Ernest Armstrong
Encyclopedia
Ernest Armstrong was a British
Labour Party
politician.
Armstrong was educated at Wolsingham
Grammar School
and City of Leeds Teacher Training College, and ultimately became a headmaster. He served as a councillor on Sunderland Borough Council and chaired its education committee.
Defeated by the Conservative incumbent in Sunderland South
in the 1959 General election, Armstrong was Member of Parliament
(MP) for North West Durham from 1964 until his retirement in 1987. His daughter, Hilary Armstrong
, was his successor.
Armstrong served as a parliamentary private secretary
(PPS) from 1965, and a Labour whip
, and junior minister for Education and Science (1974–1975) and the Environment (1975–1979). After Labour lost the 1979 general election
, he served as a Deputy Speaker.
After his retirement, Armstrong acted as political adviser to the BBC's production of the political drama House of Cards
.
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.
Armstrong was educated at Wolsingham
Wolsingham
Wolsingham is a small market town in Weardale, County Durham, England. It is situated by the River Wear, between Crook and Stanhope in North West Durham.-History:Wolsingham sits at the confluence of the River Wear and Waskerley Beck...
Grammar School
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
and City of Leeds Teacher Training College, and ultimately became a headmaster. He served as a councillor on Sunderland Borough Council and chaired its education committee.
Defeated by the Conservative incumbent in Sunderland South
Sunderland South (UK Parliament constituency)
Sunderland South was, from 1950 until 2010, a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-History:...
in the 1959 General election, Armstrong was 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 North West Durham from 1964 until his retirement in 1987. His daughter, Hilary Armstrong
Hilary Armstrong
Hilary Jane Armstrong, Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for North West Durham from 1987 to 2010.-Early life:...
, was his successor.
Armstrong served as a parliamentary private secretary
Parliamentary Private Secretary
A Parliamentary Private Secretary is a role given to a United Kingdom Member of Parliament by a senior minister in government or shadow minister to act as their contact for the House of Commons; this role is junior to that of Parliamentary Under-Secretary, which is a ministerial post, salaried by...
(PPS) from 1965, and a Labour whip
Whip (politics)
A whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy...
, and junior minister for Education and Science (1974–1975) and the Environment (1975–1979). After Labour lost the 1979 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1979
The United Kingdom general election of 1979 was held on 3 May 1979 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. The Conservative Party, led by Margaret Thatcher ousted the incumbent Labour government of James Callaghan with a parliamentary majority of 43 seats...
, he served as a Deputy Speaker.
After his retirement, Armstrong acted as political adviser to the BBC's production of the political drama House of Cards
House of Cards
House of Cards is a 1990 political thriller television drama serial by the BBC in four parts, set after the end of Margaret Thatcher's tenure as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. It was televised from 18 November to 9 December 1990, to critical and popular acclaim...
.