Doug Naysmith

Doug Naysmith
Doug Naysmith
Member of Parliament
for Bristol North West
In office
1 May 1997 – 6 May 2010
Preceded by Michael Stern
Succeeded by Charlotte Leslie
Personal details
Born 1 April 1941 (1941-04-01) (age 70)
Musselburgh, Scotland
Nationality British
Political party Labour Co-operative
Alma mater University of Edinburgh, Yale University

John Douglas Naysmith (born 1 April 1941) is a British Labour Co-operative politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bristol North West from 1997 until standing down at the 2010 general election.

Doug Naysmith was born in Musselburgh, Scotland, and attended the local Burgh School before attending the independent George Heriot's School in Edinburgh. He went on to study at the University of Edinburgh where he was awarded a Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology before going on to complete a Doctorate in Immunology. He went on to research at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, USA.[1]

From 1970 he worked as a research immunologist at Beecham Research Laboratory until 1972 when he became a Research Fellow at the University of Bristol, he remained at Bristol until his election to Parliament, becoming a Fellow in 1976 and a lecturer in the Pathology Department in 1981.[1]

Naysmith unsuccessfully contested the seat of Bristol at the 1979 European Parliament election. He was elected to Bristol City Council in 1981 and remained a Council member until he stood down in 1998. He also served as the Chairman of the Port of Bristol Authority from 1986 until 1991. He first stood for Parliament at the 1987 General Election when he was defeated by the then Secretary of State for the Environment Nicholas Ridley. He contested Bristol North West at the 1992 General Election when he lost out by the narrowest margins (just 45 votes) to the sitting Conservative MP Michael Stern.[1]

Naysmith was elected to Parliament at the 1997 General Election defeating Stern by a substantial 11,382 votes and holding the seat ever since.[1] However, on January 25, 2007, he announced his intention to stand down at the 2010 general election due to his advancing age.[2]

During his time in Parliament, Naysmith has largely been loyal to the government. Though he abstained in the Parliamentary vote authorizing British military involvement in the Iraq War in 2003 and voted against the introduction of Foundation Hospitals, he joined with the government in voting for the introduction of top-up fees, helping Prime Minister Blair secure an extremely narrow 5 vote majority (316-311). In 2004 he voted for an outright ban on fox hunting in England and Wales, passed the House of Commons by a substantial margin.[3]

Naysmith takes an active interest in health issues, was joint Chair of the Parliamentary Labour Party Health Committee and was a member of many all party groups related to health matters. He is a long-standing member of the Socialist Health Association. Naysmith was a member of two select committees: Health and Regulatory Reform and he campaigned successfully to persuade the Government to propose the comprehensive smoking ban which came into force in July 2007. Other political interests include ports and shipping, science, higher education and Co-operative development. He was Chair of the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee and secretary of the Parliamentary Universities Group. He is also President of mental health charity The Dementia Care Trust.

Although Naysmith stood down from Parliament at the 2010 general election, he stood as a candidate for the Labour party in the Bristol City Council local elections, winning the Avonmouth seat from the Conservatives. The number of votes cast for him and his Conservative opponent was the same and the result was decided by the returning officer drawing Naysmith's name from a ballot box.[4] [5]

References

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Naysmith — may refer to: Doug Naysmith (born 1941), a British Labour Co operative politician, Member of Parliament, for Bristol North West (1997–2010) Gary Naysmith (born 1978), a Scottish footballer Ryan Naysmith, a character played by British actor Ricky… …   Wikipedia

  • Bristol North West (UK Parliament constituency) — UK constituency infobox Name = Bristol North West Map1 = BristolNorthWest Map2 = Avon Entity = Greater Bristol Type = Borough County = Bristol Year = 1950 MP = Doug Naysmith Party = Labour Co operative EP = South West England Bristol North West… …   Wikipedia

  • Naismith — This page includes variants Nasmith, Nasmyth, and Naysmith. Contents 1 General 2 Places 3 Companies 4 People 4.1 Naismith …   Wikipedia

  • Bristol — This article is about the British city. For other uses, see Bristol (disambiguation). Bristol   Unitary, Ci …   Wikipedia

  • Michael Stern (politician) — For other people named Michael Stern, see Michael Stern (disambiguation). Michael Charles Stern (born 3 August 1942) is a British Conservative Party politician. Stern contested Derby South at the 1979 general election before being elected as… …   Wikipedia

  • List of Labour Party Members of Parliament in the South West — The Labour Party Members of Parliament make up the smallest group of MPs in the South West. From the fifty Parliamentary constituencies in the region the Labour Party currently holds thirteen.* Roger Berry, Kingswood (UK Parliament constituency)… …   Wikipedia

  • Charlotte Leslie — MP Member of Parliament for Bristol North West Incumbent Assumed office 6 May 2010 Preceded by Doug Naysmith Majority …   Wikipedia

  • List of Labour Party (UK) MPs — This is a list of Labour Party MPs. It includes all Members of Parliament elected to the British House of Commons representing the Labour Party from 1900 to 1923 and since 1997. Members of the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Assembly or the… …   Wikipedia

  • Liste Des Députés Du Royaume-Uni De La 53e Législature 2001-2005 — législature (1997) 53e législature (2001) législature (2005) Ceci est une liste des députés élus à la Chambre des communes pour la 53e législature du Royaume Uni. Les élections législatives partielles sont notées en bas de page. Le Parlement a… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Liste des deputes du Royaume-Uni de la 53e legislature 2001-2005 — Liste des députés du Royaume Uni de la 53e législature 2001 2005 législature (1997) 53e législature (2001) législature (2005) Ceci est une liste des députés élus à la Chambre des communes pour la 53e législature du Royaume Uni. Les élections… …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”