Ronnie Campbell

For other people named Ronald Campbell, see Ronald Campbell (disambiguation).
Ronnie Campbell
MP
Member of Parliament
for Blyth Valley
Assumed office
11 June 1987
Preceded by John Ryman
Majority 9,229 (24%)
Personal details
Born (1943-08-14) 14 August 1943
Tynemouth, Northumberland, England
Nationality British
Political party Labour
Spouse(s) Deirdre McHale
Children 6 (5 sons, 1 daughter)
Religion Roman Catholic[1]

Ronald Campbell (born 14 August 1943) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Blyth Valley since the 1987 general election.

Early life

He was born in Tynemouth, and grew up with seven siblings. He attended Blyth Ridley County High School, a secondary modern, and left school at 14 to become a coal miner. Before entering parliament he was a district councillor on Blyth Valley Borough Council from 1969 and a lay official of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). He was a miner from 1958–86. Campbell led picket lines in the 1984–85 miners' strike and was arrested twice.[2]

Parliamentary career

He has been an MP since 1987 when he won his seat by 856 votes, and has often voted against the government on issues such as the Iraq War. He is an outspoken socialist. When the government nationalised Northern Rock in 2008, Campbell declared it "the People's Bank" and opened an account.[3]

In May 2009, during the high-profile MPs expenses scandal, Campbell agreed to give back over £6,000 he had claimed for furnishings in his London home.[4][5]

In 2013, Campbell was one of just 22 Labour MPs to vote against marriage equality, out of 255.[6]

Upon re-election in May 2015, Campbell announced that he would stand down at the next General Election.[7]

Campbell was one of 36 Labour MPs to nominate Jeremy Corbyn as a candidate in the Labour leadership election of 2015[8] and one of a handful of Labour MPs to publicly support a British exit from the European Union.[9]

Personal life

He married Deirdre McHale in 1967, who serves on Northumberland County Council. They have five sons, including a set of twins, and one daughter. Whilst serving as an MP he had a reunion with a half-brother he had not known due to the latter's adoption.[10]

In September 2016 Campbell underwent chemotherapy after being diagnosed with stomach cancer.[11] He returned to Parliament on 30 November 2016 and was welcomed back during Prime Minister's Questions.[12]

References

  1. ↑ "Signatory to letter by Catholic MPs to Pope Francis re ordination of married men". Catholic Herald. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  2. ↑ Kelly-Jou, Mike. "North East MPs reveal their roles in the great miners' strike". North East Chronicle. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  3. ↑ Hoggart, Simon (19 February 2008). "A cool head in another catastrophe". Guardian. Retrieved 24 February 2008.
  4. ↑ Thompson, Liam. "Ronnie Campbell to repay expenses". News Post Leader. Retrieved 18 May 2009.
  5. ↑ Swaine, Jon (13 May 2009). "Ronnie Campbell agrees to repay £6,000 for furniture at London flat: MPs' expenses". Telegraph. Retrieved 18 May 2009.
  6. ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/feb/05/gay-marriage-gay-rights
  7. ↑ http://www.newspostleader.co.uk/news/local/labour-s-ronnie-campbell-delighted-with-election-win-his-final-one-1-7251861
  8. ↑ 36 Labour MPs nominate Jeremy Corbyn, newstatesman.com, June 2015; accessed 8 September 2015.
  9. ↑ "EU referendum: Full list of MPs backing a Brexit vote at the historic ballot". 2016-02-18. Retrieved 2016-07-03.
  10. ↑ "A tale of two brothers". Inside Out – North East and Cumbria. BBC. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
  11. ↑ "Blyth MP Ronnie Campbell's stomach cancer diagnosis". ITV News. 14 September 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  12. ↑ John Bercow, Speaker (30 November 2016). "Oral Answers: Prime Minister: Engagements". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 617. House of Commons. col. 1519.

News items

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
John Ryman		 Member of Parliament for Blyth Valley
1987–present 		Incumbent
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 12/1/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.