Albert Edward Booth (28 May 1928 – 6 February 2010) was a British left-wing Labour Party politician and cabinet minister.

Early life

Booth was born in Acomb, in the

North Riding of Yorkshire The North Riding of Yorkshire was a subdivision of Yorkshire, England, alongside York, the East Riding and West Riding. The riding's highest point was at Mickle Fell at . From the Restoration it was used as a lieutenancy area, having b ...

, in 1928. He was raised in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

and

South Shields South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England; it is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. The town was once known in Roman Britain, Roman times as ''Arbeia'' and as ''Caer Urfa'' by the Early Middle Ag ...

, and educated at Marine School,

, and Rutherford College of Technology (now

Northumbria University Northumbria University (legally the University of Northumbria at Newcastle) is a Public research university, public research university located in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England, North East of England. It has been a university since 199 ...

). He was a design draughtsman. He served as a councillor on

Tynemouth Tynemouth () is a coastal town in the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside, in Tyne and Wear, England. It is located on the north side of the mouth of the River Tyne, England, River Tyne, hence its name. It is east-northeast of Newcastle up ...

Council 1962–65.

Parliamentary career

Booth unsuccessfully contested

in 1964, losing to the sitting MP Irene Ward. He was Member of Parliament for

Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town and civil parish (as just "Barrow") in the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the county of Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borou ...

from 1966 to 1983, and was

Secretary of State for Employment The secretary of state for employment was a position in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. In , it was merged with secretary of state for education to make the secretary of state for education and employment. In , the employment functions were h ...

from 1976 to 1979 serving under

James Callaghan Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff ( ; 27 March 191226 March 2005) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the L ...

. He also acted as the Labour Party's national Treasurer between 1983 and 1984. After boundary changes, his seat was renamed Barrow and Furness, for the 1983 General Election but despite a 1979 majority of 7,741 he lost it to the

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 ...

Cecil Franks. This has often been attributed to Labour's unilateralist policy of nuclear disarmament, and Booth himself identified with that, leading a CND march through his constituency. However, his constituents were reliant on the defence industries, particularly shipbuilding, and this led to one of Labour's most unexpected defeats of the election. However, a campaign against him centred in a local

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

church, highlighting his record of voting in favour of women's right to choose to have an abortion, was also a significant factor. (Booth was a lay preacher in the Methodist Church.)

Later career

Booth made it through to the final round in the Labour selection for Sunderland South ahead of the 1987 election, but lost out by four votes to

Chris Mullin Christopher Paul Mullin (born July 30, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player, executive and coach. He is a five time NBA All-Star and four time All-NBA Team member. He is also two-time Olympic Gold medalist and a two-time ...

. He unsuccessfully contested Warrington South in

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

Personal life and death

In 1957, Booth married Joan Atkinson (née Amis); they had three sons and were married until her death in 2008. Booth died at the

Princess Royal University Hospital Princess Royal University Hospital or PRUH is a large acute district general hospital situated in Locksbottom, near Farnborough, in the London Borough of Bromley. It is managed by King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. History The hosp ...

in Locksbottom, London, on 6 February 2010, at the age of 81; his health had been in decline due to a series of illnesses, including

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...

References

*''Times Guide to the House of Commons'', 1966 & 1983 *

External links

*
Albert Booth
– Daily Telegraph obituary
Albert Booth 1928–2010: an "Old Labour" man
– Workers' Liberty obituary by his niece, Janine Booth , - , - 1928 births 2010 deaths Alumni of Northumbria University British Secretaries of State for Employment British draughtsmen Councillors in Tyne and Wear Deaths from prostate cancer in England English Methodists Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Methodist local preachers Technical, Administrative and Supervisory Section-sponsored MPs UK MPs 1966–1970 UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 English Christian socialists {{England-Labour-UK-MP-stub