Richard Allan, whilst an MP, founded the Parthenon 2004 campaign in 2002, which was later re-branded as Marbles Reunited. Richard stood down as an MP in 2005.

Following the recent General Election, a Dissolution honours list has been released (as happens every time there is a new Parliament), of new Peers & Life Peers. Richard Allan has been named as one of the new Life Peers who will be entering the House of Lords, where he will hopefully be able to resume some of his efforts in lobbying for the return of the Parthenon Sculptures.

A number of other former MPs who were strong supporters of the campaign for reunification of the Parthenon Marbles are also due to enter the House of Lords.

From:
Daily Telegraph

Dissolution honours: the full list of new peers
This is the full list of the new members of the House of Lords created in the Dissolution Honours.
Published: 8:00AM BST 29 May 2010

Labour life peers:

Hilary Armstrong, chief whip under Tony Blair, stood down as MP for Durham North West at general election.

Des Browne, former defence secretary, stood down as MP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun at general election.
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Despite promises when they were in opposition, since 1997, the UK’s Labour government has failed to make any meaningful headway towards resolving the situation of the Elgin Marbles in The British Museum. Previous statements from the Conservative party suggest that they would be even less in favour of any sort of reunification deal than Labour is.

Nick Clegg, unknown to many before he was elected as a UK MP in 2005, was previously an MEP & during this time he was involved in organising an exhibition at the European Parliament.

Since 2005, there have been 6 Early Day Motions relating to the Parthenon Marbles. Based on an analysis of the people who signed at least one of these EDMs, the breakdown of support (strong support – MPs only normally sign EDMs when they feel strongly about something) by party is:

Liberal Democrats – 33%
Labour – 15%
Conservative – 1%

The weak support from the Conservative party is particularly troubling – it is only 2 out of 193 MPs who have expressed any interest in the issue. These are: Richard Ottaway (Croydon South) & James Gray (North Wiltshire). There are other members of their party who I know are supportive of the issue, but clearly they are not interested enough in it to want to publicly express their support.

The SNP & Plaid Cymru are also supportive of return, but their results are less accurate as they have far fewer MPs:

SNP – 29%
Plaid Cymru – 100% (of 3MPs)

Other minor / regional parties that are supportive:

SDLP (Northern Ireland) – 67% (of 3 MPs)
Respect – 100% (of 1 MP)

Based on these results, a Liberal Democrat government in the UK currently seems by far the most positive option for the reunification of the Parthenon Marbles. (although the national parties listed above for Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland are also supportive of the issue).

Below is a press release from the Marbles in Exile conference (Note that The Parthenon 2004 campaign is what is now know as Marbles Reunited):

Embargo: 00.01, Wednesday 29th May, 2002
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT SHOWS SUPPORT FOR THE RETURN OF THE PARTHENON MARBLES – RICHARD ALLAN MP

Today, the (Parthenon) Marbles in Exile Conference and Exhibition will take place at the European Parliament. Nick Clegg MEP, chair of the Marbles in Exile Conference, says:

“I am thrilled by the positive response across Europe to this issue. After all, it’s about preserving our common European heritage. It is absurd that the Parthenon monument remains torn apart in this way. Imagine the outrage in Britain if Big Ben’s clock face was taken from Westminster and housed in the Prado museum in Spain.”
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World Focus have published four short videos on the Elgin Marbles and the various campaigns for their return to Athens. The video accompanying the second article includes coverage of the recent protest by Greek schoolchildren outside the British Museum organised with the help of Marbles Reunited, along with some information on the leaflet distribution campaigns and cartoons of the Parthenon Marbles, both organised by Marbles Reunited member Lazaros Filippidis.

As the text on each page is only a brief introduction to the video, I strongly recommend that you visit all the linked pages to view the actual videos.

From:
World Focus

September 15, 2009
Do Greece’s ancient treasures belong in London?

The opening of the Acropolis Museum in Greece this summer has reignited a controversy over some of the sculptures that adorned the Parthenon, the most famous monument of ancient Greece. A number of artifacts, including about half of the Parthenon Frieze, now reside in the British Museum — but many Greeks argue they should be returned to Athens.

Lynn Sherr speaks to a group of students at the American College of Greece, who believe passionately the sculptures should be returned to their homeland.
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On the eve of the official opening of the New Acropolis Museum, the International Association for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures held a meeting to discuss how the issue might be tackled in the coming years & how the organisation could help facilitate the return of the Elgin Marbles. Members were present from organisations in sixteen different countries, all of whose primary aim is the reunification of the surviving Parthenon Sculptures in Athens.

From:
Agence France Presse

Return Elgin marbles for London Olympics: campaigners
3 days ago

ATHENS (AFP) — The 2012 London Olympics would represent a symbolic moment perfect for the return of the long-disputed Elgin Marbles from Britain to Greece, campaigners said Friday.

Representatives of the International Association for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures (IARPS) — which has members in 17 countries — visited Athens Friday ahead of the new Acropolis Museum’s inauguration on Saturday.
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With assistance from the Marbles Reunited campaign, a group of children from a school in Kefalonia have visited the UK & staged a protest outside the British Museum.

From:
PR Newswire

Students, Supported by Marbles Reunited, Stage a Peaceful Protest at the British Museum
LONDON, May 6 /PRNewswire/

Forty five secondary school students and five teachers from the 2nd General Lyceum in Argostoli (Kefalonia), visited London in order to stage a peaceful protest for the return of the Parthenon Sculptures to Athens at the British Museum on Sunday 03 May 2009. This protest was supported by Marbles Reunited.

Marbles Reunited is a British campaigning organisation and Friends of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles.
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Following being the first website to cover Andrew George’s Early Day motion on the Stonehenge megaliths in Greece, it appears that the motion could not be tabled because it did not meet the requirement to have a “reasonable factual basis”.

The press release from Andrew George’s office explains this in more detail.

ANDREW GEORGE MP
HOUSE OF COMMONS
LONDON SW1A 0AA

PRESS RELEASE
Wednesday 1st April 2009
For immediate release

COMMONS HAS SENSE OF HUMOUR BYPASS

Andrew George, MP for the West Cornwall and Isle of Scilly Constituency of St. Ives, has expressed disappointment that parliamentary rules disallowed his proposed Commons motion as tabled last night to be published this morning, Wednesday 1st April 2009. The motion read:
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George Hajifanis, a member of the Management Committee of Marbles Reunited unfortunately died suddenly a few weeks ago.

George worked tirelessly for the return of the Parthenon Marbles, using his connections within London’s Greek Cypriot community, as well as via other organisations involving the diaspora in Europe. His contributions & level headedness will be sorely missed.

From:
London Greek Radio

LGR – 22 December 2008

The funeral for George Hajifanis will be held today (23/12). The service will take place at St Sophia’s Church, Moscow Road, Bayswater and the burial will follow at Hendon Cemetery, Holders Hill Road.

George Hajifanis, Secretary of the National Federation of Cypriots in Britain, died suddenly in hospital on 15th December. He had suffered a stroke while he was visiting, together with his wife and two daughters, relatives in Maidstone, Kent.
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The Marbles Reunited campaign has become the fifteenth member of the International Association for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures.

From:
International Association for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures

NEWS UPDATE
November 11th 2008

Today it was announced that British based Marbles Reunited campaign has joined the International Association for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures.

The Chairman of the International Association for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures, David Hill said he welcomed the addition of such an esteemed group to the international campaign.
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Following on from the news that Marbles Reunited has opened their campaign office, a press release gives more details on Thomas Dowson who has been appointed as Campaign Director.

From:
Newswire Today

PRESS RELEASE:
9 July 2008
Contact: Thomas Dowson +44 (0)20 7930 1813
Embargo: none
MARBLES REUNITED APPOINTS CAMPAIGN DIRECTOR

The campaign for the return of the Elgin marbles to Greece has moved up a gear with the appointment by Marbles Reunited of a full-time Campaign Director, Thomas Dowson, who will be based in the organisation’s office in the West End of London. The appointment of Thomas was warmly welcomed by Andrew George MP, Chairman of Marbles Reunited.

Says, Andrew George, “When the New Acropolis Museum opens later this year, the absence of the marbles will be obvious for all the world to see. The British Museum and the British Government could of course continue dragging it out, but that will look excruciatingly embarrassing as it would send out an undesirable impression of Britain’s arrogance. We have appointed a Campaign Director to up our profile, to enable an alternative dialogue between Greece and Britain. Thomas Dowson has a fine pedigree and the energy to see a job through.”
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Nicolas Mottas writes about some of the current developments in the campaign to reunite the Parthenon Marbles in Athens, along with some of the reason why it is imperative that this happens.

From:
OpEdNews

July 8, 2008 at 07:49:17
Restore the Parthenon Marbles
by Nicolas Mottas Page 1 of 1 page(s)

http://www.opednews.com

“We say to British goverment: you have kept those sculptures for almost two centuries. You have cared for them as well as you could, for which we thank you. But now, in the name of fairness and morality, please give them back. I sincerely believe that such a gesture from Great Britain would ever honour your name”. Melina Mercouri, Greek actress and politician, Oxford Union, June 1986.

With pleasure I was informed that the British-based Greek enterpreneur Sir Stelios Hadji-Ioannou is willing to participate actively in the campaign for the repatriation of the Parthenon Marbles. The case of Marbles reunification’s effort is, less or more, known. Information about the historical backround of the ancient sculptures, their removal from the Athens Acropolis and transfer to London, can be found in various sources, including the internet. On that issue there has been a decades-long concern which is connected with the restoration of the Marbles to their homeland, Greece. However, as it is mostly known, no progress has been done on the issue, mainly due to the continual denial of British Museum’s administrations to discuss such a possibility. Yet, the question still remains: should the Parthenon Marbles return to their natural environment, in the place where they were created, or they should remain in the place where Lord Elgin moved them in the early 19th Century?
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The Marbles Reunited campaign now have a campaign director to work full time on managing their campaign & leading it forward. Their campaign office opened earlier this week.

If anyone wants to find out more details about the campaign, the office telephone number is: +44 (0)20 7930 1813. More details on the future plans for the campaign will be posted on the Marbles Reunited website in due course.

The Marbles Reunited campaign has an associated Facebook group which is open to all who support the campaign for reunification of the Elgin Marbles in Athens.

If you are a supporter & a member of Facebook, then you are encouraged to join the group. (Note that this is not the same as full membership of the Marbles Reunited campaign. Any who join the group are encouraged to become members, but it is not obligatory). If you join, please also encourage any friends you have who might be interested in it to also become members – the more people who join, the greater the awareness of the campaign.

The Facegroup group is located here.

Marbles Reunited’s website is located here.