Robert Joseph Mellish, Baron Mellish, PC (March 3, 1913 – May 9, 1998) was a British politician. Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council is a body of advisors to the British Sovereign. Events 1284 - Statute of Rhuddlan incorporated the Principality of Wales into England 1575 - Indian Year 1913 ( MCMXIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 1457 BC - Battle of Megiddo (15th century BC between Thutmose III and a large Canaanite coalition under the King of Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located He was a long-serving Labour Party MP (from 1946 to 1982) and served as the Labour Chief Whip from 1969 until 1976 but in his later years he fell out with his local Constituency Labour Party which had become dominated by left-wingers, and eventually left the party. The Labour Party is a Political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century it has been since the 1920s the principal party of the Year 1946 ( MCMXLVI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1982 ( MCMLXXXII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar) The Chief Whip is a political office in some Legislatures assigned to an elected member whose task is to administer the whipping system that ensures that members of Year 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1976 ( MCMLXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. A Constituency Labour Party (CLP is an organisation of members of the British Labour Party who live in a particular parliamentary Constituency in England
Mellish was born in Bermondsey to a docker father, the thirteenth of fourteen children. Bermondsey (ˈbɜːmənzi or /ˈbɜːməndzi/ is an area in modern London on the southern bank of the river Thames, and presently part of the London Borough His father had taken part in the dockers' strikes of 1899 and 1912. Year 1899 ( MDCCCXCIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Year 1912 ( MCMXII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year starting After he left school he worked for the Transport and General Workers' Union and when the Second World War started in 1939 he was called up and ended the war as a Major in the Royal Engineers fighting the Japanese in South-East Asia. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers ( RE) and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics.
When Sir Ben Smith resigned from Parliament, the Rotherhithe constituency was vacated. Sir Benjamin (Ben Smith, PC (1879 &ndash 1964 was Labour politician Rotherhithe was a parliamentary constituency centred on the Rotherhithe district of South London. Most local opinion favoured Dr John Gillison who represented the area on the London County Council but Mellish was selected after the TGWU dockers' delegates voted for him en bloc. London County Council (LCC was the principal local government body for the County of London, throughout its 1889-1965 existence and the first London-wide general municipal He easily won the constituency in a by-election in 1946. A by-election or bye-election (called special election in the United States) is an Election held to fill a political office that has become vacant This constituency was expanded in 1950 and named Bermondsey. Bermondsey was a Borough constituency centred on the Bermondsey district of South London.
In 1950 he was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Minister for Supply, George Strauss and then in 1951 to the Minister for Pensions, George Isaacs. A Parliamentary Private Secretary ( PPS) is a role given to a United Kingdom Member of Parliament (MP by a senior minister in government or shadow George Russell Strauss Baron Strauss PC ( 18 July 1901 - 5 June 1993) was a long-serving British Labour Party The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is a position in the UK cabinet responsible for the Department for Work and Pensions. George Alfred Isaacs JP DL ( 28 May 1883 &ndash 26 April 1979) was a British Politician and He was also Chairman of the London Regional Labour Party from 1956 to 1977. Year 1956 ( MCMLVI) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Also 1977 (album by Ash. Year 1977 ( MCMLXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays
Mellish was appointed by Harold Wilson as a Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury (Chief Whip) which he held during Labour Governments from 1969 to 1970 and again from 1974 to 1976. James Harold Wilson Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, PC (11 March 1916 &ndash 24 May 1995 was one of the most prominent British politicians In the United Kingdom, there are at five Secretaries to the Treasury, officials officially acting as secretaries to the Treasury board Year 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1970 ( MCMLXX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1974 ( MCMLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. Year 1976 ( MCMLXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. He was renowned as a tough Chief Whip. He was Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Housing and Local Government when Labour won in 1964 until 1967 and also Minister of Public Building and Works from 1967 until 1969. Year 1967 ( MCMLXVII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the 1967 Gregorian calendar. Year 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. He became Minister for Housing and Local Government in 1970.
Mellish was in favour of Britain's entry into the Common Market but voted to oppose Edward Heath's policy of entry in 1971, in accordance with Labour Party policy. The European Community (EC is one of the Three pillars of the European Union (EU created under the Maastricht Treaty (1992 Sir Edward Richard George Heath, KG, MBE (9 July 1916 &ndash 17 July 2005 often known as Ted Heath, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom He was loyal to the Labour Party leader Harold Wilson and apparently wept when he heard the news that he had resigned as Prime Minister in 1976. This article is about the government position For other uses see Prime Minister (disambiguation. Year 1976 ( MCMLXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. He supported Michael Foot to replace Wilson but Jim Callaghan won instead. Michael Mackintosh Foot (born 23 July 1913 is a British politician and writer Leonard James Callaghan Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC (27 March 1912 – 26 March 2005 was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 Mellish did not get on well with Callaghan and so left the Government a few months later.
Mellish once opened a speech by saying "As I come to this platform, many of you will know that I have never been an anti-racialist". [1] In 1974 Mellish complained about the influx of Malawi Asian immigrants into Britain: "[they] cannot come here just because they have a British passport—full stop. The Republic of Malawi (məˈlɑːwi or; formerly Nyasaland) is in southern Africa. Asian or Asiatic is a Demonym for people from Asia. However the use of the term varies by country and person often referring to people from a particular " [1] In May 1976 Mellish spoke in Parliament on the same subject:
- This nation has done all it should have done. The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories Its record is one of great honour and integrity, but I say, "Enough is enough". This burden cannot go on being taken by our people alone. Let us start talking about whether we cannot pay their fares and their rehabilitation back to India. . . Problems at local level will become worse and worse for our own people unless something is done. [2], [3], [4]
The government of Margaret Thatcher was keen to get a Labour figure to sit on the London Docklands Development Corporation as Vice Chairman in 1980 but the Labour Party was entirely opposed to the creation of the LDDC and refused to nominate. Margaret Hilda Thatcher Baroness Thatcher LG, OM, PC, FRS (born 13 October 1925 The London Docklands Development Corporation ( LDDC) was a Quango agency set up by the UK Government in 1981 to regenerate the depressed Year 1980 ( MCMLXXX) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar) Mellish offered a way through as he was willing to take the post; as a sitting MP he would lose his seat if the post was paid, so a special provision was made that it would be unpaid until the Vice Chairman elected to take payment. Mellish's acceptance of a post with the LDDC exacerbated the split with the Bermondsey CLP which had elected a slate of left-wing officers at its annual meeting that same year.
Mellish was against the shift to the Left in the Labour Party and decided not to stand for election again. He wanted his ally John O'Grady, Leader of Southwark Borough Council, to be selected in his stead but the constituency party selected Peter Tatchell, its Secretary. The London Borough of Southwark ( is a London borough in south east London, England. Peter Gary Tatchell (born 25 January 1952) is an Australian born British Human rights activist who gained international celebrity Mellish made his discontent public and threatened to resign immediately and force a by-election if Tatchell was endorsed by the Labour Party nationally. Unexpectedly Labour leader Michael Foot announced that Tatchell would never be endorsed "so far as I am concerned". Michael Mackintosh Foot (born 23 July 1913 is a British politician and writer
However, when in August 1982 it became clear that Tatchell would be permitted to stand if the Constituency Labour Party selected him again, Mellish announced his resignation from the Labour Party to sit as an Independent MP. Year 1982 ( MCMLXXXII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar) In November that year he resigned his seat in Parliament (by becoming Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds) and forced a 1983 by-election in which Mellish campaigned for O'Grady who stood as a 'Real Bermondsey Labour' candidate. Appointment to the office of Crown Steward and Bailiff of the three Chiltern Hundreds of Stoke Desborough and Burnham or Manor of Northstead is a Sinecure appointment A by-election was held in the Bermondsey constituency in South London, on 24 February 1983, after the resignation of Labour O'Grady performed badly at the byelection although Mellish did take some satisfaction from the heavy defeat of Tatchell by the Liberal candidate, Simon Hughes. The Liberal Party was one of the two major British political parties from the early 19th century until the rise of the Labour Party in the 1920s and a third party Simon Henry Ward Hughes (born 17 May 1951) is a British politician and Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for North Southwark
Mellish later joined the Social Democratic Party. This is about the UK Social Democratic Party which existed between 1981 and 1988 In 1985 he stood down from the LDDC and accepted a life peerage as Baron Mellish, of Bermondsey in Greater London. Year 1985 ( MCMLXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar) Greater London is the top-level administrative subdivision covering London, England. Mellish was a supporter of Millwall Football Club and was President of the Millwall Supporters Club. Millwall Football Club are an English professional football team based at The New Den, referred to by fans as The Den in Bermondsey, [5] Peter Tatchell claimed in 2003 (see external link) that Mellish was secretly bisexual and was 'persistent' in propositioning Tatchell but warned him when he was rebuffed not to publicise it as no one would believe him. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. Bisexuality refers to sexual behavior with or attraction to people of both sexes or to a bisexual orientation
The tallest building in Milton Keynes, Mellish Court, is named after him. Milton Keynes ( ˌmɪltənˈkiːnz often abbreviated to MK, is a large town
References
- ^ Mark Steel, Reasons to Be Cheerful (Scribner, 2002), pp. 129-130.
External links
- The Independent obituary by Tam Dalyell. Sir Thomas Dalyell of the Binns 11th Baronet (born 9 August 1932) known as Tam Dalyell (diːˈɛl is a Scottish Politician
- Photograph of Mellish
- BBC's The Westminster Hour with an interview with Peter Tatchell concerning the Bermondsey by-election.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sir Ben Smith |
Member of Parliament for Rotherhithe 1946–1950 |
Succeeded by (constituency abolished) |
| Preceded by (new constituency) |
Member of Parliament for Bermondsey 1950–1983 |
Succeeded by Simon Hughes |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Edward Astley |
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Housing and Local Government 1964–1967 |
Succeeded by James MacColl |
| Preceded by Reginald Prentice |
Minister of Public Buildings and Works 1967–1969 |
Succeeded by John Silkin |
| Preceded by John Silkin |
Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury 1969–1970 |
Succeeded by Francis Pym |
| Preceded by Anthony Greenwood |
Minister of Housing and Local Government 1970 |
Succeeded by Unknown |
| Preceded by Humphrey Atkins |
Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury 1974–1976 |
Succeeded by Michael Cocks |