Ernest Alan Fitch (10 March 1915 – 7 August 1985) was a British Labour Party politician. Fitch was educated at

Kingswood School (''In The Right Way Quickly'') , established = , closed = , type = Independent , religious_affiliation = Methodist , president = , head_label = Headmaste ...

, Bath (1927–1932), and was a mineworker. He represented mineworkers on the executive committee of the

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

and

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

Regional Council of Labour. He was elected to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

in a by-election in 1958, following the death of sitting Labour MP Ronald Williams. He was re-elected at the next seven general elections, before stepping down at the 1983 general election, when the seat was held for Labour by

Roger Stott Roger Stott, (7 August 1943 – 9 August 1999) was a British Labour Party politician. Biography Stott was born in Rochdale, the first child of Richard and Edith Stott. He was of Scottish descent. He went to school in Rochdale and when he wa ...

. Fitch was one of only two MPs for Wigan in the 20th century to stand down (retire) rather than die in office. His successor

reverted to the trend and died in office in 1999. Fitch was a government Assistant

Whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...

from 1964 to 1966, a

Lord Commissioner of the Treasury In the United Kingdom there are at least six Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a commission for the ancient office of Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second Lord of the ...

from 1966 to 1969 and Vice-Chamberlain of the Household from 1969 to 1970, and was a member of the nationalised industries

select committee Select committee may refer to: *Select committee (parliamentary system), a committee made up of a small number of parliamentary members appointed to deal with particular areas or issues *Select or special committee (United States Congress) *Select ...

. Fitch was also a

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

References

*''Times Guide to the House of Commons 1979'' *

External links

* 1915 births 1985 deaths English miners Labour Party (UK) MEPs Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies MEPs for the United Kingdom 1973–1979 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Wigan Ministers in the Wilson governments, 1964–1970 National Union of Mineworkers-sponsored MPs People educated at Kingswood School, Bath UK MPs 1955–1959 UK MPs 1959–1964 UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs 1966–1970 UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 {{UK-MEP-stub