Derek Enright

For the poet, see D. J. Enright.

Derek Enright MP
Member of Parliament for Hemsworth
In office 7 November 1991 – 31 October 1995
Preceded by	George Buckley
Succeeded by	Jon Trickett
Member of the European Parliament for the Leeds
In office 10 June 1979 – 17 June 1984
Succeeded by	Michael McGowan
Personal details
Born	2 August 1935 Thornaby-on-Tees, North Riding of Yorkshire, England
Died	31 October 1995 (aged 60)
Political party	Labour
Spouse(s)	Jane Simmons; 4 children
Alma mater	Wadham College, Oxford

Derek Anthony Enright (2 August 1935 – 31 October 1995) was a Labour politician in the United Kingdom.

Early life

Born in Thornaby-on-Tees, North Riding of Yorkshire, he attended St. Michael's College on St John's Road, Leeds (which has since merged with Mount St Mary's Catholic High School), then a grammar school. He was educated at Wadham College, Oxford, gaining a BA in Classics and a DipEd, and worked as a school teacher of classics at The John Fisher School, a Roman Catholic grammar school in Purley, London from 1959-1967. Taught at St Wilfrids Catholic High S chool in the 70's where he taught his students to sing Yellow Submarine and Ten Green bottles in Latin. He also played a convincing Pharoe in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

Parliamentary career

He was elected as a Labour Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Leeds in 1979, staying until 1984. He was British Labour group spokesman on third world affairs and women's rights, and was later an EC delegate in Guinea Bissau. He contested Kent East in the 1984 European election. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Hemsworth, West Yorkshire from 1991 until his death in 1995.

Sings "Yellow Submarine" in Latin in the Commons chamber

On 2 March 1993, during a debate on the Education Reform Bill, Derek Enright mentioned that "To help my pupils discover what the optative and subjunctive are all about, I translated Beatles songs into Latin." Challenged by Nicholas Fairbairn to sing a Beatles song in Latin, Enright immediately stood up and did so, singing "Yellow Submarine" in Latin. The Deputy Speaker, Geoffrey Lofthouse, got him to curtail his performance by reminding Enright of the rules of the House: "Order. The hon. Gentleman has been a Member of the House long enough to know its rules full well."

Personal life

He married Jane Simmons in 1963, and they had two sons and two daughters. He died from cancer aged 60. His son, Duncan Enright, was stood against David Cameron in Witney in the 2015 General Election.

External links

• Derek Enright singing Yellow Submarine in Latin in the House of Commons (2 March 1993)
• Independent obituary
• They Work For You
• His contributions at Hansard