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'''Terence "Terry" Fields''' (born [[8 March]], [[1937]]) is a [[United Kingdom|British]] [[politics|politician]] and a former [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] [[Member of Parliament]] for the (now defunct) [[United Kingdom constituencies|constituency]] of [[Liverpool]] [[Broadgreen, Merseyside|Broadgreen]] from [[1983]] until [[1992]].
{{Use British English|date=March 2014}}
{{For|the American politician|Terry Fields (American politician)}}
{{Infobox MP
| honorific-prefix =
| name = Terry Fields
| image =
| imagesize = 200px
| office2 = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] <br> for [[Liverpool Broadgreen (UK Parliament constituency)|Liverpool Broadgreen]]
| term_start2 = 9 June 1983
| term_end2 = 9 April 1992
| predecessor2 = [[Boundary Commissions (United Kingdom)|Constituency Created]]
| successor2 = [[Jane Kennedy (politician)|Jane Kennedy]]
| birthname =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=y|1937|3|8}}
| birth_place = [[Bootle]], [[Lancashire]]
| death_date ={{Death date and age|2008|06|28|1937|03|08|df=yes}}
| death_place = [[Netherton, Merseyside|Netherton]], [[Merseyside]]
| nationality = [[British people|British]]
| spouse =
| party = [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] (until 1991)<br>[[Independent politician|Independent]] (after 1991)
| relations =
| children =
| profession = [[Firefighter]]
}}


'''Terence Fields''' (8 March 1937 &ndash; 28 June 2008), a member of the [[Militant (Trotskyist group)|Militant]] group, was the Labour Member of Parliament for [[Liverpool Broadgreen (UK Parliament constituency)|Liverpool Broadgreen]] for nine years. Earlier he had been on the Executive of the [[Fire Brigades Union]].
On [[11 July]], [[1991]], Fields was jailed for refusing to pay his [[poll tax]], having evaded a £373 bill. His [[court]] [[sentence (law)|sentence]] lasted 60 days, meaning Fields retained his seat in the [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]], as MPs automatically lose their seat if they are imprisoned for over a year.


==Early life and activism==
A member of the [[Militant Tendency]], Fields was criticised by members of the Labour Party, for his militant approach towards the poll tax, and his lack of support for other Labour candidates. He was expelled from the Labour Party in September [[1991]], by the leader of the Labour Party, [[Neil Kinnock]], who stated: "''Law makers must not be law breakers. I have always made that clear.''"
Fields was born in [[Bootle]], north of [[Liverpool]], the son of a dockworker.<ref name="Dalyell">Tam Dalyell [http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/terry-fields-labour-mp-from-the-militant-tendency-who-was-jailed-for-60-days-for-refusing-to-pay-the-poll-tax-858291.html "Terry Fields: Labour MP from the Militant Tendency Who Was Jailed for 60 Days for Refusing to Pay the Poll Tax"], ''The Independent'', 2 July 2008</ref> Educated at the Major Street County Secondary School and at De La Salle Grammar School in Liverpool, Fields then spent two years on [[Conscription in the United Kingdom#After 1945|National Service]] in the [[Royal Army Medical Corps]],<ref name="telegraph2008">[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/2225952/Terry-Fields.html Obituary: Terry Fields], telegraph.co.uk, 1 July 2008</ref> an experience that he later claimed had radicalised him.<ref name="Dalyell" /> Despite eye problems (the reason why he wore dark glasses),<ref name="Dalyell" /> he became a fireman and later a [[Fire Brigades Union]] activist.<ref>Rob Sewell, [http://www.marxist.com/terry-fields-obituary.htm "Terry Fields, Militant MP Dies – The Workers' MP on a Workers' Wage"], In Defence of Marxism Website, 30 June 2008.</ref>


Fields joined the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] in 1968.<ref name="telegraph2008"/> He was active in the Fire Brigades Union's national strike in 1977-78<ref name="venton">Terry Venton, [http://www.scottishsocialistparty.org/stories/terryfields.html "Obituary: Terry Fields"], Scottish Socialist Website</ref> and shortly afterwards he joined the [[Militant (Trotskyist group)|Militant]] group,<ref name="venton" /> At the Labour Party's special conference in 1980 on the question of how to elect the Labour leader Fields spoke before [[Denis Healey]] and said: "We need coordinated action by the whole of our class to get the Tories out, and the democracy that is being pumped out in the capitalist press is their democracy, not ours. We will found a new democracy when we have created a socialist state in this country. ... To the weak-hearted, the traitors and cowards I say: 'Get out of our movement. There is no place for you. Cross the House of Commons.'"<ref name="Beckett">Francis Beckett [http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/jul/01/labour.tradeunions "Obituary: Terry Fields"], ''The Guardian'', 1 July 2008</ref>
In the [[United Kingdom general election, 1992|1992 general election]], he stood as an independent against the official Labour candidate, [[Jane Kennedy]], but lost his seat, winning 14% of the vote.


==Parliamentary career==
== See also ==
Fields was selected as the Labour Party candidate for [[Liverpool Broadgreen (UK Parliament constituency)|Liverpool Broadgreen]] for the [[United Kingdom general election, 1983|general election in 1983]] and became the only Labour MP that year to win a Conservative-held seat.<ref name="Dalyell"/><ref name="Echo">Paddy Shennon & Ian Hernon, [http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2008/06/30/farewell-to-terry-fields-a-man-of-principle-100252-21202675/ "Farewell to Terry Fields: A Man of Principle"], ''Liverpool Echo'', 30 June 2008.</ref> In line with the policy of the Militant group, he promised during his campaign that, if he was elected, he would be "a workers' MP on a worker's wage," a promise he kept by drawing only the equivalent of a fireman's wages and donating the balance of his MP's salary to trade union causes and, according to Doris Heffer, "to the party causes or, frankly, also to the coffers of Militant Tendency."<ref name="Dalyell"/> Fields gained the friendship of other Labour MPs, including Doris Heffer's husband, [[Eric Heffer|Eric]].<ref name="Dalyell"/>
* [[Dave Nellist]]
* [[Pat Wall]]


Fields made his maiden speech on 24 June 1983.<ref>Mr Terry Fields (Liverpool, Broadgreen), [http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1983/jun/24/industry-and-privatisation#S6CV0044P0-02277 "Orders of the Day: Industry and Privatisation"], ''Hansard'', 24 June 1983</ref> His interventions in Parliament focused on issues unique to Liverpool as well as [[Central America]], unemployment, and the coalmining and maritime transport industries.<ref>[http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/members/mr-terry-fields Mr Terry Fields], ''Hansard Online Index''</ref>
== External links ==
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/11/newsid_2500000/2500365.stm Anti-poll tax MP jailed], [[BBC News]] (retrieved [[July 1]], [[2005]]).


On 11 July 1991 Fields was jailed for refusing to pay his [[Community Charge|poll tax]] bill of £373. [[Neil Kinnock]] defended the decision of the court, stating: "Law makers must not be law breakers. I have always made that clear."<ref name="BBC910711">[http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/11/newsid_2500000/2500365.stm "1991: Anti-Poll Tax MP Jailed"], BBC On this Day, 11 July</ref> Fields's [[sentence (law)|sentence]] was for 60 days, meaning that he retained his seat in the [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]], as MPs automatically lose their seat if they are imprisoned for more than a year. Fields was criticised by members of the Labour Party for his militant approach to the poll tax and his failure to support other Labour candidates, in particular [[Peter Kilfoyle]] in a [[by-election]] for the neighbouring constituency of [[Liverpool Walton]],<ref name="BBC910711"/> following the death of Eric Heffer.
[[Category:1937 births|Fields, Terry]]

[[Category:Living people|Fields, Terry]]
Fields was expelled from the Labour Party in December 1991<ref name="BBC910711"/> along with other members of Militant, including [[Dave Nellist]], then the only other MP who was a member of the tendency.
[[Category:Members of the United Kingdom Parliament from English constituencies|Fields, Terry]]

[[Category:British communists|Fields, Terry]]
==Later life==
[[Category:Labour MPs (UK)|Fields, Terry]]
In the [[United Kingdom general election, 1992|general election of 1992]] Fields stood as an independent against the Labour candidate, [[Jane Kennedy (politician)|Jane Kennedy]], but was defeated, having won only 14 per cent of the votes cast. After losing his seat Fields ran The Mayflower, a pub on Fazakerley Street in Liverpool, for six months.<ref name="Echo"/><ref name="telegraph2008"/> He did not join the [[Socialist Party (England and Wales)|Socialist Party]], into which Militant eventually developed.<ref name="Beckett"/>
[[Category:MPs of the 49th UK Parliament (1983-1987)|Fields, Terence]]

In 2002, at the age of 65, he returned briefly to the limelight after entering a burning house to rescue a woman trapped inside. He commented: "I suppose the old instincts just took over."

Fields died at his family home in [[Netherton, Merseyside|Netherton]] on Saturday 28 June 2008, of [[lung cancer]]. [[Bob Wareing]], a Liverpool Labour MP for 25 years, said at the time: "Even though we might disagree on the methods used by Militant Tendency, we in Liverpool could not but respect the sincerity and principled behaviour of Terry Fields."<ref name="Dalyell"/> A memorial meeting for Fields, held shortly after his death, attracted 200 people.<ref>Paillard, C. [http://www.socialistparty.org.uk/articles/6356/03-09-2008/terry-fields-memorial-meeting "Terry Fields Memorial Meeting"], ''The Socialist'', 3 September 2008. (retrieved 25 June 2010)</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{Hansard-contribs | mr-terry-fields | Terry Fields }}
*[http://www.socialistparty.org.uk/articles/6254/09-07-2008/terry-fields-a-socialist-voice-that-rocked-whitehall Terry Fields' Maiden Speech in Parliament], [[Socialist Party (England and Wales)|Socialist Party]] (retrieved 25 June 2010)
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/7480012.stm Ex-MP Terry Fields dies aged 71], [[BBC News]] (retrieved 29 June 2008)
*[http://www.marxist.com/terry-fields-obituary.htm Terry Fields, Militant MP dies – the workers' MP on a workers’ wage], [[International Marxist Tendency]] (retrieved 30 June 2008)
*[http://dscalm.warwick.ac.uk/DServe/dserve.exe?dsqIni=DServeadv.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqCmd=Show.tcl&dsqDb=Catalog&dsqPos=0&dsqSearch=%28%28%28text%29%3D%27fields%27%29AND%28Level%3D%27section%27%29%29 Catalogue of Fields' papers], held at the [[Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick]]


{{s-start}}
{{s-par|uk}}
{{s-new | constituency}}
{{s-ttl
| title = [[Member of Parliament]] for [[Liverpool Broadgreen (UK Parliament constituency)|Liverpool Broadgreen]]
| years = [[United Kingdom general election, 1983|1983]]–[[United Kingdom general election, 1992|1992]]
}}
{{s-aft | after = [[Jane Kennedy (politician)|Jane Kennedy]] }}
{{s-end}}


{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
{{UK-MP-stub}}
| NAME = Fields, Terry
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = British politician
| DATE OF BIRTH = 8 March 1937
| PLACE OF BIRTH = [[Bootle]], England
| DATE OF DEATH = 28 June 2008
| PLACE OF DEATH = [[Netherton, Merseyside|Netherton]], England
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fields, Terry}}
[[Category:1937 births]]
[[Category:2008 deaths]]
[[Category:British firefighters]]
[[Category:British politicians convicted of crimes]]
[[Category:British Trotskyists]]
[[Category:Cancer deaths in England]]
[[Category:Deaths from lung cancer]]
[[Category:English trade unionists]]
[[Category:Labour Party (UK) MPs]]
[[Category:Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Liverpool constituencies]]
[[Category:Militant tendency supporters]]
[[Category:People from Bootle]]
[[Category:Politicians from Liverpool]]
[[Category:Royal Army Medical Corps soldiers]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1983–87]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1987–92]]

Revision as of 16:44, 16 October 2015

For the American politician, see Terry Fields (American politician).
Terry Fields
Member of Parliament
for Liverpool Broadgreen
In office
9 June 1983 – 9 April 1992
Preceded byConstituency Created
Succeeded byJane Kennedy
Personal details
Born(1937-03-08)8 March 1937
Bootle, Lancashire
Died28 June 2008(2008-06-28) (aged 71)
Netherton, Merseyside
NationalityBritish
Political partyLabour (until 1991)
Independent (after 1991)
ProfessionFirefighter

Terence Fields (8 March 1937 – 28 June 2008), a member of the Militant group, was the Labour Member of Parliament for Liverpool Broadgreen for nine years. Earlier he had been on the Executive of the Fire Brigades Union.

Early life and activism

Fields was born in Bootle, north of Liverpool, the son of a dockworker.[1] Educated at the Major Street County Secondary School and at De La Salle Grammar School in Liverpool, Fields then spent two years on National Service in the Royal Army Medical Corps,[2] an experience that he later claimed had radicalised him.[1] Despite eye problems (the reason why he wore dark glasses),[1] he became a fireman and later a Fire Brigades Union activist.[3]

Fields joined the Labour Party in 1968.[2] He was active in the Fire Brigades Union's national strike in 1977-78[4] and shortly afterwards he joined the Militant group,[4] At the Labour Party's special conference in 1980 on the question of how to elect the Labour leader Fields spoke before Denis Healey and said: "We need coordinated action by the whole of our class to get the Tories out, and the democracy that is being pumped out in the capitalist press is their democracy, not ours. We will found a new democracy when we have created a socialist state in this country. ... To the weak-hearted, the traitors and cowards I say: 'Get out of our movement. There is no place for you. Cross the House of Commons.'"[5]

Parliamentary career

Fields was selected as the Labour Party candidate for Liverpool Broadgreen for the general election in 1983 and became the only Labour MP that year to win a Conservative-held seat.[1][6] In line with the policy of the Militant group, he promised during his campaign that, if he was elected, he would be "a workers' MP on a worker's wage," a promise he kept by drawing only the equivalent of a fireman's wages and donating the balance of his MP's salary to trade union causes and, according to Doris Heffer, "to the party causes or, frankly, also to the coffers of Militant Tendency."[1] Fields gained the friendship of other Labour MPs, including Doris Heffer's husband, Eric.[1]

Fields made his maiden speech on 24 June 1983.[7] His interventions in Parliament focused on issues unique to Liverpool as well as Central America, unemployment, and the coalmining and maritime transport industries.[8]

On 11 July 1991 Fields was jailed for refusing to pay his poll tax bill of £373. Neil Kinnock defended the decision of the court, stating: "Law makers must not be law breakers. I have always made that clear."[9] Fields's sentence was for 60 days, meaning that he retained his seat in the House of Commons, as MPs automatically lose their seat if they are imprisoned for more than a year. Fields was criticised by members of the Labour Party for his militant approach to the poll tax and his failure to support other Labour candidates, in particular Peter Kilfoyle in a by-election for the neighbouring constituency of Liverpool Walton,[9] following the death of Eric Heffer.

Fields was expelled from the Labour Party in December 1991[9] along with other members of Militant, including Dave Nellist, then the only other MP who was a member of the tendency.

Later life

In the general election of 1992 Fields stood as an independent against the Labour candidate, Jane Kennedy, but was defeated, having won only 14 per cent of the votes cast. After losing his seat Fields ran The Mayflower, a pub on Fazakerley Street in Liverpool, for six months.[6][2] He did not join the Socialist Party, into which Militant eventually developed.[5]

In 2002, at the age of 65, he returned briefly to the limelight after entering a burning house to rescue a woman trapped inside. He commented: "I suppose the old instincts just took over."

Fields died at his family home in Netherton on Saturday 28 June 2008, of lung cancer. Bob Wareing, a Liverpool Labour MP for 25 years, said at the time: "Even though we might disagree on the methods used by Militant Tendency, we in Liverpool could not but respect the sincerity and principled behaviour of Terry Fields."[1] A memorial meeting for Fields, held shortly after his death, attracted 200 people.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Tam Dalyell "Terry Fields: Labour MP from the Militant Tendency Who Was Jailed for 60 Days for Refusing to Pay the Poll Tax", The Independent, 2 July 2008
  2. ^ a b c Obituary: Terry Fields, telegraph.co.uk, 1 July 2008
  3. ^ Rob Sewell, "Terry Fields, Militant MP Dies – The Workers' MP on a Workers' Wage", In Defence of Marxism Website, 30 June 2008.
  4. ^ a b Terry Venton, "Obituary: Terry Fields", Scottish Socialist Website
  5. ^ a b Francis Beckett "Obituary: Terry Fields", The Guardian, 1 July 2008
  6. ^ a b Paddy Shennon & Ian Hernon, "Farewell to Terry Fields: A Man of Principle", Liverpool Echo, 30 June 2008.
  7. ^ Mr Terry Fields (Liverpool, Broadgreen), "Orders of the Day: Industry and Privatisation", Hansard, 24 June 1983
  8. ^ Mr Terry Fields, Hansard Online Index
  9. ^ a b c "1991: Anti-Poll Tax MP Jailed", BBC On this Day, 11 July
  10. ^ Paillard, C. "Terry Fields Memorial Meeting", The Socialist, 3 September 2008. (retrieved 25 June 2010)
Parliament of the United Kingdom
New constituency Member of Parliament for Liverpool Broadgreen
1983–1992 		Succeeded by

Template:Persondata

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