- John Silkin
John Ernest Silkin, (
18 March 1923 –26 April 1987 ) was an Englishpolitician andsolicitor .He was the third son of
Lewis Silkin, 1st Baron Silkin , PC,CH and a younger brother of theSamuel Silkin, Baron Silkin of Dulwich . He was educated atDulwich College , theUniversity of Wales , and Trinity Hall at theUniversity of Cambridge . Silkin served in theRoyal Navy (1942-1946). He was commissioned as asub-Lieutenant , R.N.V.R. in 1943, serving in East Indies Fleet, Eastern Fleet and British Pacific Fleet aboard "HMS George V " and "HMS Formidable ". He was promoted toLieutenant , R.N.V.R. He was demobilised in 1946 and returned to Cambridge.Silkin was admitted as a
solicitor in 1950 and worked for his father's law practice inLondon .He contested the seat of St Marylebone at the
General Election for the Labour Party in 1950, West Woolwich in 1951 and South Nottingham in 1959. He served as a councillor in theMetropolitan Borough of St Marylebone (1962-1963) and was elected to the House of Commons for the first time in July 1963. He served as the LabourMember of Parliament for Deptford (1963-1974) and forLewisham, Deptford (1974-1987).He was elected to the
Privy Council in 1966. He served as aGovernment Chief Whip (1966-1969) and as thedeputy leader of the House of Commons (1968-1969). He was appointed as theMinister of Public Buildings and Works (1969-1970) and theMinister for Planning and Local Government in theDepartment for the Environment (1974-1976). He served as theMinister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1976-1979).In opposition, Silkin was an unsuccessful candidate in the 1980 Labour leadership election following the resignation of
James Callaghan .He served as Opposition Spokesman on Industry (1979-1980), ShadowLeader of the House of Commons (1980-1983), Opposition Spokesman on Defence and Disarmament (1981-1983) and theDairy Industry Arbitrator (1986-1987).He was married to the actress
Rosamund John from 1950 until his early death in 1987. Their sonRory L.F. Silkin was born in 1954.Silkin's publication "Changing Battlefields: The Challenge to the Labour Party" appeared posthumously. His papers were given to the
Churchill Archives Centre by his widow in February 1990. These cover his Parliamentary and Ministerial career, as well as his other public interests, such as theChannel Tunnel , theEuropean Economic Community and the dairy industry. There is material of particular interest concerning his relationship with hisConstituency Labour Party inDeptford and on the Labour Party Leadership and Deputy Leadership Elections in 1980 and 1983.External links
* [http://janus.lib.cam.ac.uk/db/node.xsp?id=EAD%2FGBR%2F0014%2FSLKN;recurse=1 His papers, from the Library of the University of Cambridge]
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