Shaw was educated at Vinters Boys' School, West Kent College and Bromley College.[3]
Parliamentary career
A former member of Rochester-upon-Medway City Council, Shaw was first elected to the House of Commons at the 1997 general election; which resulted in a nationwide landslide for the Labour Party. He was re-elected in 2001, with a majority of 4,340 votes and again in 2005; with a reduced majority of 2,332 votes.
Shaw served as a member of the Commons Environmental Audit Select Committee (1997–2001), and the Education and Skills Select Committee (2001–05). In July 2007, Shaw was appointed minister for the South East of England.
Following a cabinet reshuffle in October 2008, Shaw was moved to the DWP, becoming a parliamentary under-secretary of state for work and pensions, and minister for disabled people, replacing Anne McGuire,[4] while retaining his position as minister for the South East.
Shaw lost his seat at the 2010 general election to Tracey Crouch of the Conservative Party. On the BBCPolitics Show South East in July 2010, he said that he had withdrawn from public life. Shaw went on to be the chief executive of Policy Connect, an independent, cross-party not-for-profit social enterprise with two decades in policy work.
Personal life
While an MP, Shaw lived in Snodland in his constituency.