Minister, rebel and a radical

VETERAN MP Michael Meacher

IF Michael Meacher keeps his seat at the upcoming General Election he will have represented Oldham for more than 40 years.

Our lobby correspondent Anika Bourley takes a look back at the life of the Oldham West and Royton MP.

ONE of Labour’s longest-serving MPs, Michael Meacher was first elected in June, 1970, as the MP for Oldham West, aged just 30.

He had previously stood, and lost, for Labour in Colchester at the 1966 General Election, before fighting the 1968 Oldham West by-election after the resignation of Labour MP Leslie Hale — losing out to Conservative candidate Bruce Campbell.

His first speech after finally reaching the Commons demanded higher pensions for the over 80s.

Four years after being elected he served as a junior minister under Harold Wilson and James Callaghan — as Industry Minister between 1974-1975 and Health and Social Security from 1975-1979.

When Margaret Thatcher was elected in May, 1979, Michael served in Labour’s shadow cabinet for 14 years.

He returned to Government as Transport Minister — serving from 1997 to 2001— after Labour’s landslide victory under Tony Blair, and then became the Environment Minister until 2003, before quitting Government over the Iraq war.

His return to the backbenches saw him campaign on climate change, energy supply, the distribution of energy and power, and political accountability.

Michael demanded Government commit to yearly targets for CO2 emissions and attacked them on many issues including genetically modified food and the Iraq war.

But his main passion was council housing and — with 8,000 people on the waiting list in Oldham alone — the need for a massive building programme.

In 2006 stories appeared in national newspapers claiming Michael would stand as a stalking horse to Tony Blair to spark a leadership contest to ensure Gordon Brown was not just handed the crown.

The following year the Labour stalwart announced in the Chronicle he was standing for leader of the Labour party to offer people a choice of a left-wing candidate.

He had previously stood against Roy Hattersley in the 1983 deputy leadership election.

But he could not drum up enough nominations to get himself on the ballot paper after fellow left-winger John McDonnell stood, splitting the vote.

However, despite being known for speaking out — voting against his Government on university tuition fees, 90-day detention and plans to replace the Trident nuclear deterrent — Michael has not caused the whips too many problems.

He believes that despite 13 years in power voters do not know what Labour stands for anymore and earlier this year launched a radical manifesto — The Coalition for Labour Victory —which he believed would shore up Labour’s traditional support and address the issues that really mattered to voters, including house building, taxing bankers and renewed trade union rights.

Outside Parliament Michael is a keen writer and in September, 2006, became the sixth Labour MP to start a blog.

His latest book, “Destination of the Species: The Riddle of Human Existence” examines the meaning of life.

He previously wrote three other books, including one on the Bush administration and the 9/11 terror attack.

:: Michael Meacher was educated at Berkhamstead School, New College Oxford and the London School of Economics.

:: He joined the Labour Party in 1962 and is defending a majority of 10,454 at the election.

:: A Facebook group — Michael 4 Oldham — has also been set up.