David Gordon Clelland (born 27 June 1943) is a British Labour Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tyne Bridge from the 1985 by-election until the 2010 general election.

Early life

David Clelland was born in

Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Sage ...

and educated locally at the Kelvin Grove Boys' School (now a primary school) and the Gateshead and Hebburn Technical College. After leaving education in 1959 he was an electrical fitter for Reyrolle in Hebburn for twenty-two years from 1964. He was elected as a councillor in the

Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead The Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead is a metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, North East England. It includes Gateshead, Rowlands Gill, Whickham, Blaydon, Ryton, Felling, Pelaw, Dunston and Low Fell. The boroug ...

in 1972 and became its leader in 1984.

Parliamentary career

Clelland was selected to contest the

1985 Tyne Bridge by-election The 1985 Tyne Bridge by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 5 December 1985 for the British House of Commons constituency of Tyne Bridge. Previous MP The seat fell vacant when the constituency's Labour Party (UK), Labour Member of ...

, one of the safest Labour seats in the country, which had become vacant following the death of the MP Harry Cowans. Clelland retained the seat at the by-election on 5 December 1985 with a majority of 6,575. At the by-election, he defeated Rod Kenyon and

Jacqui Lait Jacqueline Anne Harkness Lait (born 16 December 1947) is a British Conservative Party politician and former Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituencies of Hastings and Rye (1992–1997) and Beckenham (1997–2010). Early life Lait was b ...

, later the Conservative Member of Parliament for Beckenham. In parliament, Clelland served on the

Home Affairs Select Committee The Home Affairs Select Committee is a Departmental Committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Remit The Home Affairs Committee is one of the House of Commons Select committees related to government departments: its ...

from 1986 until he joined the Energy Select Committee for a year in 1989. He became an opposition

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 ...

in 1995 under the leadership of Tony Blair and was made an Assistant Government Whip in office following the 1997 General Election. He was promoted to become a Lord Commissioner to the Treasury, a 'full' whip, in January 2001. He ceased being a whip following the 2001 election, and became a member of the

Office of the Deputy Prime Minister An office is a space where an organization's employees perform administrative work in order to support and realize objects and goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific duti ...

Select Committee, until 2005. Following the 2005 General Election he became a member of the Transport Select Committee. In 2002, he was appointed an advisor to the

Minister of Sport A Ministry of Sports or Ministry of Youth and Sports is a kind of government ministry found in certain countries with responsibility for the regulation of sports, particularly those participated in by young people. The Ministry of Youth and S ...

Richard Caborn on

greyhound racing Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around a track. There are two forms of greyhound racing, track racing (normally around an oval track) and coursing; the latter is now banned in most countries. Tra ...

. Following boundary changes, the seat of Tyne Bridge was abolished and replaced by a new seat

at 2010 general election. Following a close fought contest with Sharon Hodgson, the MP for

Gateshead East and Washington West Gateshead East and Washington West was a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2010. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post electoral ...

, Clelland was chosen to fight the new seat at the next election for the Labour Party. On 26 January 2010, Clelland announced that he would stand down at the 2010 General Election.

Controversy

David Clelland was in the news during July 2008 with his reply to a letter from a disgruntled constituent. The constituent, a Mr Gary Scott, wrote to Clelland accusing him of following the views of the Labour Party and not those of his constituents. Clelland responded by saying: "Given your rude and offensive manner I accept your offer not to vote for me again - if indeed you ever have - I do not want your vote so you can stick it where it best pleases you".

Personal life

David Clelland married Maureen Potts on 31 March 1965 in Gateshead, with whom he had two children and four grandchildren. In 1998 they separated after Clelland had an affair with his secretary, Brenda Graham, who he later married in 2005. Maureen Clelland died in May 2007. He also recorded the Alex Glasgow song "The Socialist ABC" on the CD ''From Tees to Tyne'', saying "I've been singing this song as a party piece for years, but I was surprised and delighted when the people from

The Northumbria Anthology The Northumbria Anthology is a collection of music and poems derived from the North East of England. The Anthology is a musical celebration of the history and culture of this region. The collection spans musical boundaries from folk and rock to cla ...

asked me to record it".

References

External links

David Clelland MP
official site

* ttps://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/david_clelland/tyne_bridge TheyWorkForYou.com - David Clelland MP
Public Whip - Voting Record: David Clelland MP

BBC Politics

The Socialist ABC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clelland, David 1943 births Living people Amalgamated Engineering Union-sponsored MPs Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1992–1997 UK MPs 1997–2001 UK MPs 2001–2005 UK MPs 2005–2010 People from Gateshead Politicians from Tyne and Wear