Ronnie Campbell | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2017 | |
| Member of Parliament forBlyth Valley | |
| In office 11 June 1987 – 6 November 2019 | |
| Preceded by | John Ryman |
| Succeeded by | Ian Levy |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1943-08-14)14 August 1943 Tynemouth, Northumberland, England |
| Died | 23 February 2024(2024-02-23) (aged 80) |
| Party | Labour |
| Other political affiliations | Socialist Campaign Group |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 6 |
| Relatives | Eric McGraw (half-brother) |
Ronald Campbell (14 August 1943 – 23 February 2024) was a BritishLabour politician who wasMember of Parliament (MP) forBlyth Valley from1987 until2019.
Ronald Campbell was born inTynemouth, and grew up with seven siblings. He attendedBlyth Ridley County High School, asecondary modern, and left school at 14 to become a coal miner. Before entering parliament he was a councillor for Croft Ward, Blyth Borough,Northumberland from 1969 and a lay official of theNational Union of Mineworkers (NUM). He was a miner from 1958 to 1986. Campbell led picket lines in the 1984–85miners' strike and was arrested twice.[1]
Campbell was first elected as an MP forBlyth Valley at the1987 general election with a majority of 853 votes. He often voted against theBlair government on issues such as theIraq War. He was an outspokensocialist. When the governmentnationalisedNorthern Rock in 2008, Campbell declared it "the People's Bank" and opened an account.[2]
In May 2009, duringthe high-profile MPs expenses scandal, Campbell agreed to return over £6,000 of the £87,729 he had claimed for furnishings in hisLondon home.[3][4][5]
Campbell voted forAndy Burnham in the2010 Labour Party leadership election following the resignation ofGordon Brown. He was critical ofEd Miliband's leadership of the Labour Party, referring to him as a "right winger".[6] In 2013, he was one of 22 Labour MPs to vote againstsame-sex marriage, out of 255.[7]
Uponre-election in May 2015, Campbell announced that he would stand down at thenext general election, although this did not materialise.[8]
Campbell was one of 36 Labour MPs to nominateJeremy Corbyn as a candidate in theLabour leadership election of 2015[9] and one of a handful of Labour MPs to publicly supportleaving theEuropean Union.[10] Campbell continued to support Brexit, and to vote against attempts to delay it, in subsequent parliamentary votes. He justified this by noting that "I am a leaver, and I always have been. MPs are elected, unlike the EU bureaucrats, and if people don't like how MPs vote then they can get rid of us and that's how it should work."[11]
Campbell was one of 13 MPs to vote against triggering the2017 general election.[12] Having previously said he would stand down at the next election, he changed his mind, stating: "It was my intention to stand down at the next general election, however due to circumstances following the announcement of the snap election I have decided to stand again for Blyth Valley."[13]
In June 2019, Campbell confirmed that he would stand down as an MP in the following election, which was later confirmed forDecember 2019.[14][15] He subsequently said he would back the Conservative government's deal to leave the European Union.[16]
Campbell was a member of theSocialist Campaign group, a socialist, left-wing group of Labour MPs.
Campbell married Deirdre McHale in 1967, who serves onNorthumberland County Council. They had five sons, including a set of twins, and one daughter. While he served as an MP, Campbell had a reunion with his half-brother,Eric McGraw, whom he had not known due to the latter's adoption.[17]
In September 2016, Campbell underwentchemotherapy after being diagnosed withstomach cancer.[18] He returned to Parliament on 30 November 2016 and was welcomed back duringPrime Minister's Questions.[19]
His interests includedhorse racing.[20]
Campbell died on 23 February 2024, at the age of 80.[21]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forBlyth Valley 1987–2019 | Succeeded by |
