| John Hemming (politician) |
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John Alexander Melvin Hemming (born 16 March 1960 ) is Group Chair of the Liberal Democrats on the city council of Birmingham , England . He was appointed to the position of Chair of the Birmingham Strategic Partnership and is an elected councillor for South Yardley Ward. In 2005 , he was elected as Member Of Parliament for Birmingham Yardley . He is the first Liberal or Liberal Democrat to win a seat in Birmingham since Wallace Lawler won in Birmingham Ladywood in 1969 . In 2004, Hemming became deputy leader of Birmingham City Council in a deal where the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats shared control of the City Council. He stood down from this position on his election to parliament in 2005. Hemming, a self-made millionaire, was educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham and Magdalen College, Oxford , where he showed an early interest in politics, standing as Liberal candidate for Secretary of the OUSU. He was beaten into fourth place by the dog standing for the 'Silly Party' {Link without Title} . He was also elected as the Policy Convenor of Magdalen College JCR and was the only Student to be represented both on the Joint Committee with the General Board and the Joint Committee with the Hebdomadal Council. While at Magdalen, he organised a successful rent strike, aided by the JCR Secretary, Peter Clinch. He trained as a scientist, and was a candidate for the UK astronaut programme, although he did not make the shortlist of four candidates from which Helen Sharman was eventually selected to become Britain's first astronaut. In 1994, he created the first ECommerce operation outside the USA MarketNet , creating the first Insurance, Travel and Banking services in the world on the net. He also wrote the second implementation of SSL following Netscape in 1995, and according to his own site, is familiar with eight programming languages and six human languages [http://www.yardley.libdems.org.uk/john]. He remains chairman of JHC plc , the company he founded as John Hemming and Co in 1983. He also performs as a jazz pianist in the Birmingham area and is member of the Musicians' Union. He has played with Andy Hamilton And The Blue Notes , the John Patrick Quartet, and Digby Fairweather. He has a long-standing interest in the region and its ancient identity as Mercia , having as a student being elected to represent Oxford Students at the NUS conference as a Mercian Nationalist and in 1997 set up his own record company, Music Mercia International [http://theyworkforyou.com/mp/john_hemming/birmingham,_yardley . In 2000, Hemming was a joint founder of the Phoenix Consortium {Link without Title} . He was pushed out by John Towers at an early stage. In 2003, he investigated taking legal action to force changes in the way the company was being managed. He also campaigns against Election Fraud. He drafted the Election Petition for the Birmingham Ward of Aston in 2004 that highlighted the fact that Labour Candidates were driving around the city with blank postal votes and filling them in on an industrial estate in Witton. The consequent by-election in 2005 resulted in three Lib Dem Candidates winning. Shortly after his election in 2005 , he made headlines when it was revealed that he was having a child with his researcher and fellow councillor Emily Cox , and that he would support the mother and child, but that he was staying with his existing wife and three children. His wife commented that she is standing by him, as he has always been honest about his extra-marital affairs, of which she said jokingly there had been no less than 26 (a number Hemming says is an exaggeration). [http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=16566442&method=full&siteid=94762&headline=vote-libido-dem---name_page.html He has fought a number of General Elections: in 1983 (Hall Green), 1987 (Small Heath) and 1992, 1997 and 2001 (Yardley) before winning in 2005. As an MP, Hemming has shown a particular interest in gas, and possible shortages, asking dozens of questions in Parliament on the issue, and running a blog on the subject {Link without Title} . As an MP he campaigns on a wide range of issues. Recent successes include getting the Passport Agency to change rules on photographs for children and getting Ofcom to start the process of stopping "Silent Calls". Following , but said he would be willing to do the same for any serious candidate. He subsequently declared for Sir Menzies Campbell . EXTERNAL LINKS
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