Denis Murphy (born 2 November 1948) is a Labour Party politician in the

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who was the

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(MP) for Wansbeck from

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until

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Early life

He attended the (Roman Catholic)

St Cuthbert's Grammar School ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...

on ''Gretna Road'' in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

. He then attended

Northumberland College Northumberland College is a further education college based in Ashington, Northumberland, England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Iri ...

Ashington Ashington is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, with a population of 27,864 at the 2011 Census. It was once a centre of the coal mining industry. The town is north of Newcastle upon Tyne, west of the A189 and bordered to the ...

. He had previously led Wansbeck District Council. He is a member of the NUM and was the only member of the 1997 parliamentary intake to be backed by that union. Denis Murphy formerly worked down the mines himself. From 1965 to 1969, he was an apprentice electrician. From 1969 to 1994, he was an electrician at

Ellington Colliery Ellington Colliery (also known as The Big E), was a coal mine situated to the south of the village of Ellington in Northumberland, England. The colliery was the last deep coal mine in the north east of England (also known as the Great Northern C ...

in Ellington, which closed in 2005.

Parliamentary career

On his proudest achievement in government since 1997 Denis Murphy said: "I was proud of the major role I played to secure funding for the UK mining industry, safeguarding hundreds of jobs in my constituency and the future of the last deep mine in the Great Northern coalfield, Ellington colliery in Northumberland." Ellington Colliery subsequently closed on 26 January 2005. * Voted for an amendment saying the case for renewing the UK's

Trident A trident is a three- pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and historically as a polearm. The trident is the weapon of Poseidon, or Neptune, the God of the Sea in classical mythology. The trident may occasionally be held by other marine ...

nuclear submarine system "is not yet proven" and that a decision should be delayed. * Signed Early Day Motion 2699 Freedom of Information, 10 December 2006. * Has campaigned hard for a local rail service in his constituency, with talks advancing further in early 2007. On 5 November 2009, Murphy announced his decision to stand down at the next general election. His successor in the constituency was

Ian Lavery Ian Lavery (born 6 January 1963) is a British Labour Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wansbeck since 2010. He served as the Chair of the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn from 2017 to 2020 and was President ...

, the former President of the National Union of Mineworkers.

References

External links

Guardian Unlimited Politics – Ask Aristotle: Denis Murphy MP

TheyWorkForYou.com – Denis Murphy MP

Trident rebels

BBC Politics

News items

Fizzy drinks in schools in December 2005

Ellington pit in February 2005

Killer drivers in April 2003
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Denis 1948 births Living people Councillors in Northumberland English miners Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1997–2001 UK MPs 2001–2005 UK MPs 2005–2010 People from Ashington