Alfred James Wellbeloved (born 29 July 1926) is a former British

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...

 politician.

Wellbeloved was educated at South London

South London

South London is the southern part of London, England, United Kingdom.According to the 2011 official Boundary Commission for England definition, South London includes the London boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Southwark, Sutton and...

 Technical College and was a commercial and industrial correspondent. He served as a councillor on Erith Borough Council

Municipal Borough of Erith

Erith was a local government district in north west Kent from 1894 to 1965 around the town of Erith. It also included the generally suburban areas of Northumberland Heath, Belvedere, and parts of Barnehurst, BexleyheathCrayford and the SE2 London Postal District of Abbey Wood.It was created an...

, and was the first leader of the London Borough of Bexley

London Borough of Bexley

The London Borough of Bexley lies in south east Greater London, and is a borough referred to as part of Outer London. It has common borders with the London Borough of Bromley to the south, the London Borough of Greenwich to the west, across the River Thames to the north it borders the London...

 from 1964.

Wellbeloved was elected 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...

 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 Erith and Crayford

Erith and Crayford (UK Parliament constituency)

Erith and Crayford was a parliamentary constituency in the London Borough of Bexley, south-east London, which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....

 at a 1965 by-election

By-election

A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....

. In 1981, he was among the Labour MPs who defected to the Social Democratic Party

Social Democratic Party (UK)

The Social Democratic Party was a political party in the United Kingdom that was created on 26 March 1981 and existed until 1988. It was founded by four senior Labour Party 'moderates', dubbed the 'Gang of Four': Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rodgers and Shirley Williams...

. At 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...

, he lost his seat by just 920 votes to the Conservative

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...

 David Evennett

David Evennett

David Anthony Evennett is the Conservative Member of Parliament for Bexleyheath and Crayford.-Early life:He was educated at Buckhurst Hill County High School and the London School of Economics where he was awarded an MSc in Economics...

.

After his defection, he was referred to as "the inappropriately named Wellbeloved" by then Labour leader Michael Foot

Michael Foot

Michael Mackintosh Foot, FRSL, PC was a British Labour Party politician, journalist and author, who was a Member of Parliament from 1945 to 1955 and from 1960 until 1992...

. Wellbeloved has since rejoined the Labour Party as a member.