Martyn Jones

Martyn David Jones (born 1 March 1947) is a former British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Clwyd South from 1987 until his retirement at the 2010 general election.

Early life

Born in Wrexham, he attended Grove Park Grammar School (now Rhosnesni High School) on ''Penymaes Avenue'' in Wrexham. He went to Liverpool College of Commerce, then completed a BSc in Microbiology at Liverpool Polytechnic, then an MSc at Trent Polytechnic.

He is a microbiologist, and worked at the Wrexham Lager Beer Company from 1969 until June 1987 before his election to the House of Commons.

Parliamentary career

At the 1987 general election, he was elected as member of Parliament for Clwyd South West, narrowly beating the Conservative incumbent Robert Harvey. He was re-elected at the 1992 general election with an increased majority. His constituency was abolished for the 1997 election, but he was returned to Parliament for the new Clwyd South constituency where his opponent was future Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Jones was an opposition whip from 1988 to 1992, and under John Smith's leadership of the Labour Party, he was an opposition spokesperson for Food, Agricultural and Rural Affairs from 1994 to 1995. He has been a member of the Welsh Affairs Select committee since 1997, serving as the committee's chair until 2005. He was previously a member of the Agriculture Select Committee.

Jones has been vocal in his criticism of controversial North Wales Police Chief Constable Richard Brunstrom's decision to use images of a dead motorcyclist as part of the force's contentiously zealous campaign for road safety.

In 2006 ''The Mail on Sunday'' newspaper reported that Jones had repeatedly swore at a House of Commons Security Officer. Jones denied the ''Mails allegations. He took the paper to the High Court to sue them for inaccuracies in the story. He called the article a "grotesque distortion" and was eventually awarded £5,000 in compensation. The paper also had to pay £300,000 in legal costs.

Jones has been a vocal campaigner on the issue of dormant bank accounts in the UK. The MP has campaigned since 2001 for the issue to be brought to the forefront of British political life. His work on the subject was praised by senior ministers, such as the Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling.

On 7 May 2009, Jones announced that he would retire at the next general election.

Personal life

Jones, who had once been employed by the Wrexham Lager brewery, bought the original name and building in Wrexham for £1 in 2001, in support of the brewery's revival after closure in meantime.

References

External links

Official Site

Wrexham Labour
*

Offices Held

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Martyn
1947 births
Living people
Welsh Labour MPs
Transport and General Workers' Union-sponsored MPs
UK MPs 1987–1992
UK MPs 1992–1997
UK MPs 1997–2001
UK MPs 2001–2005
UK MPs 2005–2010
Alumni of Nottingham Trent University
Alumni of Liverpool John Moores University
People from Wrexham
Welsh microbiologists