Roger Stott
Encyclopedia
Roger Stott, CBE
(7 August 1943 – 9 August 1999) was a British
Labour Party
politician.
, the first child of Richard and Edith Stott. He went to school in Rochdale and when he was 15 he joined the Merchant Navy. He then worked as an engineer for the Post Office and became local councillor for the Labour Party in Rochdale, he was the Chair of the Housing Committee. He married Irene Mills on 17 June 1969 from which he had two sons Andrew (1970) and Matthew (1972). The marriage ended in 1982 and he married again for a second time to a teacher Gillian Pye on 30 March 1985 and later had two children Daniel (1990) and Ciara (1992). When Roger wasn't working he loved to play sport, he was a great Rugby League
fan and went to watch it whenever he had the chance. He was also a great fan of cricket
.
(MP) for Westhoughton
at a by-election
in 1973, following the death of the sitting Labour MP Tom Price
. He held that seat at three subsequent general elections before the constituency was abolished for the 1983 general election
.
He was then elected MP for the Wigan constituency
in Greater Manchester
, and held that seat at the next three general elections. His death in office in 1999 made him the fourth Wigan MP in the twentieth century to die in office (the others being John Parkinson
, Ronald Williams and William Foster
).
Stott was a longtime joint chairman of the Council for the Advancement of Arab-British Understanding, and served as Parliamentary Private Secretary
to James Callaghan
during his administration. He later served as a junior opposition spokesman.
on Monday 9 August 1999, two days after his 56th birthday. He had been ill for some time. After his death many people wrote tributes including Ian McCartney
and Jack Cunningham
to him and the work he had done while he was MP.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(7 August 1943 – 9 August 1999) was a 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...
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.
Biography
Stott was born in RochdaleRochdale
Rochdale is a large market town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the foothills of the Pennines on the River Roch, north-northwest of Oldham, and north-northeast of the city of Manchester. Rochdale is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan...
, the first child of Richard and Edith Stott. He went to school in Rochdale and when he was 15 he joined the Merchant Navy. He then worked as an engineer for the Post Office and became local councillor for the Labour Party in Rochdale, he was the Chair of the Housing Committee. He married Irene Mills on 17 June 1969 from which he had two sons Andrew (1970) and Matthew (1972). The marriage ended in 1982 and he married again for a second time to a teacher Gillian Pye on 30 March 1985 and later had two children Daniel (1990) and Ciara (1992). When Roger wasn't working he loved to play sport, he was a great Rugby League
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
fan and went to watch it whenever he had the chance. He was also a great fan of cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
.
Political career
Stott was first elected to the House of Commons as Member of ParliamentMember 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 Westhoughton
Westhoughton (UK Parliament constituency)
Westhoughton was a parliamentary constituency in Lancashire, England. Centred on the former mining and cotton town of Westhoughton, it returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
at a 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 1973, following the death of the sitting Labour MP Tom Price
Tom Price (UK politician)
Joseph Thomas "Tom" Price was a British trade unionist and Labour Party politician.He was born in Pendlebury, Lancashire, the son of William Price, a coalminer, and his wife Elizabeth...
. He held that seat at three subsequent general elections before the constituency was abolished for 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 then elected MP for the Wigan constituency
Wigan (UK Parliament constituency)
Wigan is a county 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...
in Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
, and held that seat at the next three general elections. His death in office in 1999 made him the fourth Wigan MP in the twentieth century to die in office (the others being John Parkinson
John Parkinson (UK politician)
John Allen Parkinson was a British Labour Party politician.He was elected to the House of Commons as Member of Parliament for Wigan at the 1918 general election, replacing the Conservative MP Reginald James Neville.Parkinson was re-elected at each subsequent general election until his death at...
, Ronald Williams and William Foster
William Foster (UK politician)
William Foster was a British Labour Party politician.He was elected to the House of Commons as Member of Parliament for Wigan in a by-election in 1942, following the death of sitting Labour MP John Parkinson....
).
Stott was a longtime joint chairman of the Council for the Advancement of Arab-British Understanding, and served as 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...
to James Callaghan
James Callaghan
Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC , was a British Labour politician, who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1976 to 1980...
during his administration. He later served as a junior opposition spokesman.
Death
Roger Stott died of liver cancerLiver cancer
Liver tumors or hepatic tumors are tumors or growths on or in the liver . Several distinct types of tumors can develop in the liver because the liver is made up of various cell types. These growths can be benign or malignant...
on Monday 9 August 1999, two days after his 56th birthday. He had been ill for some time. After his death many people wrote tributes including Ian McCartney
Ian McCartney
Sir Ian McCartney is a former politician, who was the British Labour Party Member of Parliament for the Makerfield constituency between 1987 to 2010, and served in the Cabinet, from 2003 to 2007, when Gordon Brown became Prime Minister...
and Jack Cunningham
Jack Cunningham
John "Jack" Anderson Cunningham, Baron Cunningham of Felling, PC, DL is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Copeland from 1983 to 2005, and previously served in the Cabinet.-Early life:...
to him and the work he had done while he was MP.