James Aloysius Joseph Patrick Gabriel WrayAaron Goldstei
"Jimmy Wray, R.I.P."
, ''The American Spectator'', 25 May 2013. (28 April 1935 – 25 May 2013) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

politician and Labour Member of Parliament for

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Baillieston Baillieston () is a working class suburb of Glasgow, Scotland. It is about east of the city centre. It also gives its name to Ward 20 of Glasgow City Council and forms part of the Glasgow East constituency of the UK Parliament. Geographical ...

and Glasgow Provan."'Jack-the-lad' MP"
BBC News, 3 March 2000. Born and raised in the

Gorbals The Gorbals is an area in the city of Glasgow, Scotland, and former burgh, on the south bank of the River Clyde. By the late 19th century, it had become densely populated; rural migrants and immigrants were attracted by the new industries and e ...

,Fiona McKa
"Estranged wife pays tribute to 'lion of a man' Jimmy Wray"
''The Herald'', 27 May 2013 he was one of eight children born in an economically disadvantaged Roman Catholic family.Brian Beaco
"Jimmy Wray"
''The Herald'', 27 May 2013. A boxer in his younger days, he was elected as a councillor to the then

Town Council in 1964 for

Kelvinside Kelvinside is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated north of the River Clyde and is bounded by Broomhill, Dowanhill and Hyndland to the south with Kelvindale and the River Kelvin to the north. It is an affluent area of Gl ...

, and moved over to the larger

Strathclyde Regional Council Strathclyde ( in Welsh; in Gaelic, meaning 'strath alleyof the River Clyde') was one of nine former local government regions of Scotland created in 1975 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and abolished in 1996 by the Local Govern ...

in 1975 for

. He successfully blocked implementation of fluoridation in court by arguing it violated the 1946 Water Act and the 1968 Medicine Act. Wray became a rag and bone man, a coalman and a lorry driver, owning a fleet of lorries and a coal business, and became a property developer. By the time he became an MP, Wray was a wealthy man. He was on the

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...

of the Labour Party, and joined the

Campaign Group Advocacy groups, also known as lobby groups, interest groups, special interest groups, pressure groups, or public associations, use various forms of advocacy or lobbying to influence public opinion and ultimately public policy. They play an impor ...

. His political stances were

Eurosceptic Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies and seek refor ...

, an advocate of

Irish republicanism Irish republicanism () is the political movement for an Irish Republic, Irish republic, void of any British rule in Ireland, British rule. Throughout its centuries of existence, it has encompassed various tactics and identities, simultaneously ...

regarding

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

,Robert Waller and Byron Criddl
''The Almanac of British Politics''
London and New York: Routledge, 1999 (6th ed.), p. 312. and opposed to

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

and the abolition of

Section 28 Section 28 refers to a part of the Local Government Act 1988, which stated that Local government in the United Kingdom, local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales "shall not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with t ...

. His views on Northern Ireland led him to be tagged "I.R. Wray" by ''Private Eye''. In 2002, he attacked the Scottish Parliament, labelling its members "odds and sods"."MP lays into Scots Labour colleagues"
BBC News, 22 March 2002 Wray stood down as an MP, aged 70, at the 2005 general election following a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

in December 2003.

Death

Wray died on 25 May 2013 in Mearnskirk Home Hospital in Renfrewshire after suffering from bowel cancer, aged 78. He had two daughters and two sons.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wray, Jimmy 1935 births 2013 deaths Deaths from cancer in Scotland Baillieston People from Gorbals Councillors in Glasgow Scottish Labour councillors European democratic socialists Scottish Labour MPs Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Glasgow constituencies Transport and General Workers' Union-sponsored MPs UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1992–1997 UK MPs 1997–2001 UK MPs 2001–2005 Scottish people of Irish descent Scottish Roman Catholics Scottish Eurosceptics Scottish republicans Deaths from colorectal cancer in the United Kingdom