Ronald Leighton (24 January 1930 – 28 February 1994) was a British Labour Party politician.

Political career

Leighton contested Middleton and Prestwich at the 1964 general election, but was beaten 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 Sir John Barlow. At the February 1974 election he fought the new Horsham and Crawley seat, but was defeated by the Conservative

Peter Hordern Sir Peter Maudslay Hordern, DL, PC (born 18 April 1929) is a British Conservative Party politician. Early life Hordern was born on 18 April 1929 and was the son of Captain Charles Hubert Hordern MBE and grandson of Rt. Rev. Hugh Maudslay Hor ...

. He became an MP in 1979 by regaining Newham North East for his party; it had been the seat of

Reg Prentice Reginald Ernest Prentice, Baron Prentice, PC (16 July 1923 – 18 January 2001) was a British politician who held ministerial office in both Labour and Conservative Party governments. He was the most senior Labour figure ever to defect to the ...

, who during the previous Parliament had defected from Labour to the Conservatives. Leighton was opposed to British membership of the European Communities, and was Director of the Common Market Safeguards Campaign from 1970 to 1972. David Butler and Uwe Kitzinger, ''The 1975 Referendum'' (London: Macmillan, 1976), p. 97. He retained the seat until he died in office, aged 64, in 1994; at the subsequent by-election, the seat was held for Labour by Stephen Timms. A road in the London Borough of Newham was named after Leighton
Ron Leighton Way
allows through traffic to bypass the busy East Ham High Street.

Notes

References

*''Times Guide to the House of Commons'',

Times Newspapers Ltd News Corp UK & Ireland Limited (trading as News UK, formerly News International and NI Group) is a British newspaper publisher, and a wholly owned subsidiary of the American mass media conglomerate News Corp. It is the current publisher o ...

, 1979 and 1992 editions. 1930 births 1994 deaths Graphical, Paper and Media Union-sponsored MPs Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1979–1983 UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1992–1997 {{England-Labour-UK-MP-stub