Greenwich House, foundation stone - geograph

Robert Victor Jackson (born 24 September 1946) is a British politician. He was 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

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

and Member of Parliament (MP) for

Wantage Wantage () is a historic market town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England. Although within the boundaries of the historic county of Berkshire, it has been administered as part of the Vale of White Horse district of Oxfordshire since 1974. T ...

from

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

, having been elected as a

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 i ...

; however, he joined the Labour Party in 2005.

Early life

He was raised in

Nkana Nkana is a section of the city of Kitwe, Copperbelt Province, Zambia which started off in the early part of the 20th century as a railway station to support the growing complex of copper mining operations. It was named after Chief Nkana, the loc ...

Northern Rhodesia Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in southern Africa, south central Africa, now the independent country of Zambia. It was formed in 1911 by Amalgamation (politics), amalgamating the two earlier protectorates of Barotziland-North-West ...

(now

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

) where his father worked on the copper mines and was educated at

Falcon College , denomination = Interdenominational , established = , headmaster = D. van Wyk , grades_label = Forms , grades = 1—6 , gender = Co-educational , lower_age = 12 , upper_age = 18 , pupils = 384 (2016) , campus_type = Rural , houses = ...

Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...

and

St Edmund Hall St Edmund Hall (sometimes known as The Hall or informally as Teddy Hall) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. The college claims to be "the oldest surviving academic society to house and educate undergraduates in any university ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, where he rose to the presidency of the

Oxford Union The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford England, whose membership is drawn primarily from the University of Oxford. Founded in 1823, it is one of Britain's oldest ...

. He was then elected to a fellowship of

All Souls College, Oxford All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members of t ...

, one of the UK's most prestigious academic distinctions. Jackson is married to

Caroline Jackson Caroline Jackson (born 5 November 1946 in Penzance, Cornwall) is a politician in the United Kingdom. She was a Member of the European Parliament for the Conservative Party from 1984 to 2009. Early career Before she became an MEP, Jackson was ...

, a former

. He had worked as a political advisor to senior ministers prior to being elected and also as political advisor to the Governor of Rhodesia, Lord Soames, during its transition to independence as

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 ...

. He edited the '' Round Table Journal'' from 1970 to 1974.

Parliamentary career

In the October 1974 general election, Jackson stood in Manchester Central without success. In

European Parliament election Elections to the European Parliament take place every five years by universal adult suffrage; with more than 400 million people eligible to vote, they are considered the second largest democratic elections in the world after India's. Until ...

in 1979 he was elected as a

(MEP) for Upper Thames. He played a prominent role on the European Parliament's budget committee. At the 1983 general election, he was elected to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

as MP for

. He was subsequently appointed as a junior minister at the

Department of Education and Science An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

(1987–90), the

Department of Employment The Secretary of State for Employment was a position in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. In 1995 it was merged with Secretary of State for Education to make the Secretary of State for Education and Employment. In 2001 the employment functions ...

(1990–92) and the Office of Public Service and Science (1992–93).

Resignation

On 15 January 2005, he defected to the Labour Party, stating that the Tories under

Michael Howard Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne (born Michael Hecht; 7 July 1941) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005. He previously held cabinet posi ...

had "incoherent" policies on public services, "dangerous" views on

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, and had "wobbled" on the issue of

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. He had been on the liberal and pro-European wing of the Conservatives, one of the few of that Party's MPs who supported the reduction in the age of consent for gay men. He has been treasurer of the

Conservative Mainstream Conservative Mainstream is a pressure group on the left of the British Conservative Party, advocating centrist views. It was founded in 1996. It is now aligned closely to the Tory Reform Group and the Conservative Europe Group. Its chairman is ...

association and supported

Kenneth Clarke Kenneth Harry Clarke, Baron Clarke of Nottingham, (born 2 July 1940), often known as Ken Clarke, is a British politician who served as Home Secretary from 1992 to 1993 and Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1993 to 1997 as well as serving as de ...

in the 2001 Leadership election. Before defecting, Jackson had indicated he would not stand in the forthcoming general election, following

Iain Duncan Smith Sir George Iain Duncan Smith (born George Ian Duncan Smith; 9 April 1954), often referred to by his initials IDS, is a British politician who served as Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from 2001 to 2003. He was S ...

's election as Conservative Leader, and he duly stepped down in April 2005. In the 2005 general election, he was succeeded by

Ed Vaizey Edward Henry Butler Vaizey, Baron Vaizey of Didcot, (born 5 June 1968) is a British politician, media columnist, political commentator and barrister who was Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries from 2010 to 2016. A memb ...

, a prominent conservative columnist and pundit, the candidate selected by the local Conservative Association.

Works

* * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Robert 1946 births Living people Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Editors of the Round Table Journal Presidents of the Oxford Union Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford Alumni of St Edmund Hall, Oxford UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1992–1997 UK MPs 1997–2001 UK MPs 2001–2005 Conservative Party (UK) MEPs MEPs for England 1979–1984 Alumni of Falcon College