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Harry Cohen

Harry Michael Cohen (born 10 December 1949, in Hackney, London) is a Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom. He is the Member of Parliament for Leyton and Wanstead.

Early life

Cohen left the George Gascoigne Secondary Modern school (closed in 1966) on Queens Road in Walthamstow at 15, and went on to train as a public service accountant at the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, as well as studying part-time at East Ham Technical College (became Newham College of Further Education). He later obtained an MSc in Politics and Administration from Birkbeck College, University of London in 1995. He became an accountant and auditor for the boroughs of Waltham Forest, Hackney and Haringey, then later for the union NALGO (became part of UNISON in 1993).

He was elected as a local councillor in Waltham Forest at the age of 22, and served for 11 years before becoming an MP.

Parliamentary career

Cohen was first elected to the House of Commons at the 1983 general election as Member of Parliament for Leyton, transferring to the new Leyton and Wanstead constituency after boundary changes for the 1997 general election.

He was a member of the House of Commons Defence Select Committee between 1997-2001, and has been a member of the Work and Pensions Select Committee since 2005.

On 31 October, 2006, Cohen was one of 12 Labour MPs to back Plaid Cymru and the Scottish National Party's call for an inquiry into the Iraq War.

Cohen is Chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Tibet and Secretary of the All-Party Parliamentary Race and Community Group. He is a member of the Socialist Campaign Group, a signatory to Jews for Justice for Palestinians, and counts Karl Marx, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and the Dalai Lama as political influences.

He married Ellen Hussain in 1978 and they have a grown-up family with stepson, stepdaughter, foster son, and grandchildren. They live in Chelmsford with their three cats and a Jack Russell named Rosa, after Rosa Luxemburg. Harry is a fan of Leyton Orient F.C. and enjoys a wide variety of music, including Shostakovich.