Gordon Johnston Adam (born 28 March 1934) is a British mining engineer and Labour Party politician. With one brief interruption, he served as a

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

(MEP) for 25 years.

Training and career

Adam went to Carlisle Grammar School and the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

, from which he obtained a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

and

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

degrees. After becoming a Member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in 1953, he joined the

National Coal Board The National Coal Board (NCB) was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the United Kingdom's collieries on "v ...

as a mining engineer in 1959. Adam later became a Charted Engineer member of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining."Debrett's People of Today", Debrett.

Labour Party activity

He joined the Labour Party and in 1963 became Chairman of

Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...

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 ...

, and he was co-opted as a member of

Northumberland County Council Northumberland County Council is a unitary authority in North East England. The population of the non-metropolitan unitary authority at the 2011 census was 316,028. History It was formed in 1889 as the council for the administrative county of N ...

Education Committee in 1964. At the 1966 general election, Adam was the Labour Party candidate for the

Tynemouth Tynemouth () is a coastal town in the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside, North East England. It is located on the north side of the mouth of the River Tyne, hence its name. It is 8 mi (13 km) east-northeast of Newcastle upon T ...

constituency. He succeeded in cutting the Conservative majority from 7,448 to 3,396."The Times Guide to the House of Commons, 1966", p. 206-207. In 1971 Adam was elected to

Whitley Bay Whitley Bay is a seaside town in the North Tyneside borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It formerly governed as part of Northumberland and has been part of Tyne and Wear since 1974. It is part of the wider Tyneside built-up area, being around eas ...

Borough Council; when that council was succeeded by

North Tyneside Borough Council North Tyneside Council is the local authority of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a metropolitan district council, one of five in Tyne and Wear and one of 36 in the metropolitan counties of England, and provides the majority of lo ...

in 1973, Adam was elected to the new body and became its first chairman and Mayor for the year 1974–1975.

Berwick byelection

In August 1973, he was chosen to fight the byelection in Berwick-upon-Tweed caused by the resignation of Lord Lambton, and decided to focus on the issues of housing and prices."Berwick Liberals' confident attack on Tory stronghold", ''The Times'', 18 August 1973, p. 2. ''The Times'' Diary noted that Labour had drafted 13 professionals in to lead their campaign but described Adam as "a charm-free technocrat"."The Times Diary", ''The Times'', 6 November 1973, p. 20. Adam saw Labour overtaken by the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

who narrowly won the seat; he took comfort that the Labour vote had held firm.Ronald Faux, "Berwick result shows Liberal revival goes on, new MP says", ''The Times'', 10 November 1973, p. 2.

North Tyneside Councillor

Adam fought the same constituency again in the February 1974 general election, but saw the Labour vote fall to 4,326 which was about half what it had been in 1970."The Times Guide to the House of Commons, 1974", p. 54. From 1975 he became Deputy Leader of

, and he was named to the Northern Economic Planning Council from 1974. As Deputy Leader of North Tyneside he indicated that the council would aim to comply with the demands of

Peter Shore Peter David Shore, Baron Shore of Stepney, (20 May 1924 – 24 September 2001) was a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician and former UK Cabinet, Cabinet Minister, noted in part for his opposition to the United Kingdom's entry int ...

Secretary of State for the Environment The Secretary of State for the Environment was a UK cabinet position, responsible for the Department of the Environment (DoE). This was created by Edward Heath as a combination of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, the Ministry of Tra ...

, to restrain spending."Mr Shore's warning on council cuts meets mixed response", ''The Times'', 14 June 1976, p. 2. He served on the Northern Arts General Council from 1975 to 1977, and was appointed to the

Whitley Bay Playhouse The Playhouse, Whitley Bay is a state of the art, 630 seater auditorium in the coastal resort of Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear. Having undergone a major and completed refurbishment by North Tyneside Council in 2009, the contemporary theatre has a g ...

Theatre Trust in 1975; he was Chairman of the Trust from 1975 to 1980.

European Parliament

At the 1979 election to the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

, Adam stood as Labour Party candidate in

Northumbria la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria , common_name = Northumbria , status = State , status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...

. This was one of the safest seats for Labour and Adam was easily elected. In June 1980 he lauded events in

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

which had shown how real democracy had triumphed in the end, and urged the government of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

to take the same course."S Africa urged to make reforms", ''The Times'', 21 June 1980, p. 5. In June 1981 he presented a report on behalf of the Committee on Energy and Research which called for the development of a computer translation system."Developments in computer translation", ''The Times'', 16 June 1981, p. 4.

Attitude to the EEC

In 1983 he was chosen to head an inquiry into how the United Kingdom proposed to spend its budget rebate on energy projects.Ian Murray, "EEC energy inquiry", ''The Times'', 24 March 1983, p. 2. Adam was prepared to support the Labour Party policy of withdrawal from the

EEC The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisb ...

in public but felt that party policy failed to take account of practicalities: he was quoted in early 1982 as saying that his constituents were more interested in learning what would happen to the sheepmeat regime.George Clark, "Labour leaders begin to change tack on EEC", ''The Times'', 1 February 1982, p. 3. However, in the 1984 election, the

Conservatives 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 ...

claimed that a reading of Adam's election literature identified him as a supporter of British membership.Anthony Bevins, "Minister tells of partners' sneers", ''The Times'', 30 May 1984, p. 4. After successful re-election Adam became vice-chairman of the Energy, Research and Technology Committee of the European Parliament. He kept up his local connections with the arts, being a member of the Board of Newcastle Free Festival from 1989 to 1999 (and Chairman from 1992). He was also a member of the Board of the Northern Stage Company from 1989 to 2001. At the 1992 general election, he again fought Berwick-upon-Tweed; this time he succeeded in increasing the Labour vote by 5.4% compared with the previous election."The Times Guide to the House of Commons, 1992", p. 47.

Pit closures

Adam managed to persuade the European Parliament to commission an independent investigation of the British government's decision to close 31 coal mines after the closure was announced in 1992. The investigation was significant because the European Commission needed to give approval for part of the closure programme.John Carvel, "EC challenge on pits axe for Heseltine", ''The Guardian'', 14 January 1993. Early in 1995 Adam signed a joint letter in defence of

Clause IV Clause IV is part of the Labour Party Rule Book, which sets out the aims and values of the (UK) Labour Party. The original clause, adopted in 1918, called for common ownership of industry, and proved controversial in later years; Hugh Gaitskell a ...

and opposing

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

's attempt to get rid of it.John Carvel, Patrick Wintour, "Angry Blair slaps down rebel MEPs", ''The Guardian'', 12 January 1995, p. 1.

1999 election

In the selections for the 1999 European election, Adam was placed as fourth on the Labour Party's list for the North East region, a position which made it almost impossible for him to be elected.Andrew Grice, "Labour NEC de-selects 11 of its MEPs", ''The Independent'', 23 September 1998, p. 4. As expected he lost his seat when the Labour Party won only three seats in the region. He wrote to the local newspaper after the election to thank those who had worked with him."European Affairs" (letter), ''Northern Echo'', 21 July 1999, p. 10. He retired to give more time to his work as Chairman of the Northern Energy Initiative, a post he had occupied since 1995.

Return

However, in December 1999 it was surprisingly announced that

Alan Donnelly Alan Donnelly (born 16 July 1957) is a British Labour Party politician and former trade unionist from Jarrow. He served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) and as leader of the European Parliamentary Labour Party. Donnelly was first ele ...

was resigning his seat in the European Parliament. Donnelly was the Leader of the Labour group and only 42 at the time; the Labour Party denied that there was an impending scandal. Under the European Parliament electoral system, Adam became first in line to replace him.Brendan Carlin, "Mystery as Labour's top Euro-MP resigns", ''Northern Echo, ''16 December 1999, p. 1. Adam duly returned to the European Parliament after a gap of six months.

Foot and Mouth disease

In December 2001 Adam caused a stir when he criticised the calls from

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

for the

Sellafield Sellafield is a large multi-function nuclear site close to Seascale on the coast of Cumbria, England. As of August 2022, primary activities are nuclear waste processing and storage and nuclear decommissioning. Former activities included nucle ...

nuclear recycling plant to be closed. He pointed to figures from the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland which found that Sellafield was responsible for only one per cent. of radioactivity in Ireland, and went on to "award the star prize for political humbuggery to the Irish, to the inhabitants of the Emerald Isle".Niall Moonan, "Brit MEP: Shut down Ireland, not Sellafield", ''Daily Mirror'', 24 December 2001, p. 11. He became the Labour group agriculture spokesman and was critical of the group of Welsh farmers who had given evidence during an inquiry into the outbreak of foot and mouth disease, saying they "might be a bit biased".Robert Uhlig, "MEPs question foot and mouth victims' politics", ''Daily Telegraph'', 3 July 2002, p. 6. When the eventual report was highly critical of the British government, Adam abstained rather than support it, describing the report as inaccurate."Report slams foot and mouth policy", ''Western Morning News'', 21 November 2002.

Mayoral candidate

When the directly elected

Mayor of North Tyneside The Mayor of North Tyneside is the executive mayor of the borough of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, England. The incumbent since 2013 is Norma Redfearn. A Mayoral Referendum was held on 5 May 2016 to determine if residents wished to retain th ...

resigned in 2003, forcing a byelection for the Mayoralty, Adam was chosen as the Labour candidate."Anger at Labour's mayor poll choice", ''The Journal'', 8 May 2003, p. 13. He was defeated by

Linda Arkley Linda Arkley is a British Conservative politician who served as the elected Mayor of North Tyneside from 2003 to 2005 and from 2009 to 2013. Early life Arkley attended The Bede School in Sunderland, and studied at both Sunderland University ...

who secured a majority of 4,861."Tory nurse beats Labour MEP", ''The Guardian'', 13 June 2003, p. 14.

Allowances

In April 2004 Austrian MEP

Hans-Peter Martin Hans-Peter Martin (born 11 August 1957) is an Austrian author and journalist and former politician who has been a Member of the European Parliament between 1999 and 2014. Journalist and author Born in Bregenz, Austria, Martin graduated from the ...

was attempting to expose questionable practices in European Parliament allowances. Martin filmed Adam signing the attendance book for a Friday session of the European Parliament, thereby claiming a daily allowance, before immediately leaving. Martin claimed that Adam tried to grab his video camera, knocking Martin off his feet and on to the floor.Nick Speed, "A quick hit gives MEPs a fast buck", ''Sunday Times'', 25 April 2004, p. 5. Adam denied the claim and attacked Martin's methods.Ross Smith, "Euro MP silent on payment bust-up", ''The Journal'', 26 April 2004, p. 1.

Retirement

Adam retired from the European Parliament at the 2004 election. He supported the move for an elected regional authority in the devolution referendum later that year, recalling his first election in 1964 when he called for investment in the region's roads; Adam believed a regional authority would unlock investment held back by Whitehall.Letters, ''The Journal'', 9 October 2004, p. 10. In 2006 he criticised the group of Labour MPs who had called for

to resign the Labour Party leadership, warning that the electorate would not re-elect "a squabbling, divided party"."Voters will not re-elect a divided Labour Party" (Letters), ''The Journal'', 12 September 2006, p. 10. In 2004 Adam was appointed to the Board of the South Tyneside Groundwork Trust. He is also President of the

Felling Male Voice Choir History Felling Male Voice Choir was established in 1920 and is based in Felling, Tyne and Wear, Felling, Gateshead, in the North East England, North East of England. The choir performs throughout the region and also undertakes national and inter ...

.Amy Hunt, "All in fine voice", ''Evening Chronicle'', 5 June 2007, p. 4.

References

External links

A collection of archival documents
by A. Gordon is deposited at th
Historical Archives of the EU
in Florence {{DEFAULTSORT:Adam, Gordon 1934 births Living people People educated at Carlisle Grammar School Alumni of the University of Leeds Councillors in Tyne and Wear Labour Party (UK) MEPs MEPs for England 1979–1984 MEPs for England 1984–1989 MEPs for England 1989–1994 MEPs for England 1994–1999 MEPs for England 1999–2004 Labour Party (UK) councillors