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Ronnie Campbell

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For other people named Ronnie Campbell, seeRonnie Campbell (disambiguation).

Ronnie Campbell
Official portrait, 2017
Member of Parliament
forBlyth Valley
In office
11 June 1987 – 6 November 2019
Preceded byJohn Ryman
Succeeded byIan Levy
Personal details
Born(1943-08-14)14 August 1943
Tynemouth,Northumberland, England
Died23 February 2024(2024-02-23)(aged 80)
Political partyLabour
Other political
affiliations		Socialist Campaign Group
Spouse
Deirdre McHale
​
(m.1967)​
Children6
RelativesEric McGraw(half-brother)

Ronald Campbell(14 August 1943 – 23 February 2024) was a BritishLabourpolitician who wasMember of Parliament(MP) forBlyth Valleyfrom1987until2019.

Early life

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Ronald Campbell was born inTynemouth,and grew up with seven siblings. He attendedBlyth Ridley County High School,asecondary modern,and left school at 14 to become a coal miner. Before entering parliament he was a councillor for Croft Ward, Blyth Borough,Northumberlandfrom 1969 and a lay official of theNational Union of Mineworkers(NUM). He was a miner from 1958 to 1986. Campbell led picket lines in the 1984–85miners' strikeand was arrested twice.[1]

Parliamentary career

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Campbell was first elected as an MP forBlyth Valleyat the1987 general electionwith a majority of 853 votes. He often voted against theBlair governmenton issues such as theIraq War.He was an outspokensocialist.When the governmentnationalisedNorthern Rockin 2008, Campbell declared it "the People's Bank" and opened an account.[2]

In May 2009, duringthe high-profile MPs expenses scandal,Campbell agreed to return over £6,000 of the £87,729 he had claimed for furnishings in hisLondonhome.[3][4][5]

Campbell voted forAndy Burnhamin the2010 Labour Party leadership electionfollowing the resignation ofGordon Brown.He was critical ofEd Miliband's leadership of the Labour Party, referring to him as a "right winger".[6]In 2013, he was one of 22 Labour MPs to vote againstsame-sex marriage,out of 255.[7]

Uponre-election in May 2015,Campbell announced that he would stand down at thenext general election,although this did not materialise.[8]

Campbell was one of 36 Labour MPs to nominateJeremy Corbynas a candidate in theLabour leadership election of 2015[9]and one of a handful of Labour MPs to publicly supportleavingtheEuropean Union.[10]Campbell continued to support Brexit, and to vote against attempts to delay it, in subsequent parliamentary votes. He justified this by noting that "I am a leaver, and I always have been. MPs are elected, unlike the EU bureaucrats, and if people don't like how MPs vote then they can get rid of us and that's how it should work."[11]

Campbell was one of 13 MPs to vote against triggering the2017 general election.[12]Having previously said he would stand down at the next election, he changed his mind, stating: "It was my intention to stand down at the next general election, however due to circumstances following the announcement of the snap election I have decided to stand again for Blyth Valley."[13]

In June 2019, Campbell confirmed that he would stand down as an MP in the following election, which was later confirmed forDecember 2019.[14][15]He subsequently said he would back the Conservative government's deal to leave the European Union.[16]

Campbell was a member of theSocialist Campaign group,a socialist, left-wing group of Labour MPs.

Personal life

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Campbell married Deirdre McHale in 1967, who serves onNorthumberland County Council.They had five sons, including a set of twins, and one daughter. While he served as an MP, Campbell had a reunion with his half-brother,Eric McGraw,whom he had not known due to the latter's adoption.[17]

In September 2016, Campbell underwentchemotherapyafter being diagnosed withstomach cancer.[18]He returned to Parliament on 30 November 2016 and was welcomed back duringPrime Minister's Questions.[19]

His interests includedhorse racing.[20]

Campbell died on 23 February 2024, at the age of 80.[21]

References

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  1. ^Kelly-Jou, Mike (4 March 2014)."North East MPs reveal their roles in the great miners' strike".North East Chronicle.Archivedfrom the original on 2 April 2015.Retrieved20 March2015.
  2. ^Hoggart, Simon (19 February 2008)."A cool head in another catastrophe".The Guardian.Archivedfrom the original on 8 February 2017.Retrieved24 February2008.
  3. ^Swaine, Jon (13 May 2009)."Ronnie Campbell agrees to repay £6,000 for furniture at London flat: MPs' expenses".The Daily Telegraph.Archivedfrom the original on 22 February 2019.Retrieved10 April2019.
  4. ^Thompson, Liam."Ronnie Campbell to repay expenses".News Post Leader.Archivedfrom the original on 21 May 2009.Retrieved18 May2009.
  5. ^Swaine, Jon (13 May 2009)."Ronnie Campbell agrees to repay £6,000 for furniture at London flat: MPs' expenses".The Daily Telegraph.Archivedfrom the original on 17 May 2009.Retrieved18 May2009.
  6. ^"'I think Ed Miliband is a right-winger basically. I think that's where he comes from'".Total Politics.21 July 2011.Retrieved11 April2019.
  7. ^Conal Urquhart (5 February 2013)."How did your MP vote on the gay marriage bill?".The Guardian.Archivedfrom the original on 17 November 2016.Retrieved23 March2017.
  8. ^Tegan Chapman (8 May 2015)."Labour's Ronnie Campbell delighted with election win – his final one".News Post Leader.Archived fromthe originalon 26 April 2016.Retrieved23 March2017.
  9. ^36 Labour MPs nominate Jeremy CorbynArchived28 June 2018 at theWayback Machine,newstatesman.com, June 2015; accessed 8 September 2015.
  10. ^"EU referendum: Full list of MPs backing a Brexit vote at the historic ballot".18 February 2016.Archivedfrom the original on 23 June 2016.Retrieved3 July2016.
  11. ^Walker, Jonathan (12 September 2017)."Ronnie Campbell explains why he defied orders and voted for EU Withdrawal Bill".North East Chronicle.Archivedfrom the original on 23 November 2017.Retrieved2 April2018.
  12. ^"The 13 MPs who opposed snap general election".BBC News.British Broadcasting Corporation. 20 April 2017.Archivedfrom the original on 20 April 2017.Retrieved20 April2017.
  13. ^Walker, Jonathan (20 April 2017)."Ronnie Campbell votes against early General Election – but makes his own U-turn to stand again".Evening Chronicle.Archivedfrom the original on 19 April 2017.Retrieved19 April2017.
  14. ^"I feel it is time to step aside' - Veteran MP Ronnie Campbell to stand down at next election".Chronicle Live.26 June 2019.Archivedfrom the original on 22 November 2019.Retrieved26 November2019.
  15. ^"General election 2019: The MPs standing down".BBC News.15 November 2019.Archivedfrom the original on 7 November 2019.Retrieved26 November2019.
  16. ^"Who is Ronnie Campbell? The veteran North East Labour MP causing a Brexit storm".Chronicle Live.18 October 2019.Archivedfrom the original on 19 October 2019.Retrieved26 November2019.
  17. ^"A tale of two brothers".Inside Out – North East and Cumbria.BBC.Archivedfrom the original on 24 August 2011.Retrieved17 October2011.
  18. ^"Blyth MP Ronnie Campbell's stomach cancer diagnosis".ITV News.14 September 2016.Archivedfrom the original on 26 November 2016.Retrieved1 December2016.
  19. ^John Bercow,Speaker(30 November 2016)."Oral Answers: Prime Minister: Engagements".Parliamentary Debates (Hansard).Vol. 617.House of Commons.col. 1519.Archivedfrom the original on 1 December 2016.Retrieved1 December2016.Archived1 December 2016 at theWayback Machine
  20. ^"North MP hot under collar at fetish mistake".Chronicle Live. 20 January 2008.Archivedfrom the original on 15 December 2019.Retrieved28 June2019.
  21. ^Wingate, Sophie (23 February 2024)."Starmer leads tributes to Labour stalwart Ronnie Campbell after his death".The Independent.Archivedfrom the original on 23 February 2024.Retrieved23 February2024.
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Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of ParliamentforBlyth Valley
1987–2019 		Succeeded by
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