Frank Dobson

Sculptor, born in London, UK. He was associated with the London Group for many years, and was professor of sculpture at the Royal College of Art until 1953. His individual style, with simplified contours and heavy limbs, is shown at its best in his female nudes.

Frank Gordon Dobson (born March 15, 1940) is a British politician and member of Parliament for Holborn and St. Pancras, for Labour.

Dobson was born in York and attended the London School of Economics where he studied economics. After fighting for a seat on Camden Borough Council in 1964, he was elected in 1971 and rose so rapidly that he was chosen as Labour Group Leader (and therefore Leader of the Council) after the resignation of Millie Miller in 1973.

He stood down as Leader in 1975 and resigned from the Council on taking up a non-partisan job as Assistant Secretary of the Office of Local Ombudsman. As Spokesman on Environment and London from 1994 he led the national Labour response to the series of scandals over Westminster City Council and its former leader Shirley Porter.

However, when Labour won power in 1997, Dobson was appointed as Secretary of State for Health.

Dobson was manoeuvred by the Labour Party leadership into announcing his resignation in order to stand as Mayor of London in the inaugural elections. He managed to beat Ken Livingstone in the Labour Party's internal selection, helped by an electoral system which was designed to favour him.

In the Labour leadership controversy following Tony Blair's declaration he would step down within a year of September 2006, Dobson called for Blair to step down right away and end uncertainty. Milburn had some hours been earlier been mentioned by Charles Clarke as a possible future Labour leader.