Edward Fletcher (politician)
Encyclopedia
Edward Joseph Fletcher (25 February 1911 – 13 February 1983) was a British
Labour Party
politician.
Fletcher was educated at Fircroft College
, Birmingham
and was a trade union
official. He served as a councillor on Newcastle City Council
from 1952 and chaired the North-Eastern Association for the Arts.
Fletcher unsuccessfully contested Middlesbrough West
at the 1959 general election
.
In the 1964 general election
, he was elected as Member of Parliament
(MP) for Darlington
, and held the seat until his death in 1983.
Fletcher's Labour successor in the resulting by-election
was Oswald O'Brien
, who was MP for just a matter of weeks before he lost to the Conservatives
in the 1983 general election
.
Ted Fletcher Court remains in the Haughton area of Darlington, as a memorial to Fletcher.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
politician.
Fletcher was educated at Fircroft College
Fircroft College
Fircroft College is a specialist adult residential college based in Selly Oak, Birmingham.The college was originally founded by George Cadbury in 1909 and offers mostly short residential courses, as well as an Access to Higher Education programme and specialist courses for the over 55s...
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
and was a trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
official. He served as a councillor on Newcastle City Council
Newcastle City Council
Newcastle City Council is the local government authority for Newcastle upon Tyne, a city in Tyne and Wear, England. The council consists of 78 councillors, three for each of the city's 26 wards...
from 1952 and chaired the North-Eastern Association for the Arts.
Fletcher unsuccessfully contested Middlesbrough West
Middlesbrough West (UK Parliament constituency)
Middlesbrough West was a parliamentary constituency in the town of Middlesbrough in North East England. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first-past-the-post voting system....
at the 1959 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1959
This United Kingdom general election was held on 8 October 1959. It marked a third successive victory for the ruling Conservative Party, led by Harold Macmillan...
.
In the 1964 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1964
The United Kingdom general election of 1964 was held on 15 October 1964, more than five years after the preceding election, and thirteen years after the Conservative Party had retaken power...
, he was elected as Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for Darlington
Darlington (UK Parliament constituency)
Darlington is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
, and held the seat until his death in 1983.
Fletcher's Labour successor in the resulting by-election
Darlington by-election, 1983
The Darlington by-election, 1983 was a parliamentary by-election held on 24 March 1983 for the British House of Commons constituency of Darlington in County Durham....
was Oswald O'Brien
Oswald O'Brien
Oswald O'Brien was a British Labour Co-operative politician.He was born Oswald O'Brien into a family of teachers in 1928, in Darlington...
, who was MP for just a matter of weeks before he lost to the Conservatives
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
in the 1983 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1983
The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945...
.
Ted Fletcher Court remains in the Haughton area of Darlington, as a memorial to Fletcher.