Leslie John Huckfield (born 7 April 1942) is a British Labour politician who served as

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

Nuneaton Nuneaton ( ) is a market town in the borough of Nuneaton and Bedworth in northern Warwickshire, England, close to the county border with Leicestershire and West Midlands County.OS Explorer Map 232 : Nuneaton & Tamworth: (1:25 000) : Nuneaton ...

from 1967 to 1983 and 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) from 1984 to 1989.

Early life

From 1960 to 1963, Huckfield studied at

Keble College, Oxford Keble College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the University Museum and the University Parks. The college is bordered to the north by Keble Road, to ...

, graduating with a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, subsequently promoted to MA. From 1963 to 1966, he worked as a lecturer in

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics anal ...

Birmingham City University , mottoeng = "Do what you are doing; attend to your business" , established = 1992—gained university status1971—City of Birmingham Polytechnic1843—Birmingham College of Art , type = Public , affiliation = ...

(then the City of Birmingham College of Commerce) whilst studying for a Master of Commerce degree, specialising in Econometrics and Statistics.

Parliamentary career

Huckfield first stood for Parliament at

Warwick and Leamington Warwick and Leamington is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since the 2017 general election by Matt Western, of the Labour Party. Members of Parliament Constituency profile The seat comprises the two ep ...

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo ...

, but he was defeated by 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 ...

incumbent John Hobson. In 1967, at the age of 24, Huckfield was elected to parliament for the constituency of

in a

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 ...

following the resignation of Frank Cousins, becoming the youngest MP (the "

Baby of the House Baby of the House is the unofficial title given to the youngest member of a parliamentary house. The term is most often applied to members of the British parliament from which the term originated. The title is named after the Father of the Hous ...

"). He was Under-Secretary of State for Industry from 1976 to 1979, serving under Industry Secretary Eric Varley in the government of

James Callaghan Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, ( ; 27 March 191226 March 2005), commonly known as Jim Callaghan, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1976 to 1980. Callaghan is ...

. For a time he was a member of Labour's National Executive Committee, holding the Socialist Societies seat. When Labour returned to opposition in 1979, he was opposition spokesperson on industry from 1979 to 1981. He was a founding member of the

Socialist Campaign Group The Socialist Campaign Group, officially the Socialist Campaign Group of Labour MPs and also known as the Campaign Group, is a left-wing, democratic socialist grouping of the Labour Party's Members of Parliament in the House of Commons of the ...

in 1982. After being re-elected in four general elections, Huckfield did not stand when the constituency boundaries were changed for the 1983 general election. The Nuneaton seat was gained by the

Lewis Stevens Lewis David Stevens (13 April 1936 – 15 January 2023) was a British Conservative Party politician. Stevens was educated at Oldbury Grammar School, the University of Liverpool, and Lanchester College, Coventry. He carried out national se ...

, who held it until 1992. Huckfield had been expected to contest the recreated Sedgefield seat for the 1983 general election, but instead Labour selected

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 t ...

as their candidate, who was elected.

After Parliament

Huckfield was then appointed as Director of the Capital Transport Campaign for the

Greater London Council The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...

. In the 1984 elections for the European Parliament, he was returned as

(MEP) for the Merseyside East constituency. He was Vice Chair of Parliament's Transport Committee, and stood down in

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

. He is now based in

Auchterarder Auchterarder (; gd, Uachdar Àrdair, meaning Upper Highland) is a small town located north of the Ochil Hills in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, and home to the Gleneagles Hotel. The High Street of Auchterarder gave the town its popular name of "T ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, where he runs a funding consultancy called Leslie Huckfield Research International. He supports

Scottish independence Scottish independence ( gd, Neo-eisimeileachd na h-Alba; sco, Scots unthirldom) is the idea of Scotland as a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom, and refers to the political movement that is campaigning to bring it about. ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Huckfield, Leslie 1942 births Living people Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen-sponsored MPs Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1966–1970 UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 Labour Party (UK) MEPs MEPs for England 1984–1989 Academics of the University of Birmingham