Career
Challen unsuccessfully stood for parliament at the 1992 general election in the constituency of Beverley. He finished in third place and more than 22,000 votes behind the winner James Cran. He entered parliament at the 2001 general election for Morley and Rothwell following the retirement through ill health of Labour MP John Gunnell. Colin Challen was elected with a majority of 12,090 and made his maiden speech on 25 June 2001, in which he spoke of Herbert Henry Asquith who was born in Morley.
A member of the League Against Cruel Sports for almost thirty years, he served on several select committees: The Environmental Audit Committee (since 2001), the Joint Committee on Consolidation of Bills (since 2001), and the Unopposed Bills Panel (since 2004). He is an Honorary Associate of the National Secular Society.
On 29 January 2007 Challen announced that he would not contest the 2010 general election, in order to devote his time to campaigning on climate change, thus letting Ed Balls contest the new Morley and Outwood constituency, formed from a merger of parts of Morley and Rothwell and Balls' also abolished Normanton constituency.
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