Benjamin Thomas Ford (born 1 April 1925) is a British former

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

politician who was the

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

Bradford North Bradford North was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Until it was abolished for the 2010 general election, it elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post sy ...

from 1964 to 1983.

Early years

Born to parents Benjamin Charles Ford and May Ethel (''née'' Moorton), Ford's address at the time of his birth was 67 Haberdasher Street,

Shoreditch Shoreditch is a district in the East End of London in England, and forms the southern part of the London Borough of Hackney. Neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets are also perceived as part of the area. In the 16th century, Shoreditch was an impor ...

, County of London. He moved to

Streatham Streatham ( ) is a district in south London, England. Centred south of Charing Cross, it lies mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, with some parts extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. Streatham was in Surrey ...

, SW16 in 1927. Ford attended Rowan Road Central School in Surrey. From 1951 to 1964, he worked as an electronic fitter-wireman.

Political career

Ford was councillor on Clacton

Urban District Urban district may refer to: * District * Urban area * Quarter (urban subdivision) * Neighbourhood Specific subdivisions in some countries: * Urban districts of Denmark * Urban districts of Germany * Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (hist ...

Council from 1959 to 1962, and an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

County Council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irela ...

from 1959 to 1965. Ford was election agent for

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-on- ...

in 1959, and president of that

Constituency Labour Party __NOTOC__ A constituency Labour Party (CLP) is an organisation of members of the British Labour Party who live in a particular parliamentary constituency. In England and Wales, CLP boundaries coincide with those for UK parliamentary constituenc ...

from 1955 to 1963. He was elected Labour Party

for

at the 1964 general election. Whilst an MP, he served as chairman of the All-Party Wool and Textile Group of MPs and was a founder member of

The Manifesto Group The Manifesto Group was a British parliamentary alliance of Labour MPs led by Dickson Mabon (who preferred to be known as Dick Mabon), who were opposed to what they perceived to be the leftward drift of the Labour Party in the 1970s. History In ...

(an alliance of Labour parliamentarians opposed to the party's perceived move to the left).Miliant Choice for Bradford, 'Yorkshire Post', Saturday 26 June 1982, pg.1 In 1982, he was deselected as the Labour candidate in favour of

Pat Wall Charles Patrick Wall (6 May 1933 – 6 August 1990) was an English Trotskyist political activist who was the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Bradford North (UK Parliament ...

, and subsequently stood at the 1983 general election as an independent Labour candidate. Ford polled 9% of the vote, which arguably split Labour support and helped 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 ...

candidate

Geoffrey Lawler Geoffrey John Lawler (born 30 October 1954) is a British public affairs consultant. He was a Conservative Party Member of Parliament, representing Bradford North from 1983 to 1987. Early life Lawler was born in Nairobi, Kenya, where his father ...

to win. By the early 1990s, Ford had joined the Liberal Democrats.

Honours

In 1979, Ford was made a

Freeman of the City of London The Freedom of the City of London started around 1237 as the status of a 'free man' or 'citizen', protected by the charter of the City of London and not under the jurisdiction of a feudal lord. In the Middle Ages, this developed into a freedom or ...

. From 1978 to 1999, he was a Liveryman of the

Gunmakers' Company The Worshipful Company of Gunmakers is one of the 110 Livery Companies of the City of London. The Gunmakers' Company received a Royal charter of incorporation in 1637. The Proof House has statutory duties to regulate the safety of firearms in ...

. In 1982, he became a deputy lieutenant of West Yorkshire. He became an Honorary Fellow of the

Association of International Accountants The Association of International Accountants (AIA) is a professional accountancy body. It was founded in the UK in 1928 and since that date has promoted the concept of ‘international accounting’ to create a global network of accountants in ov ...

in 1983. In 1976, he was made a Grand Officer of the

Order of the Southern Cross Emperor Pedro I of Brazil founded the National Order of the Southern Cross ( pt, Ordem Nacional do Cruzeiro do Sul) as a Brazilian order of chivalry on 1 December 1822. The order aimed to commemorate the independence of Brazil (7 September 1822) ...

in Brazil.

Personal life

He married Vera Ada (''née'' Fawcett-Fancet) in 1950, with whom he had three children: Anthony, Paula and Ivan. Outside of politics, he lists his recreations as music, shooting, family and reading. He lives in

Bramhope Bramhope is a village and civil parish in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough, West Yorkshire, England, north of Holt Park and north east of Cookridge. The village is north of Leeds city centre and it is in the LS16 Leeds postcode area ...

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

, and is a member of East Ward Labour Club in Bradford.

Publications

* ''Piecework'', 1960

References

External links

* *''Times Guide to the House of Commons'', 1966 & 1983 * 1925 births Living people Amalgamated Engineering Union-sponsored MPs Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Independent politicians in England UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs 1966–1970 UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 Politicians from Bradford Councillors in Essex {{England-Labour-UK-MP-stub