Robert V. Jackson
Encyclopedia
Robert Victor Jackson is a politician in the United Kingdom
. He was a Member of the European Parliament
(MEP) from 1979 to 1984 and Member of Parliament
(MP) for Wantage
from 1983
to 2005
, having been elected as a Conservative
; however, he joined the Labour Party
in 2005.
, Northern Rhodesia
(now Zambia
) where his father worked on the copper mines and was educated at Falcon College
in Rhodesia
and St Edmund Hall, Oxford
, where he rose to the presidency of the Oxford Union
. He was a contemporary of figures including Christopher Hitchens
, John Redwood
, William Waldegrave
, Edwina Currie
, Stephen Milligan
, John Scarlett
, William Blair
, Bill Clinton
and Gyles Brandreth
. He was then elected to a fellowship of All Souls College, Oxford
, one of the UK's most prestigious academic distinctions. Jackson is married to Caroline Jackson
, a Member of the European Parliament
. He had worked as a political advisor to senior ministers prior to being elected and also as political advisor to the Governor of Rhodesia during its transition to independent Zimbabwe
. He edited the Round Table Journal
from 1970 to 1974.
, Jackson stood in Manchester Central
without success. In European Parliament election
in 1979 he was elected as a Member of the European Parliament
(MEP) for Upper Thames
. He played a prominent role on the European Parliament's budget committee. At the 1983 general election
, he was elected to the House of Commons as MP for Wantage
. He was subsequently appointed as a junior minister at the Department of Education and Science (1987–90), the Department of Employment (1990–92) and the Office of Public Service and Science (1992–93).
had "incoherent" policies on public services, "dangerous" views on Europe
, and had "wobbled" on the issue of Iraq
. He had been on the liberal and pro-European wing of the Conservatives, one of the few of that Party's MPs who supported the reduction in the age of consent for gay men. He has been treasurer of the Conservative Mainstream
association and supported Kenneth Clarke
in the 2001 Leadership election
.
Prior to defecting, Jackson had indicated he would not stand in the forthcoming general election, following Iain Duncan-Smith's election as Conservative Leader, and he duly stepped down in April 2005. In the 2005 general election
, he was succeeded by Ed Vaizey, a prominent conservative columnist and pundit, the candidate selected by the local Conservative Association.
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...
. He was a Member of the European Parliament
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
(MEP) from 1979 to 1984 and 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 Wantage
Wantage (UK Parliament constituency)
-Elections in the 1990s:- Notes and references :...
from 1983
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...
to 2005
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
, having been elected as a 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...
; however, he joined the 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...
in 2005.
Early life
He was raised in NkanaNkana
Nkana is a section of the city of Kitwe, Copperbelt Province, Zambia which started off in the early part of the 20th century as a railway station to support the growing complex of copper mining operations. It was named after Chief Nkana, the local traditional ruler...
, Northern Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia was a territory in south central Africa, formed in 1911. It became independent in 1964 as Zambia.It was initially administered under charter by the British South Africa Company and formed by it in 1911 by amalgamating North-Western Rhodesia and North-Eastern Rhodesia...
(now Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
) where his father worked on the copper mines and was educated at Falcon College
Falcon College
Falcon College is a private institution of higher learning for boys aged 12–18 in the southern Matabeleland region of Zimbabwe. It was founded in 1954 near Esigodini , 55 km southeast of Bulawayo on the remains of the Bushtick Mine...
in Rhodesia
Rhodesia
Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...
and St Edmund Hall, Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, where he rose to the presidency of the Oxford Union
Oxford Union
The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford, Britain, whose membership is drawn primarily but not exclusively from the University of Oxford...
. He was a contemporary of figures including Christopher Hitchens
Christopher Hitchens
Christopher Eric Hitchens is an Anglo-American author and journalist whose books, essays, and journalistic career span more than four decades. He has been a columnist and literary critic at The Atlantic, Vanity Fair, Slate, World Affairs, The Nation, Free Inquiry, and became a media fellow at the...
, John Redwood
John Redwood
John Alan Redwood is a British Conservative Party politician and Member of Parliament for Wokingham. He was formerly Secretary of State for Wales in Prime Minister John Major's Cabinet and was an unsuccessful challenger for the leadership of the Conservative Party in 1995...
, William Waldegrave
William Waldegrave
William Waldegrave may refer to:* William Waldegrave, 1st Baron Radstock , admiral* William Waldegrave, 8th Earl Waldegrave , vice-admiral* William Waldegrave, 9th Earl Waldegrave , politician...
, Edwina Currie
Edwina Currie
Edwina Jonesnée Cohen is a former British Member of Parliament. First elected as a Conservative Party MP in 1983, she was a Junior Health Minister for two years, before resigning in 1988 over the controversy over salmonella in eggs...
, Stephen Milligan
Stephen Milligan
Stephen David Wyatt Milligan was a British Conservative politician and journalist. He held a number of senior journalistic posts until his election to serve as Member of Parliament for Eastleigh in 1992...
, John Scarlett
John Scarlett
Sir John McLeod Scarlett, KCMG, OBE was Director General of the British Secret Intelligence Service from 2004 to 2009...
, William Blair
William Blair (judge)
Sir William James Lynton Blair , styled The Hon. Mr Justice Blair, is a British judge. He was previously a Queen's Counsel, specialising in domestic and international banking and finance law...
, Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
and Gyles Brandreth
Gyles Brandreth
Gyles Daubeney Brandreth is a British writer, broadcaster and former Conservative Member of Parliament and junior minister.-Early life:...
. He was then elected to a fellowship of All Souls College, Oxford
All Souls College, Oxford
The Warden and the College of the Souls of all Faithful People deceased in the University of Oxford or All Souls College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England....
, one of the UK's most prestigious academic distinctions. Jackson is married to Caroline Jackson
Caroline Jackson
Caroline Jackson is a politician in the United Kingdom. She was a Member of the European Parliament for the Conservative Party from 1984 to 2009....
, a Member of the European Parliament
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
. He had worked as a political advisor to senior ministers prior to being elected and also as political advisor to the Governor of Rhodesia during its transition to independent Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
. He edited the Round Table Journal
The Round Table Journal
The Round Table: The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs is a policy matters journal relating to the Commonwealth of Nations.-History:...
from 1970 to 1974.
Parliamentary career
In the October 1974 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, October 1974
The United Kingdom general election of October 1974 took place on 10 October 1974 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. It was the second general election of that year and resulted in the Labour Party led by Harold Wilson, winning by a tiny majority of 3 seats.The election of...
, Jackson stood in Manchester Central
Manchester Central (UK Parliament constituency)
Manchester Central 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. The constituency has always been a safe Labour seat...
without success. In European Parliament election
Elections in the European Union
Elections to the Parliament of the European Union take place every five years by universal adult suffrage. 736 MEPs are elected to the European Parliament which has been directly elected since 1979. No other body is directly elected although the Council of the European Union and European Council is...
in 1979 he was elected as a Member of the European Parliament
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
(MEP) for Upper Thames
Upper Thames (European Parliament constituency)
Upper Thames was a United Kingdom European Parliament constituency, electing one member under the first-past-the-post system. It came into being for the European Parliament election of 1979 and ceased to exist in 1984, due to boundary reorganization....
. He played a prominent role on the European Parliament's budget committee. 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 was elected to the House of Commons as MP for Wantage
Wantage (UK Parliament constituency)
-Elections in the 1990s:- Notes and references :...
. He was subsequently appointed as a junior minister at the Department of Education and Science (1987–90), the Department of Employment (1990–92) and the Office of Public Service and Science (1992–93).
Resignation
On 15 January 2005, he defected to the Labour Party, stating that the Tories under Michael HowardMichael Howard
Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne, CH, QC, PC is a British politician, who served as the Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005...
had "incoherent" policies on public services, "dangerous" views on Europe
Euroscepticism
Euroscepticism is a general term used to describe criticism of the European Union , and opposition to the process of European integration, existing throughout the political spectrum. Traditionally, the main source of euroscepticism has been the notion that integration weakens the nation state...
, and had "wobbled" on the issue of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
. He had been on the liberal and pro-European wing of the Conservatives, one of the few of that Party's MPs who supported the reduction in the age of consent for gay men. He has been treasurer of the Conservative Mainstream
Conservative Mainstream
Conservative Mainstream is a pressure group on the left of the British Conservative Party.It was founded in 1996. It is now aligned closely to the Tory Reform Group and the Conservative Europe Group. Its chairman is Damian Green MP.-External links:*...
association and supported Kenneth Clarke
Kenneth Clarke
Kenneth Harry "Ken" Clarke, QC, MP is a British Conservative politician, currently Member of Parliament for Rushcliffe, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice. He was first elected to Parliament in 1970; and appointed a minister in Edward Heath's government, in 1972, and is one of...
in the 2001 Leadership election
Conservative Party (UK) leadership election, 2001
The 2001 Conservative leadership election was held after the United Kingdom Conservative Party failed to make inroads into the Labour government's lead in the 2001 general election. Party leader William Hague resigned, and a leadership contest was called under new rules Hague had introduced...
.
Prior to defecting, Jackson had indicated he would not stand in the forthcoming general election, following Iain Duncan-Smith's election as Conservative Leader, and he duly stepped down in April 2005. In the 2005 general election
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
, he was succeeded by Ed Vaizey, a prominent conservative columnist and pundit, the candidate selected by the local Conservative Association.