Peter Kilfoyle

Infobox MP
honorific-prefix =
name = Peter Kilfoyle
honorific-suffix =

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constituency_MP = Liverpool Walton
parliament =
majority = 15,957 (57.1%)
predecessor = Eric Heffer
successor = Incumbent
term_start = 4 July 1991
term_end =
birth_date = Birth date and age|1946|06|9|df=yes
birth_place = Liverpool
death_date =
death_place =
nationality = British
spouse = Bernadette Slater
party = Labour
relations =
children =
residence =
alma_mater = Durham University, Liverpool Hope University
occupation =
profession =
religion = Roman Catholic


website =
footnotes =

Peter Kilfoyle (born on June 9, 1946 in Liverpool) is a UK politician.

Early life

Eleventh of fourteen children born to an Irish Catholic family on Merseyside, he was educated by the Irish Christian Brothers at St. Edward's College in Liverpool; his father died when he was 10 years old. Obtaining 4 A-levels he went to the University of Durham, but left after a year becoming a labourer for five years. He qualified as a teacher at Christ's College in Liverpool [http://www.shieldhill.co.uk/PDF%20FILES/Sunday%20Telegraph%2007.03.2004.pdf] . From 1975-85 he worked as a teacher. From 1986-91, he was North West Regional Organiser for the Labour Party, often opposing campaigns by Militant.

Parliamentary career

He has been Labour Member of Parliament for Liverpool Walton since winning a by-election in 1991 after the death of its incumbent Eric Heffer. He played a key role in the expulsion of Militant tendency members from the Labour Party during the 1980s (about which he wrote his book) and was a key supporter of Tony Blair in his 1994 leadership campaign. When Labour came to power in 1997 he was initially appointed to an influential role within the Cabinet Office, with a licence to speak out in the media on the Government's behalf, and was later appointed a junior minister in the Ministry of Defence. But in 1999 he suddenly resigned, claiming the Blair Government was failing to pay enough attention to Labour's heartlands. Since then he has remained a vocal backbench critic of the Government.

He spoke against government plans to replace Trident in the debate on 14 March 2007.

Controversy

In 2005, he allegedly defied the British Official Secrets Act when he claimed to have passed information supposedly detailing then U.S. President George W. Bush's plan to bomb an Arabic TV station. [http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=16567345&method=full&siteid=94762&headline=mp--i-leaked-al-jazeera-bomb-threat--name_page.html] [http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardianpolitics/story/0,,1682816,00.html]

Personal life

He married Bernadette Slater on July 27 1968, and they have five children.

He is a lifelong Everton FC supporter

Book

Left behind : lessons from Labour's heartland (Politicos, 2000)

External links

* [http://www.peterkilfoyle.com Peter Kilfoyle MP] official site
* [http://politics.guardian.co.uk/person/0,9290,-2906,00.html Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Peter Kilfoyle MP]
* [http://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/peter_kilfoyle/liverpool,_walton TheyWorkForYou.com - Peter Kilfoyle MP]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/mpdb/html/377.stm BBC Politics]

News items

* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardianpolitics/story/0,,1682816,00.html Labour MPs leaked Bush's proposal to bomb al-Jazeera]