Andrew Cunningham (8 June 1910 – 14 June 2010) was a political figure and union leader in

North East England North East England is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The region has three current administrative levels below the region level in the region; combined authority, unitary authorit ...

. Born in

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county *Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in No ...

, he was jailed for his role in the Poulson scandal of 1974. He lived most of his life in Chester-le-Street. At the height of his career in 1971 he held the following positions: *Member of the

National Executive Committee National Executive Committee is the name of a leadership body in several organizations, mostly political parties: * National Executive Committee of the African National Congress, in South Africa * Australian Labor Party National Executive * Nationa ...

(NEC) of the Labour Party *Chairman of the

Chester-le-Street Chester-le-Street (), also known as Chester, is a market town and civil parish in County Durham, England, around north of Durham and also close to Sunderland and Newcastle upon Tyne. It is located on the River Wear, which runs out to sea at Sun ...

and the Northern Region Executive of the Labour Party *Head of the Northern District of the

National Union of General and Municipal Workers The GMB is a general trade union in the United Kingdom which has more than 460,000 members. Its members work in nearly all industrial sectors, in retail, security, schools, distribution, the utilities, social care, the National Health Service (N ...

(NUGMW) (the biggest union in the north-east, succeeding John Yarwood MBE) *Alderman of

Durham County Council Durham County Council is a local authority administering all significant local government functions in the unitary authority area of County Durham in North East England. The council area covers part of the ceremonial county of County Durham, e ...

*Member of the

town council *Chairman of Durham Police Authority *Chairman of Newcastle Airport Consultative Committee *Member of the Northumbrian River Authority *Member of the

Peterlee Peterlee is a town in County Durham, England. It lies between Sunderland to the north, Hartlepool to the south, the Durham Coast to the east and Durham to the west. It gained town status in 1948 under the New Towns Act 1946. The act also create ...

New Town Development Corporation *Member of the Tyneside Passenger Transport Authority His role with the GMWU in particular gave him considerable influence, via the

Trade Union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

block vote, in the selection of Labour Party

parliamentary A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democracy, democratic government, governance of a sovereign state, state (or subordinate entity) where the Executive (government), executive derives its democratic legitimacy ...

candidates. The Poulson scandal also destroyed the careers of

T. Dan Smith Thomas Daniel Smith (11 May 1915 – 27 July 1993), also known by his nickname “Mr Newcastle”,"Southern Discomfort" (leading article), ''The Times'', 3 August 1993. was a high-profile British Labour Party politician who served as chairman of ...

and the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...

Reginald Maudling Reginald Maudling (7 March 1917 – 14 February 1979) was a British politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1962 to 1964 and as Home Secretary from 1970 to 1972. From 1955 until the late 1960s, he was spoken of as a prospecti ...

. Cunningham was sentenced to five years imprisonment, reduced to three on appeal. He was paroled from

Ford Open Prison HM Prison Ford (informally known as Ford Open Prison) is a Category D men's prison, located at Ford, in West Sussex, England, near Arundel and Littlehampton. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. Air Force and Navy use The ...

in June 1976. He was the father of Labour politician

Jack Cunningham John Anderson Cunningham, Baron Cunningham of Felling, PC, DL (born 4 August 1939) is a British politician who was a Labour Member of Parliament for over 30 years, serving for Whitehaven from 1970 to 1983 and then Copeland until the 2005 ...

and two other children.

References

1910 births 2010 deaths English centenarians Men centenarians Councillors in North East England Labour Party (UK) councillors People from Durham, England British politicians convicted of crimes {{England-politician-stub