Phil Wilson (British politician)
Phil Wilson | |
|---|---|
 Phil Wilson in front of a Class 800 train, 2015. | |
| Member of Parliament for Sedgefield | |
| Assumed office 19 July 2007 | |
| Preceded by | Tony Blair |
| Majority | 6,843 (17.7%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 31 May 1959 County Durham, England |
| Political party | Labour |
Philip Wilson[1] (born 31 May 1959) is a Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom. He was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Sedgefield on 19 July 2007[2] in a by-election that followed the resignation of Tony Blair, former Prime Minister and member for Sedgefield.[3][4]
Life and career
The son of a Fishburn colliery worker, Wilson has lived in the Sedgefield constituency all of his life.[4] After attending Trimdon Secondary Modern and Sedgefield Comprehensive School, Wilson became a shop assistant before moving on to be a clerical worker in the civil service where he was a lay-trade union official.[4] Wilson later worked as a gambling lobbyist for the Gala Coral Group in the lead up to the passing of the 2005 Gambling Act, and as a director at London based public affairs consultancy Fellows’ Associates.[5][6]
Wilson is known for being one of the "Famous Five", a group of local Labour Party members who helped a young Tony Blair get selected as the Labour candidate for Sedgefield for the 1983 election.[3] He subsequently worked for Tony Blair in his constituency office, the Labour Party and a PR company [7]
Wilson was a Labour Assistant Whip from 2010 to 2015.[8] In 2012, he was elected to the Progress strategy board. In his work for Progress, he was criticised for a blog post that he was accused of plagiarizing.[9]
In 2013, a letter attributed to Conservative MP John Glen accused Wilson of failing to properly declare donations from Hitachi before speaking about the matter in a House of Commons debate. Glen subsequently accepted that Wilson was not at fault and apologised personally to him, claiming the letter had been drafted on his behalf and he had not read it before it was issued.[10] In his biography on his personal website, Wilson states that bringing a Hitachi Rail factory project to Newton Aycliffe in his constituency represents his "proudest political achievement so far".[7]
In his 2017 general election voter leaflet, Wilson stated he was not a supporter of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, and suggested Labour would not win the election.[11]
References
- ^ "No. 59418". The London Gazette. 13 May 2010. p. 8741.
- ^ Fran Yeoman (20 July 2007). "Victory for Blair's aide keeps the flame alive". The Times. Retrieved 20 July 2007.
- ^ a b Hélène Mulholland (4 July 2007). "Blair turns out to back Sedgefield candidate". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 July 2007.
- ^ a b c "Phil Wilson – Labour's local man". sedgefield-labour.com. Retrieved 6 July 2007.
- ^ "Wilson bid hides PR credentials". PR Week. 18 July 2007. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
- ^ Jonathan Oliver (20 July 2007). "The gambling lobbyist who's taking over in Blair's backyard". The Daily Mail. Retrieved 20 July 2007.
- ^ a b "About Me". Retrieved 17 March 2015.
- ^ "Phil Wilson". House of Commons. UK Parliament. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
- ^ http://politicalscrapbook.net/2012/07/phil-wilson-mp-accused-of-plagiarism/
- ^ Merrick, Robert (11 March 2013). "Complaint was "cooked up" by Tories, claim". Northern Echo. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
- ^ Horton, Helena (22 May 2017). "Labour candidate disowns Jeremy Corbyn on his leaflet as he tells constituents he is 'no supporter'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 22 May 2017.