Robert Harry Harpham (21 February 1954 – 4 February 2016) was a British
Labour Party politician and
coal miner
Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use c ...
. He was 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 of ...
(MP) for
Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough
Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Gill Furniss, a member of the Labour Party.
History
Following its review of parliamentary representation in South Yorkshire ...
from the
May 2015 general election until he died nine months later. He was succeeded by his widow,
Gill Furniss
Gillian Furniss (born 14 March 1957) is a British politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough since 2016. A member of the Labour Party, she has been Shadow Minister for Roads since 2022.
Early lif ...
, as the MP for the seat at the ensuing
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
.
Early life and education
Harpham was born on 21 February 1954 in
Mansfield
Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area (followed by Sutton-in-Ashfield). It gained the Royal Charter of a market tow ...
,
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...
, England.
Harpham moved to
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
in 1985, and studied at
Northern College in
Barnsley
Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...
and the
University of Sheffield
, mottoeng = To discover the causes of things
, established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions:
– Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield
, type = Pu ...
as a
mature student
An adult learner or, more commonly, a mature student, is a person who is older and is involved in forms of learning. Adult learners fall in a specific criterion of being experienced, and do not always have a high school diploma. Many of the adult ...
.
He graduated from Sheffield with a
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
in 1991.
Career
Early career
Harpham left school at 16,
and became a
coal miner
Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use c ...
at
Clipstone Colliery
Clipstone Colliery was a coal mine in the village of Clipstone, Nottinghamshire, part of the area known as The Dukeries. The colliery opened in 1922 and operated until 2003. It was built by the Bolsover Colliery Company, transferred to the Natio ...
. He took part in the
miners' strike of 1984–85 as an
NUM member, staying out for the duration.
Political career
In 2000, Harpham was elected to
Sheffield City Council
Sheffield City Council is the city council for the metropolitan borough of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. It consists of 84 councillors, elected to represent 28 wards, each with three councillors. It is currently under No Overall Contr ...
, serving as a
councillor
A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries.
Canada
Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...
for
Manor ward
Manor may refer to:
Land ownership
*Manorialism or "manor system", the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of medieval Europe, notably England
*Lord of the manor, the owner of an agreed area of land (or "manor") under manorialism
*Man ...
.
He represented
Darnall ward from 2004 onwards,
and was deputy leader of the council from 2012.
He did not stand at the
2015 council election.
Harpham was elected 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 of ...
(MP) for
Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough
Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Gill Furniss, a member of the Labour Party.
History
Following its review of parliamentary representation in South Yorkshire ...
in the
2015 general election. He was one of the final deep coal miners ever to enter parliament. He was one of 125 MPs who employed a member of their family, in his case, employing his wife as a part-time researcher. He supported
Andy Burnham
Andrew Murray Burnham (born 7 January 1970) is a British politician who has served as Mayor of Greater Manchester since 2017. He served in Gordon Brown's Cabinet as Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 2007 to 2008, Culture Secretary from 2008 ...
in the
2015 Labour leadership election.
He served as
Parliamentary Private Secretary
A Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) is a Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom who acts as an unpaid assistant to a minister or shadow minister. They are selected from backbench MPs as the 'eyes and ears' of the minister in the H ...
(PPS) to
Lisa Nandy
Lisa Eva Nandy (born 9 August 1979) is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities since 2021. A member of the Labour Party, she has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Wigan since 2010.
N ...
, the shadow energy secretary.
He was a Member of Parliament for 260 days, making him
one of the shortest serving MPs.
Personal life
Harpham had a son and a daughter from his first marriage. He was married to
Gill Furniss
Gillian Furniss (born 14 March 1957) is a British politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough since 2016. A member of the Labour Party, she has been Shadow Minister for Roads since 2022.
Early lif ...
until his death.
Death
Harpham was diagnosed with terminal cancer in October 2015.
He died on 4 February 2016, aged 61.
[ On 16 February 2016, a non-religious funeral was held for him at ]Sheffield Cathedral
The Cathedral Church of St Peter and St Paul, Sheffield, more commonly known as Sheffield Cathedral, is the cathedral church for the Church of England diocese of Sheffield, England. Originally a parish church, it was elevated to cathedral sta ...
. Harpham's widow Gill Furniss
Gillian Furniss (born 14 March 1957) is a British politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough since 2016. A member of the Labour Party, she has been Shadow Minister for Roads since 2022.
Early lif ...
, a member of Sheffield City Council, won the by-election caused by his death as Labour's candidate.
See also
* List of United Kingdom MPs with the shortest service
List of United Kingdom MPs with the shortest service is an annotated list of the Members of the United Kingdom Parliament since 1900 having total service of less than 365 days.
''Nominal service'' is the number of days elapsed between the Decla ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harpham, Harry
1954 births
2016 deaths
Alumni of the University of Sheffield
Deaths from cancer in England
Councillors in Sheffield
English miners
Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
People from Mansfield
UK MPs 2015–2017