Donald Dixon, Baron Dixon,
PC,
DL (6 March 1929 – 19 February 2017) was a British
Labour Party politician.
Early life
Dixon worked in the Tyne shipyards and was a workers' representative before being elected.
Political career
Between 1963 and 1974 Dixon was leader of Jarrow Borough Council; after that council's abolition he spent five years as chairman of housing at
South Tyneside.
He was
Member of Parliament (MP) for
Jarrow
Jarrow ( or ) is a town in South Tyneside in the county of Tyne and Wear, England. It is east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is situated on the south bank of the River Tyne, about from the east coast. It is home to the southern portal of the Tyne ...
from
1979
Events
January
* January 1
** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
until his retirement in
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
, serving as a
party whip
A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. This means ensuring that members of the party vote according to the party platform, rather than according to their own individual ideolog ...
, and considered on the Old Right of the Party. He was subsequently elevated to the
House of Lords as a
life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...
with the title Baron Dixon of Jarrow in the county of
Tyne and Wear.
He retired from the
House of Lords on 9 February 2016.
Arms
References
Sources
* "Times Guide to the House of Commons", Times Newspapers Limited, 1992 edition.
*
Dod's Parliamentary Companion.
1929 births
2017 deaths
Deputy Lieutenants of Tyne and Wear
GMB (trade union)-sponsored MPs
Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
Labour Party (UK) life peers
Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
UK MPs 1979–1983
UK MPs 1983–1987
UK MPs 1987–1992
UK MPs 1992–1997
Life peers created by Elizabeth II
{{Life-peer-stub