Rudi Vis

Rudi Vis
Member of Parliament for Finchley and Golders Green
In office 2 May 1997 – 12 April 2010
Preceded by	Constituency Created
Succeeded by	Mike Freer
Personal details
Born	Rudolf Jan Vis 4 April 1941 Alkmaar, Netherlands
Died	31 May 2010 (aged 69) London, United Kingdom
Nationality	Dutch, British
Political party	Labour
Spouse(s)	Joan Hanin (1968-84) Jacqueline Suffling (2001-10)
Children	3
Alma mater	Brunel University London School of Economics University of Maryland

Rudolf Jan Vis (4 April 1941 – 31 May 2010) was a Dutch-born British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Finchley and Golders Green from 1997 to 2010.

Early life

Vis was born in 1941 in the town of Alkmaar, in the Netherlands, where he went to the High School. He gained a BSc in Economics from the University of Maryland, College Park in 1970. He was a graduate of the London School of Economics, gaining an MSc in Economics 1972. He gained a PhD in Economics from Brunel University in 1976. From 1971 to 1996, he was a lecturer at the North East London Polytechnic, which became the University of East London.

Parliamentary career

Vis was elected as MP for the newly drawn constituency of Finchley and Golders Green in the 1997 general election, defeating the Conservative John Marshall (who had been an MP in the previous Parliament) with a majority of 3,189. This was one of Labour's more unexpected victories — part of the constituency formed the Finchley constituency once held by Margaret Thatcher — and Vis had not even taken leave of his post as an economics lecturer prior to the victory.

He was re-elected in 2001 with a slightly increased majority of 3,716, again defeating John Marshall, but in 2005 his majority was drastically cut to 741, 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.^[1]

Vis sat on the Council of Europe. His views were generally, though not dogmatically, to the left of the party. He abstained in the mayoral candidate selection of 2000. He opposed the use of PPP for the London Underground, the war on Iraq, top-up fees and foundation hospitals. However, he voted in favour of the government's controversial counter-terrorism legislation.

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."^[2]

He was also discovered to have claimed £5,292 for 15,168 miles of travel between Parliament and his home nine miles away.^[3]

Death

Rudi Vis died in his sleep on 31 May 2010 from cancer diagnosed five months earlier.^[4]

References

1. "Rudi Vis to stand down at next election". Hendon Times. 28 May 2008.
2. John Ungoed-Thomas and Georgia Warren (5 April 2009). "MP Rudi Vis uses expenses to pay for his rural retirement". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 12 July 2009.
3. Drury, Ian (25 May 2009). "The £6.2m bill: Scandal of how MPs are taking taxpayers for a ride with extortionate travel expenses". Mail Online. Retrieved 12 July 2009.
4. Rudi Vis Labour Party, 2 June 2010

External links

• TheyWorkForYou.com - Rudi Vis MP
• Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Rudi Vis MP
• BBC Politics Profile