Name: Bernard Brown
Avatar: John Barrowman
Apx Age: 50 [0 Points]
Party: Labour
Constituency: Erewash
Place of Birth: Ilkeston, UK
Gender: Male [0 Points]
Sexuality/Marriage Status: Straight, married with 6 children [5 points]
Faction: Blairite
Religion: Roman Catholic [3 Points]
Education: Attended a State School [0 Points]
University: Master’s Degree (Social Work) [5 Points]
Family History: Working Class [0 Points]
Professional Background:
Mid-Level Social Worker [15 Points]
Mid-Level Policeman [25 Points]
Mid-Level Naval Officer (Lieutenant, Retired) [25 Points]
Derbyshire County Council (4 Years) [9 Points]
MP for Erewash (Elected 1997) [0 Points]
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence People and Veterans (since 1999) [2 Points]
Sponsored a 10 minute rule bill to fund a train station in Ilkeston, a popular issue in his constituency. While the bill did not get time for debate, the bill received favourable coverage in local press [5 Points]
94/100 Points
Biographical Overview:
Bernard was born the eldest of 3 brothers to a working class family in Ilkeston. His father worked for the British Steel Corporation as a skilled labourer. While his father’s industry initially enjoyed some sufficencence, the gradual decline in British Steel hit his family hard. His father encouraged him to devote his time to his studies, and Bernard was a diligent student at the local public school and managed to graduate towards the top of his class. Bernard attended a local university in Derbyshire studying social work, and briefly discerned a vocation to the priesthood until he fell in love with his future wife, Martha. After receiving his degree, Bernard pursued a Masters in Social Work and married Martha. After receiving his Masters Degree, Bernard devoted himself to becoming a social worker, focusing particularly on finding homeless individuals housing and eventually became focused on veterans issues, eventually becoming the Deputy Director of Veterans Social Care in Derbyshire. In 1979, Bernard joined the Royal Navy and became one of the pioneering officers in the area of social work and mental health support for service-members and their families, providing support for trained Psychologists and Psychiatrists helping service members and their families cope with the stresses and complications of military service and separation. By the mid 1980’s, Bernard became increasingly called to lay ministry within the Roman Catholic Church, and eventually retired from military service in 1985. After prayer and discernment, he felt called to become a missionary in Brazil and, with the blessing of his wife, became a missionary to Recife, Brazil for a period of one year.
During his period of service as a missionary in Brazil, Bernard fell in love with the people of Brazil and the mission for social justice of Fr. Reginaldo Veloso, a charismatic Roman Catholic priest dedicated to the principles of Liberation Theology and using the message of Christ as a mechanism to provide meaningful change for the poorest among us and to make society better. Bernard became an outspoken ally of Fr. Veloso, and eventually ended up defending him publicly from the efforts of Archbishop Sobrinho to suppress his message. Bernard’s tenure in Brazil was not to last, however, and a month after his vocal defense of Fr. Veloso returned to England, only halfway through his one-year tenure as a missionary there.
Upon his return to the United Kingdom, Bernard joined the Derbyshire Constabulary in a new pilot program spearheaded by the county council to increase the role of social workers as part of an initiative to address the sources of crime and to help address crime among those suffering mental illness and homelessness within Derbyshire. As the Assistant Director of the new program, Bernard quickly achieved success with his Director, who was later elected to the County Council. Upon the election of his former Director to the County Council, Bernard was promoted to Director of the Community Policing Program, and continued the success of the program in reducing crime in Derbyshire and helping to connect offenders to resources to reduce recidivism.
After serving for nearly several years in the Derbyshire Constabulary, Bernard was persuaded by his former boss to run as a County Councillor, and was elected as a Labour Member of the council in 1993 where he served for a full term of 4 years. During his term, Bernard continued to champion the cause of community based policing and approaches to addressing the symptoms of crime, and supported and sponsored initiatives to address homeleness, poverty, and joblessness in Derbyshire. His activism caught the attention of his local Labour Party Chairman, who approached Bernard about standing to become the MP for Erewash, his home constituency. In the ensuing 1997 UK General Election, Bernard defeated the incumbent Conservative MP, flipping the seat from Conservative to Labour.
As an MP, Bernard has continued to be a voice for veterans affairs, community policing, and addressing the underlying causes of poverty within the United Kingdom. Bernard continues to be actively involved in his Roman Catholic parish, and continues to attribute his religious beliefs as a driving force in his goal of “being a force for good” in the United Kingdom. Despite his activism for social justice, Bernard remains a pragmatist, and has associated himself firmly with the Blairite wing of the party. Although he is one of the more left-leaning Blairites, he views the Socialist Campaign Group as “radical” and unable to actually effectuate change in the United Kingdom. Bernard continues to believe that gradual, practical progress that can be effectuated through compromise and time is more beneficial to vaunted ideological viewpoints that are noble, but are unable to be achieved, and has been eager to work with the Blairite wing of the party to achieve these “small step” reforms to make society better. This has created a rather complicated relationship with Bernard and the factions of the Labour Party.
In 1999, Bernard was appointed as Under-Secretary of State for Defence People and Veterans, and has made a priority of seeking to address homelessness among British Veterans as well as reducing suicide rates among veterans and increasing mental health support for those who served.
In his free time, Bernard can be found volunteering for local charities, playing in the park with one (or all!) of his 6 children, riding around Ilkeston on his red cycle humming tunes from Gilbert & Sullivan, and sneaking off to the pub for a fun night on the town with the mates to escape the children.
While Bernard is no longer an active missionary, he remains a devout Catholic and, when able, attends Mass daily at Westminster Cathedral while in London, just a short walk from the Houses of Parliament, and attends the parish of Our Lady & St. Thomas with his family while in the Constituency. Prior to his election to Parliament, Bernard was a member of the Parish Council and was active in parish life. Following his election, Bernard has left the Parish Council, but his wife Martha remains a visible presence in the Parish, frequently volunteering at the reception desk and serving as head of the altar guild.
Charity remains an essential aspect of Bernard’s life, and he has worked hard to instill the principles of Christ to every member of his family. Bernard and his wife, when able, volunteer frequently at various charities in the constituency serving the poor, the homeless, the needy, veterans, etc. Bernard also expects his children to regularly volunteer for charities once they are of an appropriate age to do so.
Bernard has six children: Malcolm (24), Avery (21), Eustice (18), Matilda (18) [Eustice and Matilda are fraternal twins], Alice (15), and Ezekial (12). Malcolm is engaged to his fiancee and the Brown family eagerly looks forward to their upcoming nuptials. Malcolm has also followed in his father’s footsteps and has enlisted in the Royal Navy. Avery is currently discerning a vocation to the Priesthood and is studying Theology at St. Mary’s University.
