Frank Richard White (born 11 November 1939) is a Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom.

Early life

He is the son of Edna Mead and Arthur Leslie White, a

sapper A sapper, also called a pioneer or combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefields, preparing ...

with the Royal Engineers, who died in 1943 as a Japanese

Prisoner of War A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...

while working on the infamous

Burma-Siam Railway The Burma Railway, also known as the Siam–Burma Railway, Thai–Burma Railway and similar names, or as the Death Railway, is a railway between Ban Pong, Thailand and Thanbyuzayat, Burma (now called Myanmar). It was built from 1940 to 1943 ...

.Mayor of Bolton: Frank Richard White
''Links in a chain''. Retrieved 31 March 2013. Following his education at Folds Road School in

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish weavers settled in the area in the 14th ...

and Bolton Technical School, Frank worked in a

mail order Mail order is the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote methods such as: * Sending an order form in the mail * Placing a telephone call * Placing ...

distribution firm, becoming an official in the

General and Municipal Workers Union 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 ...

. In 1967, he married Eileen Crook at St Augustine's Church, Tonge Moor, Bolton.

Political career

His first elected political office was as a councillor to Bolton County Borough council, representing the Tonge ward from 1964 to 1974. On his second attempt, he was elected at the October 1974 general election as 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 o ...

(MP) for the marginal Bury and Radcliffe constituency. He was an assistant government whip from 1976 to 1978. His Bury and Radcliffe seat was abolished by boundary changes for the 1983 general election. Instead he stood in the new

Bury North Bury North is a borough constituency in Greater Manchester, created in 1983 and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. With a Conservative majority of 105 votes, it is the most marginal constituency for a sitting MP in the ...

seat, but lost to 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 in ...

candidate Alistair Burt. In 1986, he was elected as a councillor to Bolton Metropolitan Borough council, once again representing the Tonge ward. After ward boundary and name changes in 2004, he represented the Tonge with The Haulgh ward. He attempted to re-enter Parliament in the 1987 general election for Bolton North East, but failed by 813 votes. Between 2005 and 2006, he served as the Mayor of Bolton, with his wife, Eileen, as Mayoress. He was also the Chairman of Lancashire Co-operative Development Agency; a

Magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...

, becoming Chairman of Bolton Magistrates Bench; and Chairman of East Bolton Regeneration Partnership.JP Frank calls it a day after 41 years
''

The Bolton News ''The Bolton News'' – formerly the ''Bolton Evening News'' – is a daily newspaper and news website covering the towns of Bolton and Bury in north-western England. Published each morning from Monday to Saturday and online every day, it is p ...

'', Sunday, 1 November 2009. An occasional

amateur boxer Amateur boxing is a variant of boxing practiced at the collegiate level, at the Olympic Games, Pan American Games and Commonwealth Games, as well as many associations. Amateur boxing bouts are short in duration, comprising three rounds of three ...

and

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

, he is a keen supporter of Bolton Wanderers and a part-time football referee.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:White, Frank 1939 births Living people GMB (trade union)-sponsored MPs Labour Party (UK) councillors Mayors of Bolton Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 Labour Party (UK) mayors Councillors in Bolton