Colin Temple Leys FRSC (born April 8, 1931) is a British political economist who is emeritus professor of political studies at Queen's University, Canada , and an honorary research professor at Goldsmiths, University of London . From 1956 to 1960 he taught at Balliol College, Oxford and then became the first Principal of Kivukoni College in Dar es Salaam, before holding chairs at Makerere University, Uganda , and the universities of Sussex , Nairobi , Sheffield , and Queen's. Until his retirement from Queen's in 1996 his research focussed mainly on African development. He has since worked mainly on the political economy of Britain, but from 1997 to 2010 he was co-editor with Leo Panitch of the Socialist Register . From 2000 onwards he became involved in the defence of the British National Health Service (NHS) against successive government attempts to marketise and privatise it. With Stewart Player he co-authored two books on the NHS and was one of the founders of a respected think tank, the Centre for Health and the Public Interest .
53-1085: [REDACTED] Look up leys in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Leys may refer to: People [ edit ] Colin Leys (born 1931), Oxford academic Franco Leys (born 1993), Argentine footballer Jan August Hendrik Leys (1815–1869), Belgian painter Lenaert Leys, better known as Leonardus Lessius (1554–1623), Belgian Jesuit and moral theologian Simon Leys, pen name of Pierre Ryckmans Sally Leys , Canadian spongiologist Other uses [ edit ] Blackbird Leys , civil parish in Oxford, England Beaumont Leys , electoral ward in England Ley line , places of geographical and historic interest The Leys School , school in Cambridge Loch of Leys, ancestral home of Burnett of Leys ,
106-441: A Lowland Scottish clan See also [ edit ] [REDACTED] Search for "leys" on Misplaced Pages. All pages with titles beginning with Leys All pages with titles containing Leys Ley (disambiguation) Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Leys . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change
159-709: A backlash from British Jews by appearing with a supporter of Yasser Arafat . Having once publicly vowed to never again visit Israel, Kaufman retracted that promise in 2002 to film a BBC television documentary, The End of the Affair , in which he recounted his disillusionment with the state. By that time, he believed Israel had been reduced to an "international pariah" by its prime minister Ariel Sharon , who he described as "a war criminal". He wrote an article in July 2004 for The Guardian entitled "The case for sanctions against Israel: What worked with apartheid can bring peace to
212-607: A debate on the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill but she and Kaufman, although both Jewish, had large differences in their views on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Kaufman supported the 2011 Palestinian bid for United Nations recognition and membership of a Palestinian state along the 1967 borders with east Jerusalem as its capital, writing in The Guardian : "This brave Palestinian move will change
265-475: A doctor. He was educated at Edinburgh Academy and Dulwich College , where he studied Latin and ancient Greek. As a teenager in Inverness he developed a lasting love of the countryside and natural history. After winning an Open Exhibition in classics at Magdalen College, Oxford , and completing his national service, Leys passed Law Moderations in 1951, switched to Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE),
318-689: A journalist at the Daily Mirror and the New Statesman and as a writer at BBC Television . Again becoming active in the Labour Party , he served as an adviser to Harold Wilson during Wilson's first tenure as Prime Minister before being elected to the House of Commons himself at the 1970 general election to represent Manchester Ardwick . Kaufman served in the Labour government at
371-515: A mockery of the British legal system. He highlighted the arrest warrant against former Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni for her part in the "slaughter" that took place during the Gaza War . He also claimed that British Jews were waking up to Israel's human rights violations and distancing themselves from Israel. As he stressed Israel's alleged war crimes and breaches of international law, he
424-692: A new department of political science, and subsequently served from 1969 to 1971 as head of the department of government at the University of Nairobi . In between these two periods in East Africa he was professor of politics at the University of Sussex and a Fellow of the Institute of Development Studies , subsequently moving to Sheffield from 1972 to 1975, and then to Queen's University, Canada , from 1976 to 1996. His last piece of field work in Africa
477-595: A speech criticising Israeli actions, claiming that Palestinians were "slaughtered" and said "the way in which Israeli soldiers maltreat Palestinians is appalling". At a Palestine Return Centre event in Parliament on 27 October 2015, Kaufman alleged that "Jewish money, Jewish donations to the Conservative Party – as in the general election in May – support from The Jewish Chronicle , all of those things, bias
530-644: A speech to the Commons where he stated: "The present Israeli government ruthlessly and cynically exploits the continuing guilt from Gentiles over the slaughter of Jews in the Holocaust as justification for their murder of Palestinians". About the death of his grandmother in the Holocaust, he said: "My grandmother did not die to provide cover for Israeli soldiers murdering Palestinian grandmothers in Gaza ". After
583-570: Is a study of the 1944 Judy Garland film . He contributed a chapter about John Hodge , the Labour MP for Manchester Gorton elected in 1906, to Men Who Made Labour , edited by Alan Haworth and Diane Hayter . He also acted as chairman of the Booker Prize judges in 1999. On 26 February 2017, Kaufman died at his residence in St John's Wood , following a long illness; he was 86. He was
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#1732766144202636-703: The Centre for Health and the Public Interest in London. From 1966 to 1976 he co-edited the Journal of Commonwealth Political Studies (subsequently Commonwealth & Comparative Politics ). As of 2017, Leys has published 33 books and 68 chapters and journal papers. Among his major publications, European Politics in Southern Rhodesia (1959) was one of the first African "country studies". It traced
689-643: The Culture, Media and Sport Committee from 1992 to 2005 and was knighted in 2004. Despite criticism during the 2009 parliamentary expenses scandal , when he was found to have made excess claims to the parliamentary fees office, he continued to serve in the House of Commons and was the UK's oldest sitting MP at the time of his death in February 2017. Known for his forthright views expressed over his political career, Kaufman
742-615: The Department of Industry under Eric Varley . Kaufman worried that his support for leaving the EEC in the referendum had led to a demotion by Harold Wilson. However, he was quickly promoted to Minister of State at the department in December 1975. Kaufman served in the role until the Labour government was defeated at the 1979 general election and, during his time in office, he represented
795-668: The Department of the Environment under Harold Wilson and at the Department of Industry under James Callaghan respectively. After the government was defeated at the 1979 general election , he was a member of the Shadow Cabinet in the 1980s. When the Manchester Ardwick constituency was abolished in boundary changes, he successfully contested Manchester Gorton at the 1983 general election . Later in his career, he served as an influential backbencher as chair of
848-498: The Gaza flotilla raid in June 2010, he called Israel's actions "a war crime of piracy in international waters, kidnapping and murder, all in pursuit of upholding an illegal blockade on Gaza that amounts to collective punishment". In December 2010, Kaufman criticised a proposed amendment to Britain's universal jurisdiction law seeking to prevent visiting Israeli officials from being arrested and indicted, claiming that such changes made
901-714: The Jewish Labour Movement ). He became disillusioned with Israel because of its treatment of the Palestinian territories . In 1988, on the 40th anniversary of the State of Israel, while Shadow Foreign Secretary, Kaufman appeared on the television discussion programme After Dark . A representative of the Palestine Liberation Organization in London was also on the panel and The Daily Telegraph considered that Kaufman risked
954-743: The Liberal Democrat candidate for his constituency during the 2010 general election , Qassim Afzal, of running "an anti-Semitic, and personally anti-Semitic, election campaign" in Manchester Gorton. Kaufman voted against the Labour whip for the first time on the provision in the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 to introduce an extra requirement in the process for private prosecutors seeking to obtain an arrest warrant for "universal jurisdiction" offences such as war crimes, torture and crimes against humanity. In
1007-693: The Commons that Israel had been created following acts of terrorism by the Irgun . He urged the British government to implement a total ban on arms sales to Israel'.' In June 2009, Kaufman compared Israel's treatment of the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank to South Africa under apartheid and Iran . He described Iran as a "loathsome regime" but said that, unlike Israel, "at least it keeps its totalitarian theocracy to within its own borders" and that
1060-655: The Conservative-held seat of Bromley (the seat of Foreign Secretary Harold Macmillan ), and at the 1959 general election , he contested Gillingham . He was elected MP for Manchester Ardwick at the 1970 general election ; he switched constituency to Manchester Gorton at the 1983 election , following the major changes in parliamentary boundaries in that year. He remained MP for Gorton until his death, notwithstanding considerable demographic changes that resulted in Muslim voters becoming an influential segment of
1113-778: The Conservatives". He accused Israel of staging recent Palestinian knife attacks as an excuse to kill Palestinians. John Mann , the Labour chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group Against Antisemitism , denounced Kaufman's comments as "the incoherent ramblings of an ill-informed demagogue". Jeremy Corbyn , Leader of the Labour Party , released a statement saying Kaufman's remarks were "completely unacceptable and deeply regrettable", further saying: "Such remarks are damaging to community relations, and also do nothing to benefit
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#17327661442021166-534: The Israeli army's spokeswoman replied to the deaths of 800 Palestinians that "500 of them were militants", he called her statement the "reply of a Nazi" and remarked that members of the Jewish resistance during the Holocaust also "could have been dismissed as militants". While considering Hamas a "deeply nasty organisation", he described their boycott by the UK government as having "dreadful consequences" and reminded
1219-574: The Israeli blockade of Gaza as "evil" and said Israeli officials who authorised the use of white phosphorus munitions in densely populated Gaza should be tried for war crimes. In March 2010, along with another Labour MP Martin Linton , Kaufman accused the Conservative Party of being "too close" to Israel, saying that those parts of the party not controlled by Lord Ashcroft were being controlled by "right-wing Jewish millionaires". Following
1272-650: The Labour Party National Executive Committee from 1991 to 1992, and the Royal Commission on House of Lords Reform in 1999. In 1997, he criticised the then chief executive of the Royal Opera House Mary Allen over alleged financial misconduct, which ultimately contributed to her tendering her resignation. Kaufman very rarely voted against the Labour Party whip and therefore voted with
1325-708: The Labour Party's left-wing 1983 general election manifesto " the longest suicide note in history ". In 1992, Kaufman went to the backbenches and became chair of the National Heritage Select Committee and chaired the committee (later the Culture, Media and Sport Committee) from 1992 to 2005. He was also a member of the Parliamentary Committee of the Parliamentary Labour Party from 1980 to 1992,
1378-645: The Labour whip for a second time, one of 48 Labour MPs to vote against the second reading of the government's 2015 Welfare Reform and Work Bill which included £12 billion in welfare cuts, a vote in which Labour MPs had been ordered to abstain. It is time to remind Sharon that the Star of David belongs to all Jews, not to his repulsive Government. His actions are staining the star of David with blood. The Jewish people, whose gifts to civilised discourse include Einstein and Epstein , Mendelssohn and Mahler , Sergei Eisenstein and Billy Wilder , are now symbolised throughout
1431-604: The Middle East" in which he proposed economic sanctions against Israel. In 2006, he called for the Israeli soldiers responsible for the deaths of British citizens Tom Hurndall and James Miller to be handed over and tried in Britain or before an international war crimes tribunal and stated that economic sanctions would have to be considered if Israel refused to cooperate. During the Gaza War in January 2009, Kaufman gave
1484-553: The Palestinian cause. I have always implacably opposed all forms of racism, antisemitism and Islamophobia." Kaufman wrote many books and articles. Some are political: How to be a Minister (1980) is an irreverent look at the difficulties faced by ministers trying to control the civil service. Kaufman had the book proofread by both Harold Wilson and James Callaghan prior to publication. Some are cultural: Meet Me in St Louis
1537-601: The Rhodesias confronted exactly the same problem. Later, in East Africa, his focus shifted to the issues of 'nation-building' in ethnically diverse ex-colonies and, finally, to the formation of new African classes, and especially proto-capitalist classes, and the different paths of national development chosen by newly independent African governments. The contribution of theorists of neo-colonialism and dependency such as Frantz Fanon and Andre Gunder Frank to understanding these developments led Leys to engage more seriously with
1590-629: The UK in talks with the United States over allowing the Concorde to land on their soil and steered through legislation nationalising the aircraft and shipbuilding industries. Kaufman was made a member of the Privy Council in 1978. In opposition, Kaufman served in the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Environment Secretary from 1980 to 1983, Shadow Home Secretary from 1983 to 1987 and Shadow Foreign Secretary from 1987 to 1992. He dubbed
1643-559: The classical Marxist tradition and influenced his later work on the development of advanced capitalist countries under the impact of globalisation. Other activities during these years included writing commissioned reports on the creation of universities in Mauritius, the Bahamas, and Namibia; serving on a commission on the electoral system of Mauritius; co-editing with Leo Panitch the annual Socialist Register ; and founding and chairing
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1696-414: The complex dependence of the country's new capitalist class on external forces. In 1978 Leys modified his view of the limits imposed by these constraints, giving rise to a so-called "Kenya Debate". In The Rise and Fall of Development Theory (1996) Leys summed up three decades of work on development, arguing for the reinstatement of a focus on the political assumptions of development that had characterised
1749-479: The electorate. Kaufman was a junior minister throughout Labour's time in power from 1974 to 1979, initially as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of the Environment from 1974 to 1975 under Anthony Crosland . Kaufman supported the UK leaving the European Economic Community in the 1975 referendum , after which he was made Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at
1802-477: The entire environment of the Middle East and tell the Israelis they must negotiate meaningfully if they wish to be one of the states in a two-state solution." Following the 2011 Nakba Day riots when a number of Palestinian refugees were killed by Israeli security forces as they attempted to breach Israel's borders as part of protests demanding the implementation of the Palestinian right of return , Kaufman gave
1855-607: The government on the 2003 invasion of Iraq , saying in Parliament "Even though all our hearts are heavy, I have no doubt that it is right to vote with the Government tonight". Kaufman was appointed a Knight Bachelor in the 2004 Birthday Honours for services to Parliament. Kaufman was honoured with the Hilal-e-Pakistan by the Government of Pakistan . An outspoken opponent of hunting with hounds , Kaufman
1908-475: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Leys&oldid=1182407010 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Colin Leys Leys is the oldest of the six children of a social worker and
1961-617: The origins and underpinnings of white supremacy in the Rhodesias and correctly predicted the consolidation of racist government in Southern Rhodesia that followed the collapse of the Central African Federation in 1963. Underdevelopment in Kenya: the political economy of neo-colonialism (1975) described the emergence of the ethnically-based post-independence class system in Kenya and the constraints imposed on development by
2014-788: The proximity of affluent Israeli settlers to impoverished Palestinians was more "heart-rending" than conditions in South Africa during apartheid as the Bantustans were "some distance away from the affluent areas". He also said that Israel should follow the lead of the British Armed Forces in their conduct in Northern Ireland during the Troubles . Kaufman was the leader of a large European parliamentary delegation to Gaza in January 2010 during which he described
2067-422: The run-up to the 2012 United States presidential election , Kaufman opposed Barack Obama , saying that American voters did not "know a phoney when they see one" and adding that "If they did, Barack Obama would not be president". After his re-election to the Commons in 2015 , just before his 85th birthday, Kaufman became Father of the House following the retirement of Peter Tapsell . On 20 July 2015, he broke
2120-439: The society's rule against canvassing. Kaufman was assistant general secretary of the Fabian Society from 1954 to 1955, a leader writer on the Daily Mirror from 1955 to 1964 and a journalist on the New Statesman from 1964 to 1965. During his time as a journalist, he also worked as a television writer, contributing to BBC Television 's satirical comedy programme That Was The Week That Was in 1962 and 1963, where he
2173-505: The study of development before the onset of neoliberal globalisation. Market-Driven Politics: Neoliberal Democracy and the Public Interest (2001) tested the hypothesis that in a fully globalised capitalist economy, with free capital movement, advanced capitalist countries such as Britain would find their development constrained by global market forces in much the same way that ex-colonies had always been. Gerald Kaufman Sir Gerald Bernard Kaufman (21 June 1930 – 26 February 2017)
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2226-419: The world by the blustering bully Ariel Sharon , a war criminal implicated in the murder of Palestinians at the Sabra and Shatila camps and now involved in killing Palestinians once again. Kaufman in a speech given to the House of Commons, during Israel's military operation codenamed Defensive Shield in April 2002 Kaufman was infatuated with Israel in his youth and was a member of Poale Zion (later
2279-498: Was a British politician and author who served as a minister throughout the Labour government of 1974 to 1979 . Elected as a member of parliament (MP) at the 1970 general election , he became Father of the House in 2015 and served until his death in 2017. Born in Leeds to a Polish Jewish family, Kaufman was secretary of the Oxford University Labour Club while studying philosophy, politics and economics at The Queen's College, Oxford . After graduating from Oxford, he worked as
2332-606: Was a Junior Research Fellow in Politics at Balliol College, Oxford , and spent 1955–56 researching in Southern Rhodesia . Throughout these years he was mentored and greatly helped by WJM Mackenzie , professor of Government at Manchester . From 1956 to 1960 Leys was an Official Fellow and Tutor in Politics at Balliol , but took an opportunity to return to Africa in 1960 as the first Principal of Kivukoni College, established in Dar es Salaam by Julius Nyerere to train Tanzanians for leading public roles after independence. In 1962, Leys moved to Makerere University , Uganda, as head of
2385-436: Was an outspoken opponent of fox hunting , an advocate of Palestinian statehood and famously described his party's 1983 general election manifesto as " the longest suicide note in history ". A strong critic of the state of Israel , he called for economic sanctions against the state and denounced the state for committing atrocities (which he phrased as war crimes ) against the Palestinian people and their nation . Kaufman
2438-455: Was assaulted in 2004 by a group of pro- fox hunting campaigners and said that he was subjected to antisemitic taunts. These he said he found ironic as he had recently been accused of being a self-hating Jew by a member of the Board of Deputies of British Jews . Kaufman was implicated in the 2009 expenses scandal , where a number of British MPs made excessive expense claims, misusing their permitted allowances and expense accounts . He
2491-500: Was awarded an Honorary Demyship in 1952, and took a first in PPE in 1953. A significant influence was membership in the 'Cole Group', an evening seminar for a small group of students run by GDH Cole , the Chichele Professor of Social and Political Theory and a leading Fabian and co-operator. Leys co-edited the Labour Club's newspaper, the Oxford Clarion, and in 1951, with the late Sir Gerald Kaufmann , wrote an election manifesto called 'Labour Believes in Socialism'. From 1953 to 1956 he
2544-507: Was berated for his statements by pro-Israel MPs and the deputy speaker had to restore order. Conservative MP Robert Halfon accused Kaufman of using the bill reading for his own political agenda and claimed Kaufman's "hatred for Israel knows no bounds". On 30 March 2011, Kaufman was caught by a microphone in the Chamber of the House of Commons saying "here we are, the Jews again", when fellow Jewish Labour MP Louise Ellman rose to speak, for which he apologised. Ellman had stood to intervene in
2597-508: Was born in Leeds , the youngest of seven children of Louis and Jane Kaufman. His parents were both Polish Jews who moved to England before the First World War . After being educated at Leeds Grammar School , Kaufman studied at the University of Oxford ( Queen's College ), graduating with a degree in philosophy, politics and economics . During his time there, he was secretary of the Oxford University Labour Club , where he prevented Rupert Murdoch from standing for office because he broke
2650-451: Was found to have submitted expense claims that included £8,865 for a 40-inch LCD television, £1,851 for an antique rug imported from New York, and £225 for a rollerball pen. He blamed his self-diagnosed obsessive compulsive disorder for his claims, and also said that his condition led him to purchase a pair of Waterford Crystal grapefruit bowls on his parliamentary expenses. Between 2005 and 2007, he claimed £28,834 for home improvements. He
2703-517: Was in Namibia in 1993–95, studying the role of SWAPO in the country's post-war political economy with Professor John S. Saul of York University , Toronto, and a team of South African and Canadian researchers. Leys's initial interest in Africa was prompted by reading the anti-racist books on Kenya written in the inter-war years by his half-uncle Norman Leys , a doctor in the colonial medical service ( Kenya , The Colour Bar in East Africa , and Last Chance in Kenya ): Colin Leys's initial field work in
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#17327661442022756-433: Was most remembered for the "silent men of Westminster" sketch. He appeared as a guest on its successor, Not So Much a Programme, More a Way of Life . Becoming active again in politics, he was Parliamentary Press Liaison Officer for the Labour Party from 1965 to 1970 and eventually became a member of Prime Minister Harold Wilson 's informal "kitchen cabinet". At the 1955 general election Kaufman unsuccessfully contested
2809-436: Was subsequently summoned to the Parliamentary Fees Office to explain these claims, and in the end was reimbursed £15,329. He was also challenged over regular claims for "odd jobs", which he submitted without receipts at a rate of £245 per month, then £5 below the limit for unreceipted expenses, to which he replied by asking why those expenses were being queried. On 25 May 2010, during the Queen's Speech debate, Kaufman accused
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