David Stoddart, Baron Stoddart of Swindon
David Leonard Stoddart, Baron Stoddart of Swindon (born 4 May 1926) is a British independent Labour politician (that is, unaffiliated to the Labour Party).
[edit] Political career
Stoddart was a member of the County Borough Council of Reading from 1954-1972[1] and was the Leader of the Council from 1965-72. He was the Labour Member of Parliament for Swindon from 1970 to 1983, when he lost his seat to the Conservative Simon Coombs. Stoddart was a government whip from 1975 to 1978.
Stoddart was raised to the peerage as a life peer in 1983[1] as Baron Stoddart of Swindon, of Reading in the Royal County of Berkshire. He was expelled from the Labour benches in the House of Lords in 2002 for backing a Socialist Alliance candidate in the 2001 general election, an action he took because he strongly opposed the parachuting of Shaun Woodward, a defector from the Conservative Party, into a safe Labour seat.[1]
Stoddart was for many years the Chairman of the Campaign for an Independent Britain, which campaigns for the United Kingdom to end its membership of the European Union,[2] a position he held until May 2007.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c "Independent voice of a true democrat". Reading Chronicle. 26 March 2009. http://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/news/roundup/articles/2009/03/26/36601-independent-voice-of-a-true-democrat/. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
- ^ "Herron backers to challenge poll decision". The Journal (pay-per-view). 17 September 2004. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-122149659.html?refid=gnews_1108. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
[edit] External links
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Christopher Ward |
Member of Parliament for Swindon 1970–1983 |
Succeeded by Simon Coombs |
