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Derek Anthony Hatton (born 17 January 1948) is a British former politician, later a broadcaster, property developer and businessman. He gained national prominence as deputy leader of
Liverpool City Council Liverpool City Council is the governing body for the city of Liverpool in Merseyside, England. It consists of 90 councillors, three for each of the city's 30 wards. The council is currently controlled by the Labour Party and is led by Mayor ...
in the 1980s and was a member of the
Trotskyist Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a rev ...
Militant group The Militant Group was an early British Trotskyist group, formed in 1935 by Denzil Dean Harber, former leader of the entrist Marxist Group in the ILP, as a separate entrist group inside the Labour Party. Initially known as the Bolshevik-Leni ...
.


Early life

Hatton attended the
Liverpool Institute for Boys The Liverpool Institute High School for Boys was an all-boys grammar school in the English port city of Liverpool. The school had its origins in 1825 but occupied different premises while the money was found to build a dedicated building on ...
from 1959 to 1964. Notable names at the school included
Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
,
George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...
,
Peter Sissons Peter George Sissons (17 July 1942 – 1 October 2019) was an English journalist and broadcaster. He was a newscaster for ITN, providing bulletins on ITV and Channel 4, before becoming the presenter of the BBC's ''Question Time'' between 1989 ...
, Bill Kenwright and Steven Norris. His subsequent academic success was limited, but he enjoyed sports and appeared on stage as Gratiano in a school production of ''
The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock. Although classified as ...
'' with future theatre producer Bill Kenwright.


Political career

Hatton became a firefighter and later joined the Labour Party and
Militant The English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously active, combative and/or aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century Latin " ...
, a
Trotskyist Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a rev ...
organisation then following an entryist strategy within the Labour Party. As deputy leader of
Liverpool City Council Liverpool City Council is the governing body for the city of Liverpool in Merseyside, England. It consists of 90 councillors, three for each of the city's 30 wards. The council is currently controlled by the Labour Party and is led by Mayor ...
from 1983, Hatton was the most vocal and prominent member of the council's leadership. The then
Leader of the Council In England, local authorities are required to adopt one of three types of executive arrangements, having either an "elected mayor and cabinet", a "leader and cabinet", or a "committee system". The type of arrangement used determines how decisions ...
was John Hamilton, a soft-spoken and widely admired local politician. Hatton joined the
rate-capping rebellion The rate-capping rebellion was a campaign within English local councils in 1985 which aimed to force the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher to withdraw powers to restrict the spending of councils. The affected councils were almost all r ...
in 1985 as the council refused to make a rate increase. In June, the council changed tactics and set an illegal "deficit budget" which committed it to spending £30 million more than its income, claiming that the excess represented grant "stolen" by central government. Once adopted by the Liverpool District Labour Party and 49 councillors, this policy catapulted Hatton and the city council into massive media attention and conflict with the then Conservative government. In 1986, Hatton and 46 other councillors were subsequently found to have committed wilful misconduct by the district auditor, ordered to repay the costs incurred by the council due to the failure to set a rate as a surcharge, and disqualified from office. Hatton was expelled from the Labour Party in 1986 for belonging to Militant, which had earlier been found to be in breach of the Labour Party's constitution. Hatton argued that Militant was a legitimate
Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
tendency within the Labour Party, but 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 ...
voted to expel him by twelve votes to six. In 1993, Hatton was accused of
corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...
as deputy leader of Liverpool City Council. After a lengthy trial, he was found not guilty. Hatton believes that he was the inspiration behind the character of Michael Murray in the G.B.H. series aired by Channel Four.


Media career

Hatton presented the lunchtime
phone-in In broadcasting, a phone-in or call-in is a programme format in which viewers or listeners are invited to air their live comments by telephone, usually in respect of a specific topic selected for discussion on the day of the broadcast. On radio ( ...
on
105.4 Century FM Heart North West is a regional radio station owned and operated by Global as part of the Heart network. It broadcasts to North West England from studios in the Spinningfields area of Manchester city centre. Overview Century Radio (1998–2009 ...
when it launched in 1998, titled "The Degsy Debate". The
BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
fly-on-the-wall documentary ''
Trouble at the Top ''Trouble at the Top'' was a business-based BBC television fly on the wall documentary broadcast on BBC2. The series focussed on business failings or disputes between business people. Mainly the series depicted half-hour documentaries on large b ...
'' followed the station's launch, and Hatton's training. In the 1990s, he worked as
Talk Radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...
's morning phone-in presenter. He was the subject of a
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
documentary, ''My Brilliant Career'' in 1996. In the 1990s, Hatton starred in a series of adverts for
Sekonda Sekonda is a British wristwatch manufacturer. Established in 1966, Sekonda watches were originally produced in the Soviet Union, at the First Moscow Watch Factory in Moscow and the Petrodvorets Watch Factory in Leningrad. Many Soviet-era Sekonda ...
watches. He also appeared on an episode of BBC panel show '' Have I Got News for You'' in 1993, alongside
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 ...
MP and panellist
Edwina Currie Edwina Currie (' Cohen; born 13 October 1946) is a British writer, broadcaster and former politician, serving as Conservative Party Member of Parliament for South Derbyshire from 1983 until 1997. She was a Junior Health Minister for two years ...
, also a Liverpudlian. In 2010, Hatton appeared in
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
's ''Alternative Election Night Special'' episode of '' Come Dine with Me'' alongside
Brian Paddick Brian Leonard Paddick, Baron Paddick (born 24 April 1958), is a British politician and retired police officer, currently sitting in the House of Lords as a life peer. He was the Liberal Democrat candidate for the London mayoral elections of 2 ...
,
Edwina Currie Edwina Currie (' Cohen; born 13 October 1946) is a British writer, broadcaster and former politician, serving as Conservative Party Member of Parliament for South Derbyshire from 1983 until 1997. She was a Junior Health Minister for two years ...
and
Rod Liddle Roderick E. Liddle (born 1 April 1960) is an English journalist and an associate editor of ''The Spectator''. He was an editor of BBC Radio 4's ''Today'' programme. His published works include ''Too Beautiful for You'' (2003), ''Love Will Destr ...
.  Hatton was a director of Rippleffect Studios Limited from 1999 to 2008 His son Ben Hatton was a co-director.


Rejoining the Labour Party

It was reported in the ''
Liverpool Daily Post The ''Liverpool Post'' was a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. The newspaper and its website ceased publication on 19 December 2013. Until 13 January 2012 it was a daily morning newspaper, with the tit ...
'' in 2007 that Hatton had rejoined the Labour Party and intended to seek selection as a prospective parliamentary candidate in the
North West The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...
. Hatton made clear that he is no longer a Trotskyist, but maintains that he remains firmly on the left of the party, expressing his belief that Labour has to abandon
New Labour New Labour was a period in the history of the British Labour Party from the mid to late 1990s until 2010 under the leadership of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. The name dates from a conference slogan first used by the party in 1994, later seen ...
ideology (or "neo-
Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...
", as Hatton puts it) and return to its traditional values. In October 2008, during an interview with ''
The Sunday Telegraph ''The Sunday Telegraph'' is a British broadsheet newspaper, founded in February 1961 and published by the Telegraph Media Group, a division of Press Holdings. It is the sister paper of ''The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', kn ...
'', Hatton revealed that he had become a capitalist running a property company in Cyprus and driving a £60,000 Range Rover, justifying his change in attitude as "My days in politics were a very long time ago and I lost interest in it after I was expelled from the city council". Hatton gave another interview in the same year to the ''Liverpool Daily Post'' in which he reasserted his intention to seek selection as a parliamentary Labour candidate for a constituency in Liverpool or elsewhere in the North West at some point in the future. Hatton stated that he may challenge "one of the neo-Tory types currently representing Liverpool, like
Maria Eagle Maria Eagle (born 17 February 1961) is a British politician who served in the governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. She later served in the Shadow Cabinets of Ed Miliband and Jeremy Corbyn. A member of the Labour Party, she has been Memb ...
maybe".


2015 rejected application

On 28 May 2015, it emerged that Hatton had attempted to rejoin the Labour Party on 9 May, two days after Labour's defeat in the 2015 general election. His application was rejected by
Iain McNicol Iain Mackenzie McNicol, Baron McNicol of West Kilbride (born 17 August 1969) is a British politician, trade unionist and life peer who served as General Secretary of the Labour Party from 2011 to 2018. He was National Political Officer of the ...
, the party's general secretary. In September 2015, Hatton endorsed
Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the political left of the Labour Party, Corbyn describes himself as a socialist ...
's
campaign Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme * Bl ...
in the Labour Party leadership election. He wrote: "For the first time since the Eighties we have a clear choice between a Tory party supported by big business, and a Labour party based on 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 ( ...
s. This might sound very old fashioned, but it's simply a return to the obvious split that has always existed. It was artificially camouflaged under New Labour. It's an exciting time for the whole country, but I fear that the pressure which will be brought to bear from the 'New Labour dinosaurs' and from much of the media will be massive, and Jeremy Corbyn will need strength and support in abundance in order to resist it." In a BBC ''
Newsnight ''Newsnight'' (or ''BBC Newsnight'') is BBC Two's news and current affairs programme, providing in-depth investigation and analysis of the stories behind the day's headlines. The programme is broadcast on weekdays at 22:30. and is also availa ...
'' broadcast on 27 July 2015 Hatton claimed not to be a property developer, and that he was a card-carrying member of the Labour Party. He supported the campaign of Jeremy Corbyn to lead the Labour Party. However, the Labour Party denied this, insisting instead that Hatton had been sent a membership card automatically but had not been permitted to join. At the end of January 2017, in an article for the ''
Liverpool Echo The ''Liverpool Echo'' is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror North West & North Wales – a subsidiary company of Reach plc and is based in St Paul's Square, Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is published Monday to Sunday, and is Liverp ...
'', Hatton wrote that he had voted against Britain leaving the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
in the membership referendum in June 2016: "I can't believe Corbyn is arguing for Labour MPs to vote with the most reactionary and xenophobic Tory government we've seen for a long time. This shows a real lack of leadership on his part and does now make me have serious doubts about him".


2018 overturned successful application

Hatton applied to rejoin Labour in September 2018. The application was approved in February 2019. He was suspended from the party on 20 February, just days after he was re-admitted, after an allegedly anti-Semitic tweet from 2012 came to light.


2020 arrest

In December 2020, newspapers reported that Hatton was one of five men, including the Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, arrested as part of an investigation into building and development contracts in Liverpool.


Bibliography

* *


References


Further reading

* Michael Crick, ''The March of Militant'', London: Faber, 2nd edition, 1986. *Lynne Segal, ''Slow Motion: Changing Masculinities, Changing Men'', London : Virago, 1990, 125–7, 315.


External links


RippleffectCyprus Mail interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hatton, Derek 1948 births British broadcaster-politicians Living people People educated at Liverpool Institute High School for Boys English Trotskyists Councillors in Liverpool English radio personalities Labour Party (UK) councillors Militant tendency supporters British republicans