David Winnick
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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David Winnick MP
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Member of Parliament
for Walsall North |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 3 May 1979 |
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| Preceded by | Robin Hodgson |
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| Majority | 6,640 (19.9%) |
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Member of Parliament
for Croydon South |
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| In office 31 March 1966 – 18 June 1970 |
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| Preceded by | Richard Thompson |
| Succeeded by | Richard Thompson |
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| Born | 26 June 1933 |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Labour |
David Julian Winnick (born 26 June 1933) is a politician in the United Kingdom. He is Labour Member of Parliament (MP) for Walsall North.
Former Prime Minister Harold Wilson once called Winnick the "stupidest man in the house".[1][2][3]
Winnick was an advertising manager and a branch chairman of the Clerical and Administrative Workers Union. He was a councillor from 1959 on Willesden Borough Council, then the London Borough of Brent.
Winnick was first elected as an MP in 1966, for Croydon South (now the area roughly covered by Croydon Central constituency), defeating incumbent Richard Thompson. He lost his seat to Thompson in 1970. After completing a diploma in social administration at the London School of Economics, he stood again in Croydon in October 1974 and was returned for Walsall North in 1979.
Winnick is generally regarded as on the left of the Labour Party and has a strong commitment to human rights. That commitment made him a strong voice in the House of Commons against both the Taliban and Saddam Hussein and he supported the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
On 9 November 2005, Winnick's amendment to a government bill on detention of terrorist suspects without trial - proposing that the maximum period of detention should be 28 days, rather than 90 - passed in the House of Commons by 323 votes to 290, shortly after the government's 90-day proposal was defeated by 322 to 291. This was Tony Blair's first Commons defeat on a whipped vote, after nearly nine years as Prime Minister, and may come to be seen as a critical moment of his term in office.
In January 2009, he urged the communities minister to deplore the fact that Richard Williamson, a British born bishop and Holocaust denier, had been brought back into the fold by the Vatican.[4]
Winnick played a prominent role in the campaign to force the resignation of the Speaker of the House of Commons, Michael Martin. This followed controversy from May 2009 concerning MPs' alleged misuse of permitted allowances and expenses[5].
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2000/may/25/sierraleone2
- ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/borisjohnson/5304788/Michael-Savage-poses-no-risk-to-British-security-so-why-wont-MPs-say-so.html
- ^ Parliamentary Debates, House of Commons, July 26, 1989, column 526
- ^ No excuse for anti-Semitism
- ^ Under-fire Speaker to step down
[edit] External links
- ePolitix - David Winnick official site
- Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: David Winnick MP
- TheyWorkForYou.com - David Winnick MP
- The Public Whip - David Winnick MP voting record
- Public Whip - Commons vote on Winnick's amendment to Terrorism Bill Clause 23, 9 November 2005
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Richard Thompson |
Member of Parliament for Croydon South 1966–1970 |
Succeeded by Richard Thompson |
| Preceded by Robin Hodgson |
Member of Parliament for Walsall North 1979 – present |
Incumbent |
