David Gordon Clelland (born 27 June 1943) is a British Labour Party

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. He served as Member of Parliament (MP) for

Tyne Bridge The Tyne Bridge is a through arch bridge over the River Tyne in North East England, linking Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead. The bridge was designed by the engineering firm Mott, Hay and Anderson, who later designed the Forth Road Bridge, ...

from the 1985 by-election until the 2010 general election.

Early life

Clelland was born in

Gateshead Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...

and educated locally at the Kelvin Grove Boys' School (now a primary school) and the Gateshead and Hebburn Technical College. After leaving education in 1959 he was an electrical fitter for Reyrolle in

Hebburn Hebburn is a town in the South Tyneside borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It was formerly in County Durham until 1974 with its own urban district from 1894 until 1974. It is on the south bank of the River Tyne between Gateshead and Jarrow and ...

for twenty-two years from 1964. He was elected as a councillor in the

Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead The Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead is a metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, England. It includes Gateshead, Rowlands Gill, Whickham, Blaydon, Ryton, Tyne and Wear, Ryton, Felling (UK), Felling, Birtley, Tyne and ...

in 1972 and became its leader in 1984.

Parliamentary career

Clelland was selected to contest the 1985 Tyne Bridge by-election, one of the then-safest Labour seats in the country, which had become vacant following the death of the MP Harry Cowans. Clelland retained the seat at the

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

on 5 December 1985 with a majority of 6,575. At the by-election, he defeated

Rod Kenyon Rodney Frank Kenyon (June 1945 – 8 December 2013) was a former Human Resources Director at British Gas and was director of the British Gas Engineering Academy.http://www.uwl.ac.uk/the_university/how_the_university_works/profiles/rod_kenyon.js ...

and

Jacqui Lait Jacqueline Anne Harkness Lait (born 16 December 1947) is a British Conservative Party politician and former Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituencies of Hastings and Rye (1992–1997) and Beckenham (1997–2010). Early life Lait was ...

, the latter of whom became a two-time

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Member of Parliament. In Parliament, Clelland served on the

Home Affairs Select Committee The Home Affairs Select Committee is a departmental select committee of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Remit The Home Affairs Committee is one of the House of Commons Select ...

from 1986 until he joined the Energy Select Committee for a year in 1989. He became an opposition

whip A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

in 1995 under the leadership of

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...

and was made an Assistant Government Whip in office following the 1997 general election. He was promoted to become a Lord Commissioner to the Treasury, a 'full' whip, in January 2001. He ceased being a whip following the 2001 general election, and became a member of the

Office of the Deputy Prime Minister An office is a space where the employees of an organization perform administrative work in order to support and realize the various goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific dut ...

Select Committee, until 2005. Following the 2005 general election he became a member of the

Transport Select Committee The Transport Select Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the committee is to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Department for Transport The D ...

. In 2002, he was appointed an advisor to the Minister of Sport

Richard Caborn Richard George Caborn (born 6 October 1943) is a British politician who served as Minister of Sport from 2001 to 2007 and later as the prime minister's ambassador for England's 2018 FIFA World Cup bid. He previously served as a junior ministe ...

greyhound racing Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around an oval track. The sport originates from Hare coursing, coursing. Track racing uses an artificial lure (usually a form of windsock) that travels ahead of th ...

. Clelland attracted controversy in 2008 for reply to a letter from a disgruntled constituent. The constituent, Gary Scott, wrote to Clelland accusing him of following the views of the Labour Party and not those of his constituents. Clelland responded by saying: "Given your rude and offensive manner I accept your offer not to vote for me again - if indeed you ever have - I do not want your vote so you can stick it where it best pleases you". Following boundary changes, the seat of Tyne Bridge was abolished and replaced by a new seat

for the 2010 general election. Following a close fought contest with

Sharon Hodgson Sharon Hodgson (born 1 April 1966) is a British politician who has served as Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Washington and Gateshead South since 2024, and previously for Washington and Sunderland West and G ...

, the sitting MP for Gateshead East and Washington West, Clelland was chosen to fight the new seat at the next election for the Labour Party. With an election soon due, on 26 January 2010, Clelland announced that he would stand down at the 2010 general election. Hodgson was selected for the adjoining new seat of Washington and Sunderland West, and a new Parliamentary candidate, Gateshead councillor Ian Mearns, was selected and won the seat of Gateshead for the Labour Party.

Personal life

David Clelland married Maureen Potts on 31 March 1965 in Gateshead, with whom he had two children and four grandchildren. In 1998 they separated after Clelland had an affair with his secretary, Brenda Graham, whom he later married in 2005. Maureen Clelland died in May 2007. He also recorded the Alex Glasgow song "The Socialist ABC" on the CD ''From Tees to Tyne'', saying "I've been singing this song as a party piece for years, but I was surprised and delighted when the people from The Northumbria Anthology asked me to record it".

References

External links

David Clelland MP
official site

* ttps://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/david_clelland/tyne_bridge TheyWorkForYou.com - David Clelland MP
Public Whip - Voting Record: David Clelland MP

BBC Politics

The Socialist ABC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clelland, David 1943 births Living people Amalgamated Engineering Union-sponsored MPs Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1992–1997 UK MPs 1997–2001 UK MPs 2001–2005 UK MPs 2005–2010 People from Gateshead Politicians from Tyne and Wear