Raymond Francis Harvey Dobson (26 April 1925 – 22 September 1980) was a British trade union official, politician and airline company executive. Dobson went to Purbrook Park School in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

. He joined the Labour Party in 1947 and had a career in the Union of Post Office Workers, on which he served on the Executive. At the 1959 general election, Dobson fought Torrington, a seat which had been won 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 ...

in a 1958 byelection, but which 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 ...

won back in 1959. In 1960, Dobson was Labour candidate at the Tiverton by-election. Dobson fought the marginal constituency of Bristol North East at the 1964 general election, failing by 1,211 votes to win it from the Conservatives. He fought the seat again in the 1966 general election and this time prevailed by nearly 4,000. With a neighbouring seat,

Tony Benn Anthony Neil Wedgwood Benn (3 April 1925 – 14 March 2014), known between 1960 and 1963 as Viscount Stansgate, was a British politician, writer and diarist who served as a Cabinet of the United Kingdom, Cabinet minister in the 1960s and 1970s. ...

got on well with Dobson and appointed him as his

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 ...

in 1967.

Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from October 1964 to June 1970, and again from March 1974 to April 1976. He ...

promoted Dobson to be an Assistant Whip in October 1969. However, he lost his seat by 462 votes in the 1970 general election. He was appointed Director of Personnel for

British Caledonian British Caledonian (BCal) was a British private independent airline which operated out of Gatwick Airport in south-east England during the 1970s and 1980s. It was created as an alternative to the British government-controlled corporation airlin ...

Airways. Later in the 1970s, Dobson served on the board of

Gambia Airways The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...

(1974–77) and of Air Liberia (from 1976).

References

* M. Stenton and S. Lees, "Who's Who of British MPs" (Harvester Press, 1981) {{DEFAULTSORT:Dobson, Raymond 1925 births 1980 deaths British trade unionists Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1966–1970 Union of Communication Workers-sponsored MPs