Ernest Alan Fitch (10 March 1915 – 7 August 1985) was a British Labour Party politician. Fitch was educated at

Kingswood School Kingswood School is a private day and boarding school in Bath, Somerset, England. The school is coeducational and educates over 1,000 pupils aged 9 months to 18 years. It was founded by John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, in 1748, and is the ...

, Bath (1927–1932), and was a mineworker. He represented mineworkers on the executive committee of the

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

and

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

Regional Council of Labour. He was elected to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

as Member of Parliament for

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

in a by-election in 1958, following the death of sitting Labour MP Ronald Williams. He was re-elected at the next seven general elections, before stepping down at the

1983 general election The following elections occurred in the year 1983. Africa * 1983 Cameroonian parliamentary election * 1983 Equatorial Guinean legislative election * 1983 Kenyan general election * 1983 Malagasy parliamentary election * 1983 Malawian general elec ...

, when the seat was held for Labour by

Roger Stott Roger Stott, (7 August 1943 – 8 August 1999) was a British Labour Party politician. Biography Stott was born in Rochdale, the first child of Richard and Edith Stott. He was of Scottish descent. He went to school in Rochdale and when he w ...

. Fitch was one of only two MPs for Wigan in the 20th century to stand down (retire) rather than die in office. His successor

reverted to the trend and died in office in 1999. Fitch was a government Assistant

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 ...

from 1964 to 1966, a

Lord Commissioner of the Treasury In the United Kingdom there are at least six Lords (or Ladies) Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a commission for the ancient office of Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second ...

from 1966 to 1969 and

Vice-Chamberlain of the Household The Vice-Chamberlain of the Household is a member of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. The officeholder is usually a senior government whip in the British House of Commons ranking third or fourth after the Chief Whip and ...

from 1969 to 1970, and was a member of the nationalised industries select committee. Fitch was also a

Member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

References

*''Times Guide to the House of Commons 1979'' *

External links

* 1915 births 1985 deaths English miners Labour Party (UK) MEPs Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies MEPs for the United Kingdom 1973–1979 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Wigan Ministers in the Wilson governments, 1964–1970 National Union of Mineworkers-sponsored MPs People educated at Kingswood School, Bath UK MPs 1955–1959 UK MPs 1959–1964 UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs 1966–1970 UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 {{UK-MEP-stub