Gordon Prentice

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Gordon Prentice
Member of Parliament
for Pendle
In office
9 April 1992 – 12 April 2010
Preceded byJohn Lee
Succeeded byAndrew Stephenson
Personal details
Born (1951-01-28) 28 January 1951 (age 71)
Edinburgh, Scotland
NationalityScottish
Political partyLabour
Spouse(s)Bridget Corr (m. 1975–2000)
ChildrenNone
ResidenceBarnoldswick, Lancashire (1992–2011)
Newmarket, Ontario (2011–present)
Alma materUniversity of Glasgow
OccupationMember of Parliament (1992–2010)

Gordon Prentice (born 28 January 1951) is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Pendle in Lancashire from 1992 to 2010.

Early life[]

He was educated at the independent George Heriot's School in Edinburgh and the University of Glasgow, where he received an MA in Politics and Economics in 1972 and was president of the union. He then worked for the Labour Party Policy Directorate from 1982 to 1992, totalling one decade in the role.

Parliamentary career[]

Prentice was first elected at the general election of April 1992 for Pendle. Prior to becoming the Member of Parliament for Pendle, he was the council leader of Hammersmith and Fulham Council from 1986 to 1988.[1][2][3] He was one of the few Labour MPs not to endorse Gordon Brown for the 2007 Labour Leadership, instead nominating left winger John McDonnell.[4][5]

He became the second MP after Graham Stringer to call for Brown to resign on 28 July 2008, remarking that “the Prime Minister needs a different set of skills from a Chancellor of the Exchequer”.[6][7][8]

He was a member of the Public Administration Committee during the 2005–10 Parliament. He began his membership on 14 July 2005. He claimed that an alliance with the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats had “deep seated antipathy” in January 1999 when the two parties engaged in talks on constitutional issues.[9]

Prentice had the support of around one hundred MPs in May 2000 regarding the hunting ban, and vowed not to abandon his tabled amendment unless the government gave a “cast iron statement” which promised to introduce legislation before the forthcoming election which didn’t take place until November 2004, with it coming into force in February 2005.[10] This resulted in protests outside his constituency office in Nelson in July 2000.[11][12]

He revealed in July 2008 how he became victim to credit card fraud two months prior in Yorkshire, and how he managed to lose £3,500 after his card was copied with the use of the “skimming” device.[13]

He once stated that members of the British Royal Family should register their financial and business interests like MPs, in the wake of the affair involving Sophie, Countess of Wessex in April 2001.[14] He also claimed he was “shocked by revelations” involving her.[15] Soon after leaving office in May 2010, he described the moment he was “nearly killed” by a sledgehammer wielding man in August 1998.[16] He also announced he would not stand in Pendle in the next election, stating he was now a private citizen.[17]

Personal life[]

He married Bridget Prentice (née Corr) later also an MP whom he had met while at university on 20 December 1975. The couple divorced in 2000.[18]

He had lived in Newmarket, Ontario for almost three years by January 2014, therefore permanently leaving the United Kingdom; he continues to reside there to this day.[19] He began spending lots of his time in Canada by May 2011, which was one year after he lost his seat in Pendle to Andrew Stephenson from the Conservative Party.[20][21]

References[]

  1. ^ "Gordon Prentice". news.bbc.co.uk. 17 October 2002. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  2. ^ "How MP spread his wing". lancashiretelegraph.co.uk. 27 August 2004. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  3. ^ "Gordon Prentice". news.bbc.co.uk. 1997. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  4. ^ "Who's backing John McDonnell?". theguardian.com. 16 May 2007. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  5. ^ "Hayes MP Denies Plot To Oust Brown". mylondon.news. 16 September 2008. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  6. ^ "Prentice calls on Gordon Brown to step down". Burnley Express. 28 July 2008. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  7. ^ "Prentice: Gordon Must Go". dailyrecord.co.uk. 28 July 2008. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  8. ^ "Brown should quit, says Labour MP". news.bbc.co.uk. 28 July 2008. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  9. ^ "Further step to 'new politics'". news.bbc.co.uk. 14 January 1999. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  10. ^ "MP presses for fox hunt ban". news.bbc.co.uk. 31 May 2000. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  11. ^ "MP's attack on pro hunt lobby". lancashiretelegraph.co.uk. 7 July 2000. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  12. ^ "Prentice blasts 'bully boy' demo". lancashiretelegraph.co.uk. 8 July 2000. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  13. ^ "Pendle MP loses thousands in credit card fraud". lancashiretelegraph.co.uk. 8 July 2008. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  14. ^ "Prentice royal register idea gets rebuffed". lancashiretelegraph.co.uk. 12 April 2001. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  15. ^ "MPs call for royal business register". news.bbc.co.uk. 11 April 2001. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  16. ^ "Ex-Pendle MP Gordon Prentice: I thought I was going to die". Lancashire Telegraph. 20 May 2010. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  17. ^ "Prentice: I won't stand in Pendle at next election". Lancashire Telegraph. 20 May 2010. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  18. ^ "Vote 2001 | Candidates". BBC News. 2001. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  19. ^ "People, not officials, should shape town: Newmarket blogger". www.yorkregion.com. 2 January 2014. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  20. ^ "MR PENDLE: Does unpublished report show Burnley General A&E Department should never have closed?". clitheroeadvertiser.co.uk. 18 May 2011. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  21. ^ "Burnley A&E campaigner loses seat". hsj.co.uk. 7 May 2010. Retrieved 15 November 2021.

External links[]

News Items[]

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Pendle
1992 – 2010 		Succeeded by


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