Bill Etherington

Infobox MP
honorific-prefix =
name = Bill Etherington
honorific-suffix =

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constituency_MP = Sunderland North
parliament =
majority = 9,995 (34.6%)
predecessor = Bob Clay
successor = Incumbent
term_start = 9 April 1992
term_end =
birth_date = Birth date and age|1941|07|17|df=yes
birth_place = Sunderland
death_date =
death_place =
nationality = British
spouse =Irene Holton
party = Labour
relations =
children =
residence =
alma_mater = Durham University
occupation =
profession =
religion =


website =
footnotes =

William "Bill" Etherington (born 17 July 1941) United Kingdom politician He has been the Labour Party Member of Parliament for Sunderland North since 1992.

Early life

Bill Etherington was born in Sunderland and was educated at the [http://www.redbyprimary.org.uk Redby] Infant and Junior Schools on "Fulwell Road", [http://www.sunderland.gov.uk/apps/ListedBuildings/lbbuildingdetails.asp?Id=920-1/4/289&keyword=&Ownership=&Address3=&Grade= Monkwearmouth Grammar School] (five years above Hilary Armstrong - the school became part of the City of Sunderland College and is now part of the [http://swanstreetcentre.com/about.html Wearmouth Community Development Trust] ) on "Swan Street" in Sunderland and latterly at Durham University. He was an apprentice fitter at the Austin and Pickersgill Shipyard in Sunderland for five years from 1957. He became a fitter for Beal & Co in Sunderland in 1962, before joining the National Coal Board in 1963 and for the following twenty years worked as a fitter at the Dawdon Colliery in County Durham. He has been a member of the National Union of Mineworkers since 1963, and from 1983 until his election was a full time trade union official with them, and was a full-time official during the UK miners' strike (1984-1985).

Parliamentary career

He was first elected in the 1992 General Election for Sunderland North, replacing fellow left-winger, Bob Clay. Etherington held the seat comfortably with a majority of 17,004 votes, and has been re-elected with strong majorities in every General Election since. He made his maiden speech on 11 May 1992.

In the 1992 general election, he polled 60.7% of the vote, with his Conservative opponent winning 26.9% of the vote. In the 1997 election, he took 68.2% against Conservative Andrew Selous, who ranked in second place with just 16.7% of the vote. He also confidently beat his Conservative opponents in the 2001 (62.7% against 17.9%) and 2005 general elections (54.4% against 19.8%).

He is a left-winger, a member of the Socialist Campaign Group and has rebelled against Tony Blair's government. While debating the reform of the House of Lords in March 2007, Etherington also called for the abolition of the British Monarchy.

Personal life

He has been married to Irene Holton since 1963 and they have two daughters. He is characterised in parliament by his three-piece suits and strong Mackem accent.

In December 2006, Etherington announced he will not stand again at the next general election. "I shall not be fighting the next election. I'll be 68 or 69 by then and I've done my bit. My constituency is disappearing under the boundary shake-up and it's the right time to go." [http://www.sunderlandtoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=1107&ArticleID=1923137 retrieved 2006-12-06]

Notes

External links

* [http://politics.guardian.co.uk/person/0,9290,-6479,00.html Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Bill Etherington MP]
* [http://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/bill_etherington/sunderland_north TheyWorkForYou.com - Bill Etherington MP]
* [http://publicwhip.org.uk/mp.php?mpn=Bill_Etherington&mpc=Sunderland+North The Public Whip - Bill Etherington MP] voting record
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/mpdb/html/557.stm BBC News - Bill Etherington] profile 30 March, 2006

News items

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2118796.stm Firefighters attacked in 2002]