Gordon Oakes
Gordon James Oakes | |
---|---|
Member of Parliament for Bolton West | |
In office 1964–1970 | |
Preceded by | Arthur Holt |
Succeeded by | Robert Redmond |
Member of Parliament for Widnes | |
In office 1971–1983 | |
Preceded by | James MacColl |
Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
Member of Parliament for Halton | |
In office 1983–1997 | |
Preceded by | New constituency |
Succeeded by | Derek Twigg |
Personal details | |
Born | 22 June 1931 |
Died | 15 August 2005 | (aged 74)
Cause of death | Cancer |
Political party | Labour |
Gordon James Oakes (22 June 1931 – 15 August 2005) was a British Labour Party politician.
Early life[]
Oakes was educated at Wade Deacon grammar school, Widnes and at Liverpool University. A solicitor by profession, he became a councillor on Widnes Borough Council in 1952, serving as Mayor in 1964.
Parliamentary career[]
Oakes unsuccessfully contested Bebington in 1959 and Manchester Moss Side at a 1961 by-election.
He served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Bolton West from 1964 to 1970, when he was beaten by the Conservative Robert Redmond by 1,244 votes. He was re-elected for Widnes from a 1971 by-election until 1983, and for Halton from 1983 until 1997.
Oakes served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Home Secretary from 1966, and in the government of Harold Wilson as a junior minister and as a Minister of State under James Callaghan. He was made a member of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom in 1979. He left the Opposition front bench in 1983.
He was one of the MPs approached in the 1994 Cash-for-Questions affair, to which he responded "That is not how we do things here".
Death[]
He died of cancer on 15 August 2005 at the age of 74.[1]
References[]
- ^ "Gordon Oakes - Obituary". The Daily Telegraph. 16 August 2005. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
External links[]
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Gordon Oakes
- Obituary in The Guardian
- 1931 births
- 2005 deaths
- Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
- Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
- Transport and General Workers' Union-sponsored MPs
- UK MPs 1964–1966
- UK MPs 1966–1970
- UK MPs 1970–1974
- UK MPs 1974
- UK MPs 1974–1979
- UK MPs 1979–1983
- UK MPs 1983–1987
- UK MPs 1987–1992
- UK MPs 1992–1997
- People from Widnes
- Alumni of the University of Liverpool
- Deaths from cancer in England
- Councillors in Cheshire
- Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Bolton West
- Labour MP for England stubs