George was first elected to Parliament in a by-election on 13 November 1986 for Knowsley North. In 1997 following boundary changes the seat became Knowsley North and Sefton East, and in 2010 it merged with the old Knowsley South constituency to become Knowsley.

Born on Merseyside, he was educated at Huyton Secondary School, Kirkby College of Further Education, Liverpool Polytechnic and the University of Salford.

George moved into teaching in 1977 after training as an engineer. In 1980 he joined Cooperative Development Services (CDS) and was appointed Chief Executive of the Wales Cooperative Centre in 1982, holding that position until entering the House of Commons in 1986.

He was elected as a councillor to the Huyton District Council in 1971 and served in its successor, Knowsley Borough Council, until 1986. During that time George was chair of the Housing Committee and latterly the Finance Committee. He was also chair of the Knowsley South Constituency Labour Party for four years from 1981.

In Parliament George served as an opposition spokesperson on Environment 1989-1994 and Home Affairs 1994-1997. In 1997 he was appointed as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Home Office, and then went to the Northern Ireland Office in 1999. Since leaving the Government in 2001 he has served on a number of select committees including the Modernisation Committee and the Intelligence and Security Committee. He chaired the All Party Group on Liverpool, European Capital of Culture 2008 and became a member of the Privy Council in 2005.

During 2007 and 2008 he was a member of the sentencing commission working group which was set up following the review of prisons by Lord Carter of Coles.

George currently holds a number of officer positions for several of All Party Parliamentary Groups (APPG). He is Chair of the APPG for Vietnam, Vice Chair of both the Iraq APPG and Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) APPG as well as Treasurer of the Iraq Group.

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