public research university located in the Uxbridge area of London, England. It was founded in 1966 and named after the Victorian engineer and pioneer of the Industrial Revolution, Isambard Kingdom Brunel. In June 1 ...
in 1976. From 1971 to 1996, he was a lecturer at the North East London Polytechnic, which became the
University of East London
, mottoeng = Knowledge and the fulfilment of vows
, established = 1898 – West Ham Technical Institute1952 – West Ham College of Technology1970 – North East London Polytechnic1989 – Polytechnic of East London ...
.
Parliamentary career
Vis was elected as
MP for the newly drawn constituency of
Finchley and Golders Green
Finchley and Golders Green is a constituency created in 1997 represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. The current MP is Mike Freer of the Conservative Party, who has held the seat since 2010.
Boundaries
1997–2010: The ...
in the
1997 general election, defeating the Conservative MP
John Marshall
John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the fourth Chief Justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remains the longest-serving chief justice and fourth-longes ...
with a majority of 3,189 votes. This was one of Labour's more unexpected victories – part of the constituency formed the
Finchley
Finchley () is a large district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Barnet. Finchley is on high ground, north of Charing Cross.
Nearby districts include: Golders Green, Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Whetstone, Mill Hill and H ...
constituency once held by Prime Minister
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...
– and Vis had not even taken leave of his post as an economics lecturer prior to the victory.
He was re-elected at
2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
with a slightly increased majority of 3,716, again defeating Conservative Party candidate John Marshall, but in
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
his majority was greatly reduced to 741 votes, following an increase in support for the
Liberal Democrats in the constituency. His constituency was one of the top Conservative targets at the 2010 general election, needing only a swing of 0.2% to the Tories. Knowing he was suffering from cancer, Vis stood down at the
2010 general election.
Vis sat on the
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold European Convention on Human Rights, human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. ...
. His views were generally, though not dogmatically, to the left-wing of the party. He abstained in the mayoral candidate selection of 2000. He opposed the use of
PPP for the
London Underground
The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...
,
the war on Iraq,
top-up fees
Tuition fees were first introduced across the entire United Kingdom in September 1998 under the Premiership of Tony Blair, Labour government of Tony Blair to fund tuition for undergraduate and postgraduate certificate students at universities; s ...
and
foundation hospital
A foundation trust is a semi-autonomous organisational unit within the National Health Service in England. They have a degree of independence from the Department of Health and Social Care (and, until the abolition of SHAs in 2013, their local s ...
s. However, he voted in favour of the government's controversial
counter-terrorism legislation
Anti-terrorism legislation are laws with the purpose of fighting terrorism. They usually, if not always, follow specific bombings or assassinations. Anti-terrorism legislation usually includes specific amendments allowing the state to bypass it ...
.
Expenses scandal
On 5 April 2009 ''The Times'' reported that he had used his parliamentary expenses to help buy a £520,000 home for his retirement near the Suffolk coast having taken out a mortgage on his London home to pay for the country property. By informing the parliamentary authorities that his main home had moved to Suffolk, he was able to claim the interest payments on the loan secured on his London home. Over the previous two years, he had claimed more than £40,000. "The rules are questionable," Vis said, "but this is well within the rules and I would have been advised if it wasn't."
He was also discovered to have claimed £5,292 for 15,168 miles of travel between Parliament and his home nine miles away.
Death
Rudi Vis died in his sleep on 30 May 2010 from
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
diagnosed five months earlier.
References
External links
*
TheyWorkForYou.com – Rudi Vis MPBBC Politics Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vis, Rudi
1941 births
2010 deaths
Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
UK MPs 1997–2001
UK MPs 2001–2005
UK MPs 2005–2010
Dutch emigrants to England
Dutch politicians
Deaths from cancer in England
Alumni of the London School of Economics
University of Maryland, College Park alumni
Alumni of Brunel University London
Academics of the University of East London
People from Alkmaar