title: Alan Sugar

text: In September 2012, Sugar appeared as himself in a cameo in the "Doctor Who" episode "The Power of Three". Sugar's cameo was filmed on the set of "The Apprentice".


title: Alan Sugar

text: In November 2012, Sugar appeared as himself in a cameo in a special episode of "EastEnders" for "Children in Need".


title: Alan Sugar

text: Amsair Executive Aviation was founded in 1993, and is run by Sugar's son Daniel Paul Sugar. As with Amstrad, the name Amsair is an acronym taken from the initials of Sugar's name "Alan Michael Sugar Air." Amsair operates a large Cessna fleet, and one Embraer Legacy 650 with the registration G-SUGA, offering business and executive jet charters.


title: Alan Sugar

text: Amsprop is a property investment firm owned by Sugar and is now controlled by his son Daniel Paul Sugar.


title: Alan Sugar

text: Simon Ambrose, winner of the 2007 series of The Apprentice, started working for Amsprop Estates after the series finished. However, in April 2010, he was reported to be leaving to start his own venture.


title: Alan Sugar

text: Sugar was the owner (and Chairman of the board) of Viglen Ltd, an IT services provider catering primarily to the education and public sector. He resigned his position on 1 July 2009. Following the sale of Amstrad PLC to BSkyB, Viglen was Sugar's sole IT establishment until its sale to XMA in 2014.


title: Alan Sugar

text: Sugar is Chairman of Amscreen, a company run by his eldest son Simon Sugar, specialising in selling advertising space on digital signage screens that it provides to retailers, medical centres and leisure venues. "Apprentice" winner Yasmina Siadatan worked there, selling into the NHS.


title: Alan Sugar

text: The screens use a Face detection system called OptimEyes to try to identify age and sex of its viewers.


title: Alan Sugar

text: In July 2008, Amscreen purchased Comtech M2M, which was founded in September 1992, originally specialising in communications product retailing. This was before entering the M2M market in 1999. On 29 August 2008, Comtech M2M officially changed names to Amscreen Limited.


title: Alan Sugar

text: On 7 March 2011, Sugar replaced Kip Meek on the board of the BBC initiated IPTV project known as YouView (formerly known as Project Canvas) which is also backed by ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 and broadband providers including BT and TalkTalk. Sugar was paid £500,000 for chairing YouView for the year ending March 2012.


title: Alan Sugar

text: In February 2009, the "Evening Standard" journalist Andrew Gilligan claimed that Sugar had been approached to be the Labour candidate for Mayor of London in 2012. Sugar subsequently ridiculed the claim in an interview with "The Guardian". But, during Prime Minister Gordon Brown's cabinet reshuffle on 5 June 2009, the BBC reported that Sugar would be given a life peerage and had been offered a job as the government's "Enterprise Champion". On 7 June 2009, Sugar sought to clarify the non-political nature of his appointment. He stated that he would not be joining the government, that the appointment was politically neutral, and that all he wanted to do was help businesses and entrepreneurs. On 20 July 2009, he was made Baron Sugar, "of Clapton, in the London Borough of Hackney". He made his maiden speech in the House of Lords on 25 November 2009.


title: Alan Sugar

text: In August 2014, Sugar was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to "The Guardian" expressing their hope that Scotland would vote to remain part of the United Kingdom in September's referendum on that issue.


title: Alan Sugar

text: From 1997 until 2015, Sugar was a member of the Labour Party and also one of its largest donors. On 11 May 2015, four days after the 2015 United Kingdom general election, he announced that he was leaving the party. He issued a statement to say:


title: Alan Sugar

text: Before the 2016 London mayoral election, Sugar claimed that he is popular politically, and repeatedly urged the public to not vote for Sadiq Khan. Khan won.


title: Alan Sugar

text: For the United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 2016, he endorsed the "Remain" campaign. In May 2017, Sugar endorsed Theresa May for the 2017 United Kingdom general election.


title: Alan Sugar

text: During a June 2017 radio interview with LBC's Nick Ferrari, Sugar said when asked about the 2017 election results that "it's very, very surprising. I think I'd join a lot of people when I say the Theresa May and Conservative campaign was very lacking in what they were going to offer the public" and that "Jeremy Corbyn did a very good job wooing the young and educated people. I would add that those people who voted for him are quite bright and educated, but also not very experienced in life".


title: Alan Sugar

text: On 31 March 2018, after complaints from Labour politicians, Sugar deleted a tweet showing an edited image of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in a car with Adolf Hitler. The incident occurred after Corbyn said the party "must do better" in resolving the party's problems with antisemitism. Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell had urged him to "delete and disown" the tweet. Sugar responded that he was "not the originator" and that "There is no smoke without fire in Labour".


title: Alan Sugar

text: In December 2018, Sugar announced during a television interview that he would leave Britain if Corbyn became prime minister.


title: Alan Sugar

text: Sugar endorsed Boris Johnson during the 2019 Conservative Party leadership election. He later endorsed the Conservative Party in the 2019 general election.


title: Alan Sugar

text: Sugar has stated that he is an atheist, but remains proud of his Jewish heritage. Sugar and his now wife, Ann Simons, a former hairdresser, married on 28 April 1968 at Great Portland Street, London. They have two sons and a daughter. The couple live in Chigwell, Essex.


title: Alan Sugar

text: Sugar owns a four-seat Cirrus SR22 aircraft and a 13-seat Embraer Legacy 650 jet. During an attempted landing in his Cirrus at the grass airfield City Airport Manchester on 5 July 2008, Sugar overshot the runway after touchdown due to poor weather and wet field conditions. No injuries were sustained, although the plane was slightly damaged and consequently grounded.


title: Alan Sugar

text: In February 2009, it was reported that Sugar had initiated legal proceedings against "The Sun" newspaper following a report that he had been named on a "hit list" of British Jews in response to Israel's ongoing military operation in Gaza. The threats are alleged to have been made by Glen Jenvey, the source of the original story in "The Sun", who posted to a Muslim website under a false identity. On 10 June 2020, Sugar, a pilot since 1975, announced on Twitter that he was taking delivery of a new 2020 Cirrus SR22T single-engine aircraft from the United States where he owns a Florida home and multiple boats, including a refurbished one named "Little Tub" and a superyacht.


title: Alan Sugar

text: In February 2022, 70-year-old Patrick Gomes was jailed for three years and six months for sending antisemitic death threats to Sugar, in response to him speaking about antisemitism in the Labour Party.


title: Alan Sugar

text: Sugar was knighted in the 2000 New Year Honours "for services to the Home Computer and Electronics Industry". He holds two honorary Doctorates of Science, awarded in 1988 by City University and in 2005 by Brunel University. He is a philanthropist for charities such as Jewish Care and Great Ormond Street Hospital, and donated £200,000 to the British Labour Party in 2001. Sugar was created a life peer as Baron Sugar, "of Clapton in the London Borough of Hackney" on 20 July 2009. On 29 October 2015, Sugar was listed by UK-based company Richtopia at number 5 in the list of 100 Most Influential British Entrepreneurs. In 2017 he ranked number 1 in the "Essex Power 100" list and was named the most powerful person in Essex.


title: Alan Sugar

text: Sugar has been accused of having an "outdated" attitude towards women. Regarding the 1970s UK law which states that it is discriminatory and hence illegal for women to be asked at interview whether they plan to have children, Sugar is quoted as saying "These laws are counter-productive for women, that's the bottom line. You're not allowed to ask, so it's easy – just don't employ them. It will get harder to get a job as a woman."


title: Alan Sugar

text: On 30 September 2013, Sugar tweeted a picture of Chinese child crying 'because he was told off for leaving production line of iPhone 5'. The message was investigated by the Merseyside police force's specialist hate crime investigation team, who decided that it should be classed as a "hate incident" although no crime had taken place.


title: Alan Sugar

text: On 20 June 2018, Sugar tweeted a picture of the Senegal national football team edited next to images of fake handbags and sunglasses, claiming that some of the players looked just like hawkers he had encountered in Marbella. He later defended his tweet as a joke before taking it down, after accusations of racism.


title: Garam masala

text: Garam masala [from Hindustani / ("garm masala", "hot spices")] is a blend of ground spices originating from India. It is common in Indian, Pakistani, Nepalese, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan and Caribbean cuisines. It is used alone or with other seasonings.


title: Garam masala

text: The composition of garam masala differs regionally, with many recipes across the Indian subcontinent according to regional and personal taste, and none is considered more authentic than another. The components of the mix are roasted, then ground together or added to the dish for flavour just before finishing cooking.


title: Garam masala

text: Some recipes call for the spices to be blended with herbs, while others call for the spices to be ground with water, vinegar, or other liquids to make a paste. Some recipes include nuts, onions or garlic, or small quantities of star anise, asafoetida, chili, stone flower (known as "dagadphool, lichen"), and "kababchini" ("cubeb"). The flavours may be blended to achieve a balanced effect, or a single flavour may be emphasized. A masala may be toasted before use to release its flavours and aromas. In the east of the Indian subcontinent, in West Bengal, Orissa, Assam and Bangladesh only cardamom, cinnamon and clove may be substituted for the assortment.


title: Garam masala

text: The Burmese "masala" () spice blend used in Burmese curries typically consists of ground cinnamon or cassia, cardamon, cloves, and black pepper.


title: Ash Ketchum

text: Ash Ketchum, known as in Japan, is a fictional character in the "Pokémon" franchise owned by Nintendo. He is the protagonist of the "Pokémon" anime and certain manga series as well as on various merchandise related to the franchise. In Japanese, the character is voiced by Rika Matsumoto. Hana Takeda voices 6 year old Ash in episode 1 of "". In the English dub, he was voiced by Veronica Taylor in the first eight seasons and has been voiced by Sarah Natochenny since season 9.


title: Ash Ketchum

text: Ash is a young man who travels with various companions, aiming to fulfill his dream to become a Pokémon Master and the greatest Pokémon Trainer in the world; his Pokémon lineup greatly evolves over the course of the series, with its sole constant member being Pikachu (nicknamed "Ash's Pikachu" by fans), the only character besides Ash to remain part of the series for its entirety. Ash is loosely based on Red, the player character from the Generation I games "Pokémon Red", "Green", "Blue" and "Yellow" as well as their remakes "Pokémon FireRed" and "LeafGreen". His English name is derived from the Japanese name (as the letters 'ash' are included in 'Satoshi') and his English motto is derived from the Japanese motto (as the letters 'Gotta catch 'em all!' are included in 'Pokémon getto da ze!').


title: Ash Ketchum

text: Ash Ketchum was first mentioned in a video game at the dialogue of "Pokémon Play It!", and his first appearance in a game was in "Pokémon Puzzle League". Satoshi Tajiri, the creator of Pokémon, with whom Ash shares his Japanese name, has stated that Ash represents the 'human aspect' of the series, and that Ash reflects what he himself was like as a kid. As the protagonist of the "Pokémon" anime, Ash has appeared in almost all episodes of the anime and all the films.


title: Ash Ketchum

text: Due to the huge popularity, success, and longevity of the "Pokémon" anime series around the world since its debut, Ash has gone on to become one of the most well-known and recognizable fictional characters of all-time due to his status as the protagonist of the "Pokémon" anime. However, he is often overshadowed in series representation by the franchise mascot, Pikachu. Despite this, Ash, along with others from the series, is considered a pop culture icon, and a figurehead character of the wave of anime in the late 1990s; which is credited by most anime fans as having popularized anime in the west, alongside others such as Goku of "Dragon Ball Z", Yugi of "Yu-Gi-Oh!", and Sailor Moon of the show of the same name. He is also considered a major icon for Japanese pop culture in the United States.


title: Ash Ketchum

text: Ash has been criticized for being stuck in a 'floating timeline', as well as for his long-lasting inability to win any major Pokémon leagues; he would win his first major league, the Alola League, during the anime's in 2019. However, his longevity and persistence have also been positively received by major news outlets such as CNN and the BBC, as they are seen to represent that it is never too late to achieve one's dreams. Ash's outfits through the anime, especially his various hats, are also considered to be just as iconic as him, and also have good reception, in particular, his first costume from the original series.


title: Ash Ketchum

text: On the 132th episode of the Journeys series Ash becomes World Champion referred as "Monarch". In December 2022, The Pokémon Company announced that after a final story arc, "Journeys in the West", concluding Ash's story, the next arc of the anime, premiering in April 2023, would not feature Ash, but instead two new protagonists.


title: Ash Ketchum

text: Named after creator Satoshi Tajiri, Satoshi, whose name can be taken to mean "wisdom" or "reason", was designed by Ken Sugimori and Atsuko Nishida, and intended to represent how Tajiri was as a child, obsessed with catching bugs. During localization of both for North American audiences, the character's name was changed in the anime to "Ash Ketchum", the first name taken from one of the possible default names players could select for the player character in "Pokémon Red" and "Blue", and the surname tying into the former tagline (and as of Pokémon XY revived) for the series, "Gotta catch ém all!" ("ポケモンGETだぜ!", "Pokémon getto da ze!").


title: Ash Ketchum

text: Tajiri noted in an interview that between Japanese and US reactions to the series, Japanese consumers focused on the character Pikachu, while the US purchased more items featuring Ash and Pikachu, his Pokémon, together. He stated that he felt the character represented the concept of the franchise, the human aspect, and was a necessity. The character was given a rival named Gary Oak ("Shigeru Okido" in the Japanese version, after Tajiri's idol/mentor, Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto), loosely based on Red's rival Blue. In an interview Tajiri noted the contrast between the characters' relationship in the games and anime; while in the games they were rivals, in the anime, Shigeru represented Satoshi's master. When asked if either Satoshi would equal or surpass Shigeru, Tajiri replied "No! Never!" Ash's character design was initially overseen by Sayuri Ichishi, replaced by Toshiya Yamada during the "Diamond" and "Pearl" storyline arc. Ash received a redesign in the "Best Wishes!" series, which included larger brown irises. In the "XY" series, he received minor changes, such as a decrease in the size of the 'birthmarks' on his cheeks. Ash received a major design overhaul for the "Sun" and "Moon" anime series, which started airing in Japan on November 17, 2016.


title: Ash Ketchum

text: In episode 28 of , "Seeing the Forest for the Trees!", it reveals the true story of why Ash Ketchum loved Pokémon. When he was a little boy, Ash went to the forest to look for wild Pokémon. However, during the trip in the woods, it started to rain, and Ash got lost and was so scared to the point of bursting into tears. Ash was forced to take shelter under a hollow tree. However, he noticed a group of Pokémon who were also seeking shelter from the rain. So, he invited them inside the tree and the Pokémon kept him safe and warm. This made Ash so happy that he wondered how much he wanted to become a Pokémon trainer to travel across the entire world with his Pokémon friends.


title: Ash Ketchum

text: In the first episode of , Ash at the age of six asked his mother if he can go to Professor Oak's Pokémon Summer Camp which she happily signed him up. However, Ash missed the camp due to breaking his alarm clock and overslept.


title: Ash Ketchum

text: In episode 7 of the seventeenth season , "Giving Chase at the Rhyhorn Race!", Ash attends Professor Oak's Pokémon Summer Camp, where he had previously met his childhood friend Serena. At one point during the camp, Serena had hurt her knee from falling over after being startled by a Poliwag. Ash had used his handkerchief to wrap up her injury, which she had kept, and returns to Ash in this episode.


title: Ash Ketchum

text: In episode 58 of , "The Ties That Bind!", Ash started his rivalry with Gary, Professor Oak's grandson, after they both fished out an old PokéBall then broke it in half. After that, Ash and Gary kept both half as a reminder of the day they started their rivalry.


title: Ash Ketchum

text: The series starts with the episode "Pokémon, I Choose You!", with Ash's tenth birthday, which according to Pokémon trainer registration bylaws allowed him to become a full-fledged Pokémon trainer and obtain a starter Pokémon. As a ten-year-old hailing from Pallet Town in the Kanto region, Ash was offered a choice between three Pokémon as his starter: Bulbasaur, Squirtle and Charmander. While he was planning to choose Squirtle, he received the electric type Pokémon Pikachu from Professor Oak instead in this episode, because he woke up late and all the other starter Pokémon had been taken by other trainers. After receiving Pikachu and a Pokédex, Ash left Pallet Town to start his journey. Since then Ash has traveled the world of Pokémon, competed in many challenges and caught newer Pokémon. He has met many companions, such as Misty and Brock.


title: Ash Ketchum

text: Throughout the series, Ash's primary enemies are a criminal organization called Team Rocket, specifically the two comical and bumbling members, Jessie and James, and their talking Meowth, who is essentially the third member of the group. Ever since being defeated by Ash's Pikachu in the second episode, "Pokémon Emergency!", the three of them have obsessively never stopped chasing after them to steal Ash's Pikachu, maintaining the delusion that Pikachu is abnormally powerful and presenting it to their criminal boss would make them very rich. As the enduring comical villains of the series, the Team Rocket trio occasionally show signs of goodness, such as care and friendship with their Pokémon and each other, and despite their constant antagonism, they occasionally put their differences aside and work together with Ash against a common threat, such as in "", where they aid Ash in retrieving the three treasures in order to save the world.


title: Ash Ketchum

text: During his travels, Ash still had a lot to learn as a trainer. He caught his Pokémon by merely befriending them, knew absolutely nothing about battling, and many of his gym badges were earned rather controversially. In fact, the only legitimate victories were over Lt. Surge, Koga, and Blaine, while the others were earned on technical convenience or given to him out of gratitude. Ash also shows a deep love for Pokémon in the series, protecting wild Pokémon or his own from getting injured or trying to help them, despite getting significantly hurt himself. He honed his skill as a Pokémon trainer and was able to get all 8 badges, enabling him to compete in the Indigo League. Ash was able to go to the 5th round, and achieve the Top 16 — one round further than his competitive rival Gary, who finished in the Top 32. However, due to his inexperience in handling his more powerful Pokémon, Ash was eliminated from his first Pokémon League competition in a very unflattering manner, which greatly disappointed him but he got over it and vowed to not make the same mistake in a league again.


title: Ash Ketchum

text: Ash traveled to the Orange Islands with Misty and Tracey Sketchit, a Pokémon watcher, obtained all 4 badges and competed in the Orange League to battle Drake, the Orange League Champion and he won the Orange League.


title: Ash Ketchum

text: He then traveled on to the Johto region with Brock and Misty, hoping to meet with Gary and finally defeat him in the Johto League. He won 8 badges and competed in the Johto Conference. Ash beat Gary again, in the 1st round of the conference, and was able to make it to the quarter-finals, and achieve a Top 8 finish.


title: Ash Ketchum

text: Ash then moved on and traveled through the Hoenn region, along with Brock and two new characters: May, an aspiring Pokémon coordinator, and her younger brother Max, and together they ended up bringing down the rival teams Team Magma and Team Aqua. He was able to get all 8 badges and then competed in the Hoenn Conference and lost in the 3rd round.


title: Ash Ketchum

text: Having gone through several leagues and gotten a lot stronger, Ash decided to challenge the Kanto "Battle Frontier" and its 7 Brains (leaders). Brock, May, and Max accompanied him. Ash defeated all of the Brains and acquired all the 7 Battle Frontier symbols, becoming a "Strong Battle Frontier champion" and qualifying for becoming a Frontier Brain himself. However, Ash, wanting to learn more about Pokémon and get even stronger, decided to continue his journey, not as a Frontier Brain, but as a trainer. However, having acquired all 7 symbols, he left with the privilege of becoming a Frontier Brain if and when he wants in the future.


title: Ash Ketchum

text: Ash, along with Brock, traveled to Sinnoh, befriended a new traveling companion, Dawn, and also found a brutal new rival in Paul; and through their journey they encountered and defeated Team Galactic. Ash won all 8 Sinnoh gym badges and competed in the Sinnoh conference at the Lily of the Valley Island. He eventually faced Paul in the quarter-finals of the Sinnoh League Festival and finally defeated him, marking the first time Ash has ever made it into the semi-finals in a Pokémon League. Afterwards, however, Ash was matched against Tobias, a trainer who famously swept all eight Sinnoh League gyms and all other opponents with only his legendary Pokémon Darkrai. Ash was eventually defeated by Tobias, but not without having defeated his Darkrai, as well as his Latios, which is also a legendary Pokémon, whom Ash also defeated in a draw with his final Pokémon, making Ash the only known trainer to have defeated two of Tobias' legendary Pokémon. Ash concluded his participation in the Sinnoh League with an impressive new ranking. He bade farewell with Dawn in Twinleaf Town, and parted ways with Brock for the last time.


title: Ash Ketchum

text: Once again, Ash continued his journey to the Unova region, with only his Pikachu. Here, he met and traveled with two new companions: a female trainer named Iris, and a Pokémon Connoisseur named Cilan, who, like Brock before him, is a gym leader. Throughout Unova, Ash met and competed against more rivals than before, including Trip, Bianca, Stephan, Cameron, and Virgil, most of whom he befriended. Unlike previous seasons, Ash notoriously displayed a drop in skill and competence, and instead regressed back to a beginner, showing little of his previous expertise and relearned many of the basics of catching Pokémon (though this may have been due to over-excitement of entering a new region with exclusive Pokémon, and slowly wore off as the seasons went on). However, Ash still managed to win all eight gym badges in Unova and then entered the Unova League, where he defeated his arrogant rival, Trip, in the first match, but was defeated by Cameron in the quarter-finals, one match below his previous Pokémon League ranking. Cameron was then defeated by Virgil, who went on to win the League with his team of Eevee evolutions. Also unlike previous seasons, Ash battled against a much more malevolent Team Rocket, as well as the evil Team Plasma. After his latest attempt to compete in the Unova League, and foiling both Team Rocket and Team Plasma's attempts to enslave Pokémon to conquer the world, Ash's friends traveled with him back to Kanto, where they parted to go own their ways and bade each other farewell.


title: Ash Ketchum

text: Ash then ventured to the Kalos region to challenge the Kalos League, as well as learn more about Mega Evolution, a transformation that can take certain fully evolved Pokémon to a more powerful temporary form. While there, he began traveling with the siblings Clemont and Bonnie, along with Serena, whom he had met during a Pokémon summer camp in Pallet Town when they were much younger. Ash gained new rivals like Sawyer and Alain. While in Kalos, Ash befriended and acquired new Pokémon, including Froakie, which later evolved into a powerful Greninja. Although Ash did not yet have a Pokémon that can mega-evolve (at least not in his current party), the group discovered that his Greninja was capable of "Bond Phenomenon", a transformation where Ash and Greninja connect mentally and Greninja's body changes to a color scheme resembling Ash. Like Mega Evolution, the transformation is temporary and makes "Ash-Greninja" much more powerful and well capable of defeating mega-evolved Pokémon. Currently, no other known Pokémon in existence is capable of Bond Phenomenon, and several rivals took great interest in competing with it in the Kalos League with their own mega-evolving Pokémon. Like before, Ash earned all eight gym badges qualifying him to compete in the Kalos League, and with his newest Pokémon, Ash defeated many opponents and their mega-evolved Pokémon, advancing all the way to the finals, breaking his previous highest ranking, but was defeated by Alain. After the tournament, Ash and his friends got involved in Team Flare, the local evil organization, final operation to take over Kalos. During the crisis, Ash and his Pokémon were captured by Team Flare, who unlike Team Rocket and the previous evil organizations, Team Magma and Team Galactic, he dealt with in the past who captured him so he wouldn't meddle in their plans or used him as a hostage, as their leader, Lysandre, wanted to use him alongside Greninja for his plans. Ash's other Pokémon were used by Team Flare as hostages in an attempt to get Ash and Greninja to cooperate. Team Flare used a mini version of their device, capable of controlling Zygarde, in an attempt to control Ash along with Greninja for their Bond Phenomenon while Pikachu and the rest of Ash's Kalos Pokémon watched in shock. However, Ash, who was able to hear Pikachu's voice, and Greninja resisted Team Flare's control as they couldn't break their fighting spirit and the bond they share for their friends and each other then used Bond Phenomenon to break free from their restraints. After Alain freed Ash's Pokémon from their restraints, Ash and his Pokémon were ready to stop Team Flare once and for all with Alain, who was once a Team Flare member, but decided to help stop them as he saw through his mistakes and due to his friendship with Ash as well, helping. Once Team Flare was stopped, Ash released Greninja to help protect Kalos from other threats. Ash and Greninja also wanted to keep themselves and their friends, especially Pikachu and the rest of the Kalos members, out of harm's way knowing that someone like Team Flare would not only try to use their abilities for evil, but would also use anyone close to them as hostages in an attempt to get what they want. Ash then bade farewell to his friends, before returning to Pallet Town once again.


title: Ash Ketchum

text: During a vacation with his mother on Melemele Island in the Alola Region, Ash had an encounter with Tapu Koko, one of the local Island Guardian Pokémon, who gave him a Z-Ring, an item that allows a Trainer to bring forth super-powered attacks from their Pokémon. When Ash used the Z-Ring for the first time with Pikachu, it produced a massive surge of energy that overloaded and shattered the Z-Crystal that powered it, making Ash realize that he needed to learn to control it. In order to master the power of the Z-Ring, Ash then decided to stay in Alola and enrolls at the Pokémon School, living with Professor Kukui and studying with his new classmates: Lana, Mallow, Lillie, Sophocles and Kiawe while battling against Team Rocket & Team Skull. During his stay in Alola, Ash not only encountered many new varieties of Pokémon, some of which became part of his new Pokémon team, but also competed in the Alolan Island Challenges, each of which led to a Grand Trial against each of the Island Kahunas; emerging victorious in both the Challenges and Trials, Ash received different Z-Crystals. With the discovery of Pokémon from other dimensions, known as Ultra Beasts, emerging through wormholes, Ash and his classmates became part of the Ultra Guardians team, charged with capturing the Ultra Beasts and returning them to their own dimensions. Ash later participated in the Alola League, resulting in his first Pokémon League conference championship win in his career as a Pokémon Trainer and breaking his last League ranking. After the League was done, Ash decided to go back to Pallet Town once again to continue his journey then bid farewell to his friends before setting off to his hometown.


title: Ash Ketchum

text: Ash went to a grand opening of a new research facility in Vermilion City with Professor Oak and his mom. After meeting Lugia and befriending a new Trainer named Goh, Ash accepted the head professor of the new research facility's offer to be a special assistant alongside his new friend. After accepting the offer, Ash decided to stay in Vermilion City as he and Goh will be traveling all over the world to gather information on Pokémon. During his journey, Ash learns about Dynamax and even received a Dynamax band from the current world champion Leon, who is also the Galar Region champion. After seeing that his Pikachu can Gigantamax and losing an unofficial battle against Leon, Ash decided to compete in the World Championships so he can climb up the ranks and have an official battle against the current world champion one day. After climbing the ranks, Ash sought out Mega Evolution as he went to Kalos for a Key Stone and Mega Stone, which increased his Aura abilities. After entering into Masters Eight, Ash participates at Master Tournament and reaches to final where he defeats Leon and becomes a new Monarch.


title: Ash Ketchum

text: Ash has considerably improved his abilities as a trainer over the course of the series. However, his earnestness and determination remain the same. During the first season of the series, Ash trained to catch more Pokémon than his childhood rival, Gary Oak, although he was always shown to be the stronger trainer. He soon began to focus more on each of his Pokémon's abilities. Ash has shown to have the ability to sense and control Aura, which was mainly used with either with Riolu or Lucario. Also, Ash can use Bond Phenomenon, which he used with one of his Pokémon. Through his love for Pokémon, Ash seems to understand the feelings of them as he sometimes shares a link with them as he senses their pain, see their thoughts, memories, have them appear in his dream as a way of asking for his help for various reasons and hear what they are saying, although the abilities are usually shown mainly with Legendary Pokémon but it was once shown with a Mythical Pokémon. Also, Ash has shown to sometimes sense a Pokémon presences or when one is coming.


title: Ash Ketchum

text: Although he got involved and ended up getting captured by Team Rocket and an evil organization from his past journeys for various reasons, Ash did avoid getting captured or gotten away from a couple of evil organizations, Team Aqua, Team Plasma and Team Skull.


title: Ash Ketchum

text: Over his journey so far, Ash has collected eight badges from each of the major regions of Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova and Kalos. In addition, he has also obtained 4 badges from the Orange Archipelago and defeated the Orange Islands Champion to gain the Winners' Trophy. He has also collected all seven Frontier Symbols from Battle Frontier, and has been offered a position as a Frontier Brain, which he declined. In the Alola region, he has completed all the Island Grand Trials, Melemele, Akala, Ula'Ula and Poni Island.


title: Ash Ketchum

text: In Japan throughout the anime media, Rika Matsumoto has always provided the original Japanese voice of Ash. Hana Takeda voices 6 year old Ash in episode 1 of "". For the English dubbing, Veronica Taylor provided the voice of Ash in the first eight seasons of the English adaption of the "Pokémon" anime, which was dubbed by 4Kids Entertainment. At the time of her audition, Taylor stated that the character was temporarily named Casey, which was the name later given to a recurring character in Johto. After the script was translated from Japanese, the lines were adapted to fit the movements of the character's mouth (called "lip flap"). All the voices were recorded separately, so Taylor was the only one in the booth when she recorded her lines, which took approximately six to eight hours per episode. Taylor was often the first person to record, so she had to "imagine how the previous line will be said". "Luckily, I work with a great director who helps with the interpretation of the line, matching of the lip flap, and consistency of the voice". Taylor enjoyed playing Ash because of his "low, husky voice" and "energy and excitement".


title: Ash Ketchum

text: Taylor commented that Ash and the other characters "loosened up" after the first ten episodes of the anime; she believed the writers were more relaxed and no longer felt the pressure of making sure everything was done correctly. Taylor commented: "I enjoy playing Ash now much more than I did in the very beginning because I can have fun with him more, and we kind of know him and can work out how he really would react. We have the classic Ash responses and things like that." Sarah Natochenny replaced Taylor in season nine when The Pokémon Company International (known at that time as Pokémon USA) took over the licensing, prompting a shift in recording studios.


title: Ash Ketchum

text: For the Korean dubbing, Choi Deok-Hui provided the voice of Ash in the first five seasons and first two movies of the Korean adaption of the "Pokémon" anime, which was dubbed by Seoul Broadcasting System. An Hyeon-Seo replaced Deok-Hui in Pokémon movies three through five. Lee Seon-ho replaced Hyeon-Seo in season 6 and in the sixth Pokémon movie.


title: Ash Ketchum

text: Ash Ketchum was first mentioned in a video game at the dialogue of "Pokémon Play It!", and his first appearance in a game was later in "Pokémon Puzzle League", both of which were never released in Japan. He has also appeared in Japanese educational video games "Pokémon: Catch the Numbers!", "I've Begun Hiragana and Katakana!", and "Pico for Everyone Pokémon Loud Battle!" for Sega Pico, as well as a player character in the English-language Windows games "Pokémon Team Rocket Blast Off", "Pokémon Poké Ball Launcher", and "Pokémon Seek & Find", distributed by Perdue Farms.


title: Ash Ketchum

text: In "Pokémon Red", "Blue", "Yellow", and the remakes of "Red" and "Blue", a character very similar to Ash (named Red) appears as a playable character as well as in cameos in "Pokémon Black 2", "White 2", "Gold", "Silver", their remakes, "Sun" and "Moon". The anime re-imagined Red as Ash Ketchum, the same way it re-imagined Red's rival Blue as Gary Oak and Ethan (the protagonist of the second generation "Pokémon" games as well as their remakes) as Jimmy. Although they are counterparts, they are not the same characters because they originate from different canons and thus developed from different experiences.


title: Ash Ketchum

text: Though "Pokémon Yellow" has certain plot aspects that were inspired by the anime series, the player character is still named Red rather than Ash.


title: Ash Ketchum

text: In "Pokémon Sun" and "Moon"'s demo, the player character, Sun, receives a letter from Ash, along with his Greninja, which is capable of assuming its "Ash-Greninja" form through its ability Battle Bond. Ash also makes a cameo in Ghost Trial of the full game, where one may see a blurry photo of him and his Pikachu in the back room.


title: Ash Ketchum

text: Ash and his party from "" were added to "Pokémon Masters EX" starting on August 28 2022 to promote his upcoming battles in the Masters Eight Tournament.


title: Ash Ketchum

text: The portrayals of Ash in the manga "The Electric Tale of Pikachu", and "Ash & Pikachu", are very similar to the one in the anime. There are key differences in the manga, though. "The Electric Tale of Pikachu" is based on Ash's journey up until the end of the Orange Islands travel. Ash is usually seen traveling by himself during the course of this manga although he is joined by Misty and Brock in Indigo sometimes. Misty is the only one to join Ash in the Orange Islands. The "Ash & Pikachu" manga is similar, although it has the episodes from the anime like "The Fortune Hunters" and "A Goldenrod Opportunity" combined, but with a couple of changes. Manga author Toshihiro Ono cited Ash as one of his favorite characters to draw for the series, stating, "I want to go on a trip with Misty just like him! (And forget about job, rent, etc.)".


title: Ash Ketchum

text: Although not parodied quite as frequently as the franchise mascot Pikachu, Ash still has many parodies and appearances in various other media, ranging from an unofficial fan-made film to several representations in web media, including many parodies on the YouTube channel Smosh.


title: Ash Ketchum

text: Ash makes a brief cameo in the animated series "The Simpsons", when, in the episode "Postcards from the Wedge", the character Bart Simpson is watching TV while doing his homework, and a parody of the "Pokémon" anime appears on TV, starring Ash (in what appears to be a loose parody of his "Diamond & Pearl" outfit) and Pikachu. Bart remarks "Wow, how does this show stay so fresh?", which is both a reference to the length of the anime, as well as referencing the length of "The Simpsons" itself in an ironic way. In the episode "The Perspiration Implementation" of the TV show "The Big Bang Theory", Ash is mentioned by the character Sheldon Cooper when he attempts to ask a girl out by saying "And as Ash Ketchum said to Pikachu, I choose you.", which specifically references how Pikachu was Ash's first Pokémon. In the episode "Chinpokomon" of the animated show "South Park", a parody of Ash makes an appearance, along with a parody of Team Rocket's James, as characters in a TV show parodying "Pokémon". The title itself is a reference to "Pokémon".


title: Ash Ketchum

text: A character wearing Ash's League Expo hat makes a cameo in the 4th episode of the 4th season of "Rick and Morty".


title: Ash Ketchum

text: Ash also makes appearances in several segments of the show "Robot Chicken", including "Poké Ball High Life" and "Pokémon Tennis". In the show "The Norm Show", the character Tommy thinks that he is Ash, and faces off against the character Norm in the episode "Artie Comes to Town". In the Japanese light novel series "High School DxD", the character of the familiar master Zatouji is a clear parody of Ash, even his catchphrase being ""Gotta catch 'em all!"" Ash also features in an "ADHD Short" segment called "Pikachu Gets Pokémon Rabies".


title: Ash Ketchum

text: A man wearing Ash's original outfit also appears in a few Taiwanese Subway ads teaching passengers basic safety procedures. A man wearing Ash's original League Expo hat is also shown in the third episode of season 4 of the show "Metalocalypse". In the episode "Johnny'mon" of the cartoon show "Johnny Test", the character Blast Ketchup is a blatant parody of Ash Ketchum. The title is also a parody of "Pokémon".


title: Ash Ketchum

text: A boy wearing Ash's attire from the original series can be seen in the episode "Operation: A.R.C.H.I.V.E." of "". Ash also appears in the "Captain Tsubasa" (2018) series as a spectator, in his "Sun and Moon" attire.


title: Ash Ketchum

text: In the game "Overwatch", the character Hanzo says the line "I choose you, spirit dragon", which is a reference to the phrase Ash frequently uses when sending out one of his Pokémon to battle, such as "Pikachu, I choose you!"


title: Ash Ketchum

text: Ash also made a brief appearance on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert", where he has a 'Pokémon battle' against Cartoon Donald Trump with Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller.


title: Ash Ketchum

text: The book "The Japanification of Children's Popular Culture" cited Ash as an example of cultural identification, with the character going through similar motions players of the games had to in order to progress through them. It additionally emphasized the character's growth and development as the anime series progressed. UGO.com noted his hat as iconic and one of the coolest headgear in gaming, while Jian DeLeon of "Complex" praised him as "stylish," particularly his very first design. "The Guinness Book of World Records 2011 Game Edition" lists Ash as coming 37th out of 50 in a readers' poll of their favorite video game characters. However, he has been criticized by IGN for staying the same age, his lack of success, and the ambiguity about his father.


title: Ash Ketchum

text: Ash has also garnered praise for serving as a role-model to children, and for his persistence despite being an underdog by Business Insider Australia. He has also been cited as a character that incentivizes trying to be the best person you can be, rather than the strongest, or most qualified by the BBC.


title: Ash Ketchum

text: Ash's Manalo Conference win has been compared to basketball player LeBron James winning his first ring and film director Martin Scorsese winning his first Oscar.


title: Ash Ketchum

text: On August 18, 2016, the episode ("Down to the Fiery Finish!" in the English dub) faced criticism from fans when Ash lost the Kalos League against Alain. The fans specifically criticized the episode due to misleading trailers that suggested that Ash would win the battle and because Ash had lost all of the Pokémon Leagues in past seasons. Fans also disliked the outcome because they believed that Ash's Greninja had many advantages over Alain's Charizard, including the fact that Water-type Pokémon are capable of critically defeating Fire-type Pokémon, and that the rare Bond Phenomenon Ash's Greninja was subject to was said to be far more powerful than a conventional Mega Evolution. Several animators of the series also expressed disappointment that Ash had lost. TV Tokyo's YouTube upload of the teaser of the next episode received an overwhelming number of dislikes as a result of the outcome.


title: Kevin Sussman

text: Kevin Sussman (born December 4, 1970) is an American actor and comedian. He played Walter on the ABC comedy-drama "Ugly Betty" and Stuart Bloom on the CBS sitcom "The Big Bang Theory". Starting with the sixth season of "The Big Bang Theory", he was promoted to a series regular.


title: Kevin Sussman

text: Sussman is one of four brothers born to Jewish parents. He grew up in Staten Island and graduated from New Dorp High School. He attended the College of Staten Island for one year and went on to graduate from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Manhattan. He later studied with acting teacher Uta Hagen for four years.


title: Kevin Sussman

text: Sussman got his start in commercials, playing geeks or nerds, during the dot-com boom for companies such as FedEx. At the time, he worked as a computer consultant. In 1999, he made his film debut in "Liberty Heights" as Alan Joseph Zuckerman. Sussman moved to Los Angeles when he was cast in "Ugly Betty". He played the character Stuart Bloom on "The Big Bang Theory" from 2009 to the series end in May 2019.


title: Kevin Sussman

text: In 2011 and 2012, he worked with "The Big Bang Theory" co-star John Ross Bowie to create two television comedies: "The Ever After Part" (FOX) and "The Second Coming of Rob" (CBS).


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States, and the county seat of Fayette County. By population, it is the second-largest city in Kentucky and 57th-largest city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 28th-largest city. Known as the "Horse Capital of the World", it is within the state's Bluegrass region. Notable locations in the city include the Kentucky Horse Park, The Red Mile and Keeneland race courses, Rupp Arena, Central Bank Center, Transylvania University, the University of Kentucky, and Bluegrass Community and Technical College.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: As of the 2020 census the population was 322,570, anchoring a metropolitan area of 516,811 people and a combined statistical area of 747,919 people. Lexington is consolidated entirely within Fayette County, and vice versa. It has a nonpartisan mayor-council form of government, with 12 council districts and three members elected at large, with the highest vote-getter designated vice mayor.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: Lexington was named in June 1775, in what was then considered Fincastle County, Virginia, 17 years before Kentucky became a state. A party of frontiersmen, led by William McConnell, camped on the Middle Fork of Elkhorn Creek (now known as Town Branch and rerouted under Vine Street) at the site of the present-day McConnell Springs. Upon hearing of the colonists' victory in the Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, they named the site Lexington. It was the first of many American places to be named after the Massachusetts town.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: On January 25, 1780, 45 original settlers signed the Lexington Compact, known also as the "Articles of Agreement, made by the inhabitants of the town of Lexington, in the County of Kentucky." The settlement at Lexington at this time was also known as Fort Lexington, as it was surrounded by fortifications to protect from the British and from Indians. The Articles allocated land by granting "In" lots of 1/2 acre to each share, along with "Out" lots of 5 acres for each share. Presumably the "In" lots were for the family dwelling inside the fortifications, while the "Out" lots were to be "cleared" for farming. (Corn is the only crop specifically mentioned in the Articles.) It is known that several of these original settlers (perhaps many of them) served under General George Rogers Clark in the Illinois campaign (also called the Northwestern campaign) against the British in 1778–79. While the ostensible founder of Lexington, William McConnell, is not one of the signees, an Alexander McConnell is. Within two years of signing the Agreement, both John and Jacob Wymore were killed by Indians in separate incidents outside the walls of "Fort Lexington".


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: In December, 1781, a huge caravan of around 600 pioneers from Spotsylvania County, Virginia—dubbed "The Travelling Church"—arrived in the Lexington area. Led by the preacher Lewis Craig and Captain William Ellis, the Travelling Church established numerous churches, including the South Elkhorn Christian Church in Lexington. On May 6, 1782, the town of Lexington was chartered by an act of the Virginia General Assembly. Around 1790, the First African Baptist Church was founded in Lexington by Peter Durrett, a Baptist preacher and slave held by Joseph Craig. Durrett had helped guide "The Travelling Church" on its trek to Kentucky. This church is the oldest black Baptist congregation in Kentucky and the third-oldest in the United States.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: In the early 1800s, Lexington was a rising city of the vast territory to the west of the Appalachian Mountains; Josiah Espy described it in a published version of his notes as he toured Ohio and Kentucky:


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: In the early 19th century, Lexington planter John Wesley Hunt became the first millionaire west of the Alleghenies. Henry Clay, a lawyer who married into one of the wealthiest families of Kentucky and served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives in 1812, helped to lead the War Hawks, pushing for war with Great Britain to bolster the markets of American products. Six companies of volunteers came from Lexington, with a rope-walk on James Erwin's farm on the Richmond Road used as a recruiting office and barracks until the war ended. Several Lexingtonians served with prominence as officers in the war. For example, Captain Nathaniel G.S. Hart commanded the Lexington Light Infantry (also known as the "Silk Stocking Boys") and was killed while a captive after the Battle of the River Raisin. Henry Clay also served as a negotiator at the Treaty of Ghent in 1814.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: The growing town was devastated by a cholera epidemic in 1833, which had spread throughout the waterways of the Mississippi and Ohio valleys: 500 of 7,000 Lexington residents died within two months, including nearly one-third of the congregation of Christ Church Episcopal. London Ferrill, second preacher of First African Baptist, was one of three clergy who stayed in the city to serve the suffering victims.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: Farmers in the areas around Lexington held slaves for use as field hands, laborers, artisans, and domestic servants. In the city, slaves worked primarily as domestic servants and artisans, although they also worked with merchants, shippers, and in a wide variety of trades. Farms raised commodity crops of tobacco and hemp, and thoroughbred horse breeding and racing became established in this part of the state. By 1850, Lexington had the highest concentration of enslaved people in the entire state. The city also had a significant population of free blacks, who were often of mixed race. By 1850, First African Baptist Church, led by London Ferrill, a free black from Virginia, had a congregation of 1,820 persons. At that time, First African Baptist Church had the largest congregation of any church, black or white, in the state of Kentucky.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: Amidst the tensions between black and white populations over the lack of affordable housing in the city, a race riot broke out on September 1, 1917. At the time, the Colored A. & M. Fair (one of the largest African American fairs in the South) on Georgetown Pike had attracted more African Americans from the surrounding area into the city. Also during this time, some United States National Guard troops were camping on the edge of the city. Three troops passed in front of an African American restaurant and shoved some people on the sidewalk. A fight broke out, reinforcements for the troops and civilians both appeared, and soon a riot began. The Kentucky National Guard was summoned, and once the riot had ended, armed soldiers and police patrolled the streets. All other National Guard troops were barred from the city streets until the fair ended.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: On February 9, 1920, tensions flared up again, this time over the trial of Will Lockett, a black serial killer who murdered Geneva Hardman, a 10-year-old white girl. When a large mob gathered outside the courthouse where Lockett's trial was underway, Kentucky Governor Edwin P. Morrow massed the National Guard troops into the streets to work alongside local law enforcement. As the mob advanced on the courthouse, the National Guard opened fire, killing six and wounding 50 others. Fearing further retaliation from the mob, Morrow urged the United States Army to provide assistance. Led by Brigadier General Francis C. Marshall, approximately 1,200 federal troops from nearby Camp Zachary Taylor moved into the city the same day to assist National Guard forces and local police in bringing order and peace. Marshall declared martial law in the city and had soldiers positioned throughout the area for two weeks. Lockett was eventually executed on March 11 at the Kentucky State Penitentiary in Eddyville, after being found guilty of murdering Hardman.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: In 1935, during the Great Depression, the Addiction Research Center (ARC) was created as a small research unit at the United States Public Health Service hospital in Lexington. Founded as one of the first drug rehabilitation clinics in the nation, the ARC was affiliated with a federal prison. Expanded as the first alcohol and drug rehabilitation hospital in the United States, it was known as "Narco" of Lexington. The hospital was later converted to operate as part of the federal prison system; it is known as the Federal Medical Center, Lexington and serves a variety of health needs for prisoners. Lexington also served as the headquarters for a pack horse library in the late 1930s and early 1940s.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: The Lexington-Fayette metro area includes five additional counties: Clark, Jessamine, Bourbon, Woodford, and Scott. This is the second-largest metro area in Kentucky after Louisville. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of . of it is land and of it (0.35%) is covered by water.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: Lexington has had to manage a rapidly growing population while working to maintain the character of the surrounding horse farms that give the region its identity. In 1958, Lexington enacted the nation's first urban growth boundary, restricting new development to an urban service area (USA). It set a strict minimum area requirement, currently , to maintain open space for landholdings in the rural service area.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: In 1980, the comprehensive plan was updated: the USA was modified to include urban activity centers (UACs) and rural activity centers (RACs). The UACs were commercial and light-industrial districts in urbanized areas, while RACs were retail trade and light-industrial centers clustered around the Interstate 64/Interstate 75 interchanges. In 1996, the USA was expanded when of the RSA were acquired through the expansion area master plan (EAMP). This was controversial: this first major update to the comprehensive plan in over a decade was accompanied by arguments among residents about the future of Lexington and the Thoroughbred farms.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: The EAMP included new concepts of impact fees, assessment districts, neighborhood design concepts, design overlays, mandatory greenways, major roadway improvements, storm water management, and open-space mitigation for the first time. It also included a draft of the rural land management plan, which included large-lot zoning and traffic-impact controls. A pre-zoning of the entire expansion area was refuted in the plan. A minimum proposal was defeated. Discussion of this proposal appeared to stimulate the development of numerous subdivisions in the RSAs.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: Three years after the expansion was initiated, the RSA land management plan was adopted, which increased the minimum lot size in the agricultural rural zones to . In 2000, a purchase of development rights plan was adopted, granting the city the power to purchase the development rights of existing farms; in 2001, $40 million was allocated to the plan from a $25-million local, $15-million state grant.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: Lexington is in the northern periphery of the humid subtropical climate zone (Cfa), with hot, humid summers and moderately cold winters with occasional mild periods; it falls in USDA hardiness zone 6b. The city and the surrounding Bluegrass region have four distinct seasons that include cool plateau breezes, moderate nights in the summer, and no prolonged periods of heat, cold, rain, wind, or snow. The monthly daily average temperature ranges from in January to in July, while the annual mean temperature is . On average, 25 days of + highs occur annually and 23 days per winter where the high is equal to or less than freezing. Annual precipitation is , with the late spring and summer being slightly wetter; snowfall averages per season. Extreme temperatures range from on January 24, 1963, to on July 10 and 15, 1936.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: The Lexington-Fayette Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) includes Bourbon, Clark, Fayette, Jessamine, Scott, and Woodford Counties. The MSA population is 516,811 as of the 2020 census.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: The Lexington-Fayette-Frankfort-Richmond, KY Combined Statistical Area had a population of 747,919 in 2020. This includes the metro area and an additional seven counties.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: As of the 2020 census, there were 322,570 people, 129,784 households, and 74,761 families within the city. The population density was 1,137.3 people per square mile (439.1/km). The racial makeup of the city was 70.7% non-Hispanic White, 15.6% Black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 4.1% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, and 2.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 7.4% of the population.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: The most common spoken language in Lexington is English, but there are approximately 196 languages from all parts of the world spoken in Lexington. The non-English language spoken by the largest group is Spanish followed by Swahili. Other more common non-English languages in the city are Arabic, Nepali, Japanese, French, Mandarin, Kinyarwanda, Korean and Portuguese. Local estimates drawn from English Language Learner enrollment in Fayette County Public Schools estimates that approximately 23% of the total Lexington population are foreign language speakers.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: Of the 131,929 households reported in the 2019 American Community Survey, 52% were married couples living together, 15% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27% were non-families. 28.4% of households were home to children under the age of 18. The average household size was 2.37, and the average family size was 2.99. 31.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: In 2019 the population was distributed with 20.9% of residents under the age of 18, 14.2% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 23.4% from 45 to 64, and 13.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.2 males.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: The median income for a household in the city was $57,291 in 2019, slightly below the national average of $62,843. and for a family was $53,264. Males living alone had a median income of $36,268 versus $30,811 for females. The per capita income for the city was $34,442. About 8.7% of families and 14.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.6% of those under the age of 18 and 9.4% of those ages 65 and older.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: The table below illustrates the population growth of Fayette County since the first U.S. Census in 1790. Lexington city limits became coterminous with Fayette County in 1974.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: Lexington has one of the nation's most stable economies. Lexington describes itself as having "a fortified economy, strong in manufacturing, technology, and entrepreneurial support, benefiting from a diverse, balanced business base". The Lexington Metro Area had an unemployment rate of 3.7% in August 2015, lower than many cities of similar size.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: The city is home to several large corporations. Sizable employment is generated by four "Fortune" 500 companies: Xerox (which acquired Affiliated Computer Services), Lexmark International, Lockheed-Martin, and IBM, employing 3,000, 2,800, 1,705, and 552, respectively. United Parcel Service, Trane, and Amazon.com, Inc. have large operations in the city, and Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky is within the Lexington CSA, located in adjoining Georgetown. A Jif peanut butter plant located here produces more peanut butter than any other factory in the world. Depending on the wind conditions, a distinct burning smell is noticeable in the surrounding area around the factory.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: Notable corporate headquarters include Lexmark International, a manufacturer of printers and enterprise software; Link-Belt Construction Equipment, a designer and manufacturer of telescopic and lattice boom cranes; Big Ass Fans, a manufacturer of large ceiling fans and lighting fixtures for industrial, commercial, agricultural, and residential use; A&W Restaurants, a restaurant chain known for root beer; and Fazoli's, an Italian-American fast-food chain.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: Other sizable employers include the Lexington-Fayette County government and other hospital facilities. The Fayette County Public Schools employ 5,374, and the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government employs 2,699. Central Baptist Hospital, Saint Joseph Hospital, Saint Joseph East, and the Veterans Administration Hospital employ 7,000 persons in total.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: June has two popular music festivals: Bluegrass and Broadway. The Festival of the Bluegrass, Kentucky's oldest bluegrass music festival, is in early June; it includes three stages for music and a "bluegrass music camp" for school children. For more than two decades, during the second and third weekends, UK Opera Theatre presents a Broadway medley "It's A Grand Night for Singing!"


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: Later in June, the Gay and Lesbian Services Organization hosts the Lexington Pride Festival, which celebrates pride in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities and welcomes allies. The festival offers live music, crafts, food, and informational booths from diverse service organizations. Lexington Mayor Jim Gray, elected in 2010 and openly gay, proclaimed June 29, 2013, as Pride Day. Lexington has one of the highest concentrations of gay and lesbian couples in the United States for a city its size.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: Area residents gather downtown for the Fourth of July festivities, which extend for several days. On July 3, the Gratz Park Historic District is transformed into an outdoor music hall, when the Patriotic Music Concert is held on the steps of Morrison Hall at Transylvania University. The Lexington Singers and the Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra perform at this event. On the Fourth, events include a reading of the Declaration of Independence on the steps of the Old Courthouse, a waiters' race in Phoenix Park, a parade, a country-music concert, street vendors for wares and food, and fireworks. The Woodland Arts Fair is almost four decades old.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: "Southern Lights: Spectacular Sights on Holiday Nights," which takes place from November 18 to December 31, is held at the Kentucky Horse Park. It includes a drive through the park, showcasing numerous displays, many in character with the horse industry and history of Lexington. The "Mini-Train Express", an indoor petting zoo featuring exotic animals, the International Museum of the Horse, an exhibit showcasing the Bluegrass Railway Club's model train, and Santa Claus are other major highlights.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: The University of Kentucky Art Museum is the premier art museum for Lexington and the only accredited museum in the region. Its collection of over 4000 objects ranges from Old Masters to Contemporary. It regularly hosts special exhibitions.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: The local Woolworth's building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its significance as a site of protests during the Civil Rights Movement against segregation during the 1960s. Activists conducted sit-ins to gain integrated lunch service, full access to facilities, and more employment. However, in 2004, the building was demolished by its owner, and the area was paved for use as a parking lot until further development.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: Pablo Eskobear, the American black bear that overdosed on cocaine that was dropped from smuggler Andrew C. Thornton II's airplane -- an incident which inspired the 2023 movie "Cocaine Bear" -- has been stuffed and can be visited at the Kentucky for Kentucky Fun Mall.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: The Kentucky Wildcats, the athletic program of the University of Kentucky, is Lexington's most popular sports entity. The school fields 22 varsity sports teams, most of which compete in the Southeastern Conference as a founding member. The men's basketball team is one of the winningest programs in NCAA history, having won eight national championships. The basketball program was also the first to reach 2000 wins.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: Lexington is home to the Lexington Legends and Wild Health Genomes, members of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an independent MLB Partner league. Both minor league teams play home games at Wild Health Field, formerly known as Whitaker Bank Ballpark. In 2020, the Legends were one of the minor league teams that lost MLB affiliation under a new plan by the MLB.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: The city also hosts Lexington SC of third-division professional soccer league USL League One. The club was founded in 2021 and is set to play its inaugural season in 2023 at University of Kentucky's Bell Soccer Complex. In early 2022, Lexington SC submitted a proposal to secure permissions for the construction of a downtown soccer-specific stadium near Rupp Arena and Central Bank Center. The stadium would provide approximately 6,000+ seats and is expected to open in 2024.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: Former professional sport teams based in Lexington were the Kentucky Thoroughblades, Lexington Men O' War, Lexington Bluegrass Bandits, Kentucky Horsemen, Bluegrass Warhorses, Bluegrass Stallions, and Lexington Colts.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: The city is home to two horse-racing tracks, Keeneland and The Red Mile harness track. Keeneland, sporting live races in April and October, is steeped in tradition; little has changed since the track's opening in 1936. Keeneland hosted the 2015 Breeders' Cup, with the event's signature race, the Breeders' Cup Classic, won by Triple Crown winner American Pharoah. This track also has the world's largest Thoroughbred auction house; 19 Kentucky Derby winners, 21 Preakness Stakes winners, and 18 Belmont Stakes winners were purchased at Keeneland sales. Its most notable race is the Blue Grass Stakes, which is considered an important preparation for the Kentucky Derby. The Red Mile is the oldest horse racing track in the city and the second-oldest in the nation. It runs live harness races, in which horses pull two-wheeled carts called sulkies. The two tracks announced a partnership in 2014.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: The Kentucky Horse Park, located along scenic Iron Works Pike in northern Fayette County, is a comparative latecomer to Lexington, opening in 1978. Although commonly known as a tourist attraction and museum, it is also a working horse farm with a farrier and famous retired horses such as 2003 Kentucky Derby winner Funny Cide. Since its opening in April 1978, the Kentucky Horse Park has hosted the Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event, which is one of the top-three annual equestrian eventing competitions in the world and is held immediately before the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville. In September and October 2010, Lexington was the first city outside of Europe to host the World Equestrian Games.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: Lexington is home to Roller Derby of Central Kentucky and Lexington Bike Polo League. In 2017, Lexington hosted the World Hardcourt Bike Polo Championship, the most competitive bike polo tournament in the world, at facilities in Coolavin Park. Two years prior the city hosted the North American Hardcourt Bike Polo Championship for teams from across Canada, Mexico, and the United States.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: Lexington has over 100 parks, ranging in size from the Smith Street Park to the Masterson Station Park. Among those parks are:


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: The city is home to Raven Run Nature Sanctuary, a nature preserve along the Kentucky River Palisades.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: The city also plays host to the historic McConnell Springs, a park within the industrial confines off Old Frankfort Pike.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: The Urban County Council is a 15-member legislative group. Twelve of the members represent specific districts and serve two-year terms; three are elected citywide as at-large council members and serve four-year terms. The at-large member receiving the highest number of votes in the general election automatically becomes the vice mayor, who acts as the presiding officer of the council when the mayor is absent. The council members as of 2021 are


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: Third District Council Member Jake Gibbs died unexpectedly on March 3, 2020. Mayor Linda Gorton appointed Mark Swanson to complete Gibbs' term.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: Primary law enforcement duties within Lexington-Fayette County are the responsibility of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government Division of Police. As of July 1, 2021, the Division of Police (also called Lexington Police Department) is authorized for 639 sworn police officers and 16 traffic safety officers. The Division of Police resulted from the merger of the Lexington Police Department with the Fayette County Patrol in 1974. The Fayette County Sheriff's Office is responsible for court service, including court security, prisoner transport, process and warrant service, and property tax collection. The 1974 merger also consolidated the office of city jailer into the office of county jailer, a constitutional position. In 1992 (effective 1993), the Kentucky General Assembly enabled a correctional services division to be established by ordinance, making employees civil-service employees rather than political appointees.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: All fire/rescue protection within Lexington-Fayette County (with the exception of the Blue Grass Airport) is provided by the Lexington Fire Department. The current department was formed with the merger of the county and city fire departments in 1973. Lexington Fire Department is the largest single fire department in Kentucky with over 600 personnel and 24 individual fire stations broken into five districts (battalions).


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: According to the United States Census, of Lexington's population over the age of 25, 22.4% hold a bachelor's degree, 11.4% hold a master's degree, 3.1% hold a professional degree, and 2.6% hold a doctoral degree.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: The city is served by the Fayette County Public Schools. The system currently consists of six district high schools, along with multiple smaller multidistrict high schools, 12 middle schools, one combined middle/high school, and 37 elementary schools, and is supplemented with many private schools. FCPS opened two new elementary schools in August 2016, and opened a new high school in August 2017.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: The two traditional colleges are the University of Kentucky, which is the state's flagship public university, and Transylvania University, which is the state's oldest four-year university and the first university west of the Alleghenies.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: Lexington's largest daily circulating newspaper is the "Lexington Herald-Leader". "Business Lexington" is a monthly business newspaper. The "Chevy Chaser Magazine" and "Southsider Magazine" are two community publications.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: The region is also served by eight primary television stations, including WLEX, WKYT, WDKY, WTVQ, WLJC, WUPX, WKLE, WKON, and online news agency KyForward.com. The state's public television network, Kentucky Educational Television, is headquartered in Lexington and is one of the nation's largest public networks, reaching all 1.6 million television households in the state.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: Interstate 75 runs north–south on the edge of Lexington. Interstate 64 runs east–west on the northern edge of the city. Lexington itself is at the confluence of US Route 25, US Route 27, US Route 60, US Route 68 and US Route 421.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: Lexington suffers considerable traffic congestion for a city of its size due to the lack of freeways, the proximity of the University of Kentucky to downtown, and the substantial number of commuters from outlying towns. For traffic relief on northern New Circle Road, Citation Boulevard is planned.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: The Southern Railway, well into the 1960s, ran passenger trains through its Lexington station on a Cincinnati-Florida route: the "Ponce de Leon" and the "Royal Palm," as well as the railroad's "Carolina Special" to various points in North and South Carolina. The last remnant of the "Royal Palm" left Lexington in 1970. Union Station, open from 1907 and demolished in March 1960, hosted the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway and the Louisville and Nashville. The C&O's Louisville-Ashland connector train to the company's "George Washington" ran until 1970.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: The Blue Grass Airport is on the west side of Lexington on US Route 60. It has passenger flights by four carriers: Allegiant, American, Delta and United.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: In 2019, 79.3% of working Lexingtonians commuted by driving alone, 9.3% carpooled, 2.0% used public transportation, and 3.0% walked. 1.9% of commuters used all other forms of transportation, including taxi, bicycle, and motorcycle. About 4.4% worked from home.


title: Lexington, Kentucky

text: In 2015, 7.2 percent of city of Lexington households were without a car, which increased slightly to 7.4 percent in 2016. The national average was 8.7 percent in 2016. Lexington averaged 1.7 cars per household in 2016, compared to a national average of 1.8 per household.


The 2018 United States House of Representatives elections were held on November 6, 2018, as part of the 2018 midterm elections during President Donald Trump's term, with early voting taking place in some states in the weeks preceding that date. Voters chose representatives from all 435 congressional districts across each of the 50 U.S. states. Non-voting delegates from the District of Columbia and four of the five inhabited U.S. territories were also elected. On Election Day, Republicans had held a House majority since January 2011.


title: 2018 United States House of Representatives elections

text: In the 2018 elections, the Democrats, led by Nancy Pelosi, won control of the House. The Democrats gained a net total of 41 seats from the total number of seats they had won in the 2016 elections. The 41-seat gain was the Democrats' largest gain of House seats since the post-Watergate 1974 elections, when they picked up 49 seats. This was the first time since 1954 that Democrats flipped a chamber of Congress in a Republican president's first midterm.


text: Upon the opening of the 116th United States Congress, Pelosi was elected as Speaker of the House. Incumbent Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan chose not to run for another term. In November 2018, House Republicans elected Kevin McCarthy as House Minority Leader.


text: The Democratic Party won control of the House of Representatives in the 2018 midterm elections. The Democrats gained a net total of 41 seats from the total number of seats they had won in the 2016 elections. This was their largest gain of House seats in an election since the 1974 elections, when the Democrats gained 49 House seats. Democrats won the popular vote by more than 9.7 million votes, or 8.6%, the largest midterm margin for any party and the largest margin on record for a minority party.


text: According to the Associated Press' statistical analysis, gerrymandering cost the Democrats an additional sixteen House seats from Republicans.


text: Note that the results summary does not include blank and over/under votes which were included in the official results or votes cast in the voided election in North Carolina's 9th congressional district.


text: In the November general elections, fifty-four incumbents did not seek re-election, either to retire or to seek other positions.


text: Four seats opened early due to resignations or death and were not filled until the November elections.


text: The state congressional delegation flipped from a 5–4 Republican majority to a 5–4 Democratic majority.


text: The state congressional delegation flipped from a 4–3 Republican majority to a 4–3 Democratic majority.


text: The 1–1 tie became a 2–0 Democratic hold. This was the first use of ranked choice voting to decide a House race.


text: The state congressional delegation changed from 2–1 for Democrats to all 3 seats controlled by Democrats.


text: Due to allegations of electoral fraud, the 116th Congress was sworn in with one seat vacant. On February 21, 2019, a new election was ordered by the state election board.


text: As a result of changes in the congressional map, the state congressional delegation changed from a 13–5 Republican majority to a 9–9 split.


text: The state congressional delegation changed from a 25–11 Republican majority to a 23–13 Republican majority.


text: The state congressional delegation flipped from a 7–4 Republican majority to a 7–4 Democratic majority.


text: The election for a non-voting delegate from the Northern Mariana Islands was postponed until Tuesday, November 13, 2018 due to the impact of Typhoon Yutu.


text: The Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico is not up for re-election until 2020. Currently held by Republican Jenniffer González, who was first elected in 2016, the Resident Commissioner is the only member of the United States House of Representatives to serve a four-year term.


title: Ed Miliband

text: Edward Samuel "Ed" Miliband (born 24 December 1969) is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change and Net Zero since 2021. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Doncaster North since 2005. Miliband was Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition between 2010 and 2015, resigning after Labour's defeat at the 2015 general election. Alongside his brother, Foreign Secretary David Miliband, he served in the Cabinet from 2007 to 2010 under Prime Minister Gordon Brown.


title: Ed Miliband

text: Miliband was born in the Fitzrovia district of Central London to Polish Jewish immigrants Marion Kozak and Ralph Miliband, a Marxist intellectual and native of Brussels who fled Belgium during World War II. He graduated from Corpus Christi College, Oxford and later from the London School of Economics. Miliband became first a television journalist, then a Labour Party researcher and a visiting scholar at Harvard University, before rising to become one of Chancellor Gordon Brown's confidants and Chairman of HM Treasury's Council of Economic Advisers.


title: Ed Miliband

text: Miliband was elected to the House of Commons in 2005. Prime Minister Tony Blair made Miliband Minister for the Third Sector in May 2006. When Gordon Brown became Prime Minister in 2007, he appointed Miliband Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Miliband was subsequently promoted to the new post of Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, a position he held from 2008 to 2010.


title: Ed Miliband

text: After the Labour Party was defeated at the 2010 general election, Brown resigned as Leader of the Labour Party; in September 2010, Miliband was elected to replace him. His tenure as Labour leader was characterised by a leftward shift in his party's policies under the "One Nation Labour" branding, and by opposition to the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition government's cuts to the public sector. Miliband also abolished the electoral college system to elect the leader and deputy leader of the Labour Party, and replaced it with a "one member, one vote" system in 2014. He led his party into several elections, including the 2014 European Parliament election. Following Labour's defeat by the Conservative Party at the 2015 general election, Miliband resigned as leader on 8 May 2015. He was succeeded after a leadership election by Jeremy Corbyn.


title: Ed Miliband

text: On 6 April 2020, Corbyn's successor Keir Starmer appointed Miliband Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, succeeding Rebecca Long-Bailey.


title: Ed Miliband

text: Born in University College Hospital in Fitzrovia, London, Miliband is the younger son of immigrant parents. His mother, Marion Kozak, a human rights campaigner and early CND member, is a Polish Jew who survived the Holocaust thanks to being protected by Catholic Poles. His father, Ralph Miliband, was a Belgian-born Polish Jewish Marxist academic whose father fled with him to England during the Second World War. The family lived on Edis Street in Primrose Hill, London. His elder brother, David Miliband, still owns the house as of 2010.


title: Ed Miliband

text: Ralph Miliband left his academic post at the London School of Economics in 1972 to take up a chair at the University of Leeds as a Professor of Politics. His family moved to Leeds with him in 1973; Miliband attended Featherbank Infant School in Horsforth between 1974 and 1977, during which time he became a fan of Leeds United.


title: Ed Miliband

text: Owing to his father's later employment as a roving teacher, Miliband spent two spells living in Boston, Massachusetts, one year when he was seven and one middle school term when he was twelve. Miliband remembered his time in the US as some of his happiest, during which he became a fan of American culture, watching "Dallas" and following the Boston Red Sox and the New England Patriots.


title: Ed Miliband

text: Between 1978 and 1981, Ed Miliband attended Primrose Hill Primary School, near Primrose Hill, in Camden and then from 1981 to 1989, Haverstock Comprehensive School in Chalk Farm. He learned to play the violin while at school, and as a teenager, he reviewed films and plays on LBC Radio's "Young London" programme as one of its fortnightly "Three O'Clock Reviewers". After completing his O-levels, he worked as an intern to family friend Tony Benn, the MP for Chesterfield.


title: Ed Miliband

text: In 1989, Miliband gained four A Levels—in Mathematics (A), English (A), Further Mathematics (B) and Physics (B)—and then read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Corpus Christi College, Oxford. In his first year, he was elected JCR President, leading a student campaign against a rise in rent charges. In his second year he dropped philosophy, and was awarded an upper second class Bachelor of Arts degree. He went on to graduate from the London School of Economics with a Master of Science in Economics.


title: Ed Miliband

text: In 1992, after graduating from the University of Oxford, Miliband began his working career in the media as a researcher to co-presenter Andrew Rawnsley in the Channel 4 show "A Week in Politics". In 1993, Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury Harriet Harman approached Rawnsley to recruit Miliband as her policy researcher and speechwriter. At the time, Yvette Cooper also worked for Harman as part of Labour's Shadow Treasury team.


title: Ed Miliband

text: In 1994, when Harriet Harman was moved by the newly elected Labour Leader Tony Blair to become Shadow Secretary of State for Employment, Miliband stayed on in the Shadow Treasury team and was promoted to work for Shadow Chancellor Gordon Brown. In 1995, with encouragement from Gordon Brown, Miliband took time out from his job to study at the London School of Economics, where he obtained a master's degree in Economics. After Labour's 1997 landslide victory, Miliband was appointed as a special adviser to Chancellor Gordon Brown from 1997 to 2002.


title: Ed Miliband

text: On 25 July 2002, it was announced that Miliband would take a 12-month unpaid sabbatical from HM Treasury to be a visiting scholar at the Center for European Studies of Harvard University for two semesters. He spent his time at Harvard teaching economics, and stayed there after September 2003 for an additional semester teaching a course titled "What's Left? The Politics of Social Justice". During this time, he was granted "access" to Senator John Kerry and reported to Brown on the presidential hopeful's progress. After Miliband returned to the UK in January 2004 Gordon Brown appointed him Chairman of HM Treasury's Council of Economic Advisers as a replacement for Ed Balls, with specific responsibility for directing the UK's long-term economic planning.


title: Ed Miliband

text: In early 2005, Miliband resigned his advisory role to HM Treasury to stand for election. Kevin Hughes, then the Labour MP for Doncaster North, announced in February of that year that he would be standing down at the next election due to being diagnosed with motor neurone disease. Miliband applied for selection to be the candidate in the safe Labour seat and won, beating off a close challenge from Michael Dugher, then a SPAD to Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon.


title: Ed Miliband

text: Gordon Brown visited Doncaster North during the general election campaign to support his former adviser. Miliband was elected on 5 May 2005, with 55.5% of the vote and a majority of 12,656. He made his maiden speech in the House of Commons on 23 May, responding to comments made by future Speaker John Bercow. In Tony Blair's frontbench reshuffle in May 2006, he was made Minister for the Third Sector, with responsibility for voluntary and charity organisations.


title: Ed Miliband

text: On 28 June 2007, the day after Gordon Brown became Prime Minister, Miliband was sworn of the Privy Council and appointed Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, being promoted to the cabinet. This meant that he and his brother, Foreign Secretary David Miliband, became the first brothers to serve in a British cabinet since Edward and Oliver Stanley in 1938. He was additionally given the task of drafting Labour's manifesto for the 2010 general election.


title: Ed Miliband

text: On 3 October 2008, Miliband was promoted to become Secretary of State for the newly created Department of Energy and Climate Change in a cabinet reshuffle. On 16 October, Miliband announced that the British government would legislate to oblige itself to cut greenhouse emissions by 80% by 2050, rather than the 60% cut in carbon dioxide emissions previously announced.


title: Ed Miliband

text: In March 2009, while Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Miliband attended the UK premiere of climate change film "The Age of Stupid", where he was ambushed by actor Pete Postlethwaite, who threatened to return his OBE and vote for any party other than Labour if the Kingsnorth coal-fired power station were to be given the go-ahead by the government. A month later, Miliband announced to the House of Commons a change to the government's policy on coal-fired power stations, saying that any potential new coal-fired power stations would be unable to receive government consent unless they could demonstrate that they would be able to effectively capture and bury 25% of the emissions they produce immediately, with a view to seeing that rise to 100% of emissions by 2025. This, a government source told "the Guardian", effectively represented "a complete rewrite of UK energy policy for the future".


title: Ed Miliband

text: Miliband represented the UK at the 2009 Copenhagen Summit, from which emerged a global commitment to provide an additional US$10 billion a year to fight the effects of climate change, with an additional $100 billion a year provided by 2020. The conference was not able to achieve a legally binding agreement. Miliband accused China of deliberately foiling attempts at a binding agreement; China explicitly denied this, accusing British politicians of engaging in a "political scheme".


title: Ed Miliband

text: During the 2009 parliamentary expenses scandal, Miliband was named by the "Daily Telegraph" as one of the "saints" of the scandal, due to his claiming one of the lowest amounts of expenses in the House of Commons and submitting no claims that later had to be paid back.


title: Ed Miliband

text: Following the formation of the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition government on 11 May 2010, Gordon Brown resigned as Prime Minister and Leader of the Labour Party with immediate effect. Deputy Leader Harriet Harman took over as Acting Leader and became Leader of the Opposition. On 14 May, Miliband announced that he would stand as a candidate in the forthcoming leadership election. He launched his campaign during a speech given at a Fabian Society conference and was nominated by 62 fellow Labour MPs. The other candidates were left-wing backbencher Diane Abbott, Shadow Education Secretary Ed Balls, Shadow Health Secretary Andy Burnham and Miliband's elder brother, Shadow Foreign Secretary David Miliband.


title: Ed Miliband

text: On 23 May, former Labour leader Neil Kinnock announced that he would endorse Ed Miliband's campaign, saying that he had "the capacity to inspire people" and that he had "strong values and the ability to 'lift' people". Other senior Labour figures who backed the younger Miliband included Tony Benn and former deputy leaders Roy Hattersley and Margaret Beckett. By 9 June, the deadline for entry into the leadership election, Miliband had been nominated by just over 24% of the Parliamentary Labour Party, double the threshold. By September, Miliband had received the support of six trade unions, including both Unite and UNISON, 151 of 650 Constituency Labour Parties, three affiliated socialist societies, and half of Labour MEPs.


title: Ed Miliband

text: Ed Miliband subsequently won the election, the result of which was announced on 25 September 2010, after second, third and fourth preferences votes were counted, achieving the support of 50.654% of the electoral college, defeating his brother by 1.3%. In the fourth and final stage of the redistribution of votes after three candidates had been eliminated, Ed Miliband led in the trade unions and affiliated organisations section of the electoral college (19.93% of the total to David's 13.40%), but in both the MPs and MEPs section (15.52% to 17.81%), and Constituency Labour Party section (15.20% to 18.14%), came second. In the final round, Ed Miliband won with a total of 175,519 votes to David's 147,220 votes.


title: Ed Miliband

text: On becoming Leader of the Labour Party on 25 September 2010, Miliband also became Leader of the Opposition. At 40, he was the youngest leader of the party ever. At his first Prime Minister's Questions on 13 October 2010, he raised questions about the government's announced removal of a non-means tested child benefit. In December, he appointed Tom Baldwin as his director of communications.


title: Ed Miliband

text: During the 2011 military intervention in Libya, Miliband supported UK military action against Muammar Gaddafi. Miliband spoke at a large "March for the Alternative" rally held in London on 26 March 2011 to protest against cuts to public spending, though he was criticised by some for comparing it to the anti-apartheid and American civil rights movements.


title: Ed Miliband

text: A June 2011 poll result from Ipsos MORI put Labour 2 percentage points ahead of the Conservatives, but Miliband's personal rating was low, being rated as less popular than Iain Duncan Smith at a similar stage in his leadership. The same organisation's polling did find that Miliband's personal ratings in his first full year of leadership were better than David Cameron's during his first full year as Conservative leader in 2006.


title: Ed Miliband

text: In July 2011, following the revelation that the "News of the World" had paid private investigators to hack into the phones of Milly Dowler, as well as the families of murder victims and deceased servicemen, Miliband called for News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks to resign, urged David Cameron to establish a public, judge-led inquiry into the scandal, and announced that he would force a Commons vote on whether to block the News International bid for a controlling stake in BSkyB. He also called for the Press Complaints Commission to be abolished – a call later echoed by Cameron and Nick Clegg – and called into question Cameron's judgement in hiring former "News of the World" editor Andy Coulson to be his director of communications. Cameron later took the unusual step of saying that the government would back Miliband's motion that the BSkyB bid be dropped, and an hour before Miliband's motion was due to be debated, News International announced that it would withdraw the bid.


title: Ed Miliband

text: Following the riots in England in August 2011, Miliband called for a public inquiry into the events, and insisted society had "to avoid simplistic answers". The call for an inquiry was rejected by David Cameron, prompting Miliband to say he would set up his own. In a BBC Radio 4 interview shortly after the riots, Miliband spoke of an irresponsibility that applied not only to the people involved in the riots, but "wherever we find it in our society. We've seen in the past few years...MPs' expenses, what happened in the banks". Miliband also said Labour did not do enough to tackle moral problems during its 13 years in office. In December 2011 Miliband appointed Tim Livesey, a former adviser to the Archbishop of Canterbury, to be his full-time chief of staff.


title: Ed Miliband

text: In his first speech of 2012, Miliband said that if Labour won the 2015 general election times would be difficult economically, but Labour was still the only party capable of delivering "fairness". He also said he would tackle "vested interests", citing energy and rail companies. Following the announcement in late January 2012 that the chief executive officer of the nationalised Royal Bank of Scotland, Stephen Hester, would receive a bonus worth £950,000, Miliband called the amount "disgraceful", and urged David Cameron to act to prevent the bonus. Cameron refused, saying it was a matter for the RBS board, leading Miliband to announce that Labour would force a Commons vote on whether or not the government should block it. Hester announced that he would forego his bonus, and Miliband said Labour would carry on with a Commons vote regardless, focusing instead on the bonuses of other RBS executives. Following George Galloway's unexpected win in the March by-election in Bradford West, Miliband announced he would lead an inquiry into the result, saying that it "could not be dismissed as a one-off".


title: Ed Miliband

text: In April 2012, in the midst of a debate about the nature of political party funding, Miliband called on David Cameron to institute a £5,000 cap on donations from individuals and organisations to political parties, after it had been suggested that the government favoured a cap of £50,000. On 14 July 2012, Miliband became the first Leader of the Labour Party to attend and address the Durham Miners' Gala in 23 years. In the same month, Miliband became the first British politician to be invited to France to meet the new French President, François Hollande.


title: Ed Miliband

text: On 23 January 2013, Miliband stated that he was against holding a referendum on the UK's membership of the European Union because of the economic uncertainty that it would create. On 18 March 2013, Miliband reached a deal with both Cameron and Nick Clegg on new press regulation laws following the Leveson Inquiry, which he said "satisfied the demands of protection for victims and freedom of the press". In August 2013, following the recall of Parliament to discuss an alleged chemical attack in Syria, Miliband announced that Labour would oppose any military intervention on the basis that there was insufficient evidence. David Cameron had been in favour of such action but lost the ensuing vote, making it the first time that a British prime minister had been prevented from instigating military action by parliament since 1956.


title: Ed Miliband

text: At the Labour conference in September 2013, Miliband highlighted his party's stance on the NHS and announced if elected Labour would abolish the bedroom tax. The conference included several 'signature' policies, such as strengthening the minimum wage, freezing business rates, building 200,000 houses a year, lowering the voting age to 16, and the provision of childcare by primary schools between 8am and 6pm. The policy that attracted the most attention was the commitment to help tackle the 'cost-of-living crisis' by freezing gas and electricity prices until 2017 to give time to 'reset the market' in favour of consumers. In January 2014, Miliband extended the concept of reform to include the 'big five' banks, in addition to the 'big six' utility companies, and discussed the impact of the cost-of-living on the 'squeezed middle', saying "the current cost-of-living crisis is not just about people on tax credits, zero-hour contracts and the minimum wage. It is about the millions of middle-class families who never dreamt that life would be such a struggle".


title: Ed Miliband

text: Throughout 2014, Miliband changed Labour's policy on immigration, partly in response to UKIP's performance in the European and local elections in May, and the close result in the Heywood and Middleton by-election in October. Miliband committed to increase funding for border checks, tackle exploitation and the undercutting of wages, require employers who recruit abroad to create apprenticeships, and ensure workers in public-facing roles have minimum standards of English. In November 2014, Labour announced plans to require new EU migrants wait two years before claiming benefits.