Alan Keen was elected as the Labour MP for Feltham and Heston in 1992, prior to which he had worked as a scout for Middlesborough FC. He carried his enthusiasm for the sport forward into his political career as the chairman of the all-party parliamentary groups on football and athletics and a member of the culture, media and sport select committee.
He has died from cancer aged 73 and is survived by two sons, a daughter and his wife Ann, former MP for Brentford and Isleworth until 2010.
Remembering "the greatest champion of football in Parliament", Gordon Brown said Keen "was a great, locally popular, dilligent London MP, and a great fighter for local causes.
"He was a great footballer, and a scout for his favourite club Middlesbrough F.C. for eighteen years. Working with Jackie Charlton, the footballers he spotted included Graeme Souness.
"He was Chairman of the All Party Football Group with over 150 members from both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, making it one of the largest All Party Groups at the Palace of Westminster and spoke up for the grassroots and fans. He conducted two major inquiries into 'English Football and its Governance'.
"I salute his bravery in facing cancer – fighting it as long as he could - and he will be remembered as someone who taught us how to fight illness. As he acknowledged the NHS could not have done more to be of help and support."
Labour leader Ed Miliband described Keen as a "decent, generous man."
“Alan was Labour to his core – loyal, passionate about social justice and deeply committed to a fairer society," said Miliband.
“A dedicated football fan, Alan continued to play for the parliamentary football team until his illness took hold. He was a great believer in the power of sport to help young people from disadvantaged backgrounds make the best of their lives.
“Alan was great friend to me and he will be sorely missed by all.”
Tracey Crouch, the Conservative MP for Chatham and Aylesford, is an FA qualified coach who manages a girl's football team in her spare time. She paid tribute to another footballing politician this morning, describing Keen as a "genuinely nice man" who "used to tell fascinating tales of his time as a scout for Middlesborough"
Also among those paying tribute are Keen's colleagues on the culture, media and sport select committee. Louise Mensch, a conservative, said she was "very, very sad" to hear of the death of her "good-humoured" colleague.
In his tribute, Alistair Campbell remembered a politician who, when it came to football, "knew what he was on about".
"He always knew the score of Burnley’s last game, which should of course be common knowledge amongst all humanity but alas tends to be confined to a minority," said Campbell.
"The last time I saw him, he came up to me and said the single word ‘jealous’ – because a while ago I had played in a charity match at the club’s Riverside stadium.
“It is not unknown for MPs to switch football allegiance when they get a seat away from their home base, but Alan never lost the Boro blood coursing through his veins. He went to Brentford not just because they were his local team when he moved to London, but more because he could watch football all day long.”
On Twitter, other Labour grandees have expressed sorrow at his death. Ken Livingstone said he was "very sad to hear the news that Alan Keen MP has died. My thoughts are with his family and friends today."
Deputy Labour leader Harriet Harman tweeted "So sad about Alan Keen. Deeply committed and thoughtful. Will be greatly missed."
Comments
Brian Whitington / November 15 2011 1:23am
Alan Keen was my friend. I first met him in 1990, having been introduced by Ann who had encouraged me into the Labour Party. Almost immediately I joined his campaign team, ultimately becoming his Agent for the 1992 campaign. It has been noted elsewhere that no-one assumed he would win the seat. Nonsense. Alan came to me and said work with me and we will win this, and the London Labour Party agreed, and paid for me to work on his campaign full time.
When he won, we drove to Westminster for him to take up his seat. We handed out his election address to every copper we met, and to all he said: "Can I say hello, I'm Alan". He always said for people to call him Alan. What people didn't ever know was we nearly ran over the Duke of Kent outside the Guards Barracks on the way there!
Alan was a kind, decent, generous man who fiercely stood by the underdog and what the good people of Feltham and Heston understood and believed in was that he worked on their behalf which is why in the face of some media attacks they re-elected him handsomely. I was his Agent again in 2010 and I am terribly sad that no-one can do this again.
Brian Whitington
Mark Bowen / November 15 2011 11:36am
I was the Conservative candidate in Feltham & Heston at both the 2005 & 2010 General Elections. Alan and I always had respect for each other. Whilst we disagreed on some issues, we were at one on issues such as being strong supporters of maintaining First Past the Post.
There is clearly a lot of affection for Alan and I enjoyed reading both this posting and the comments from Brian.
As Leader of the Conservative Group on Hounslow Council, I made the following remarks on the following news release, along with Jagdish Sharma who is Leader of the Council and Labour Group:
http://www.hounslow.gov.uk/news_mod_home/news_mod_year/news_mod_month/news_mod_show?year1=2011&month1=11&NewsID=49632