Roger Leslie Berry (born 4 July 1948) is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Kingswood from the 1992 general election until his defeat at the 2010 general election.

Early life

Roger Berry was born in 1948 in

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confl ...

and educated at the Dalton County Primary School in Huddersfield;

Huddersfield New College Huddersfield New College is a former grammar school and current sixth form college located in Salendine Nook on the outskirts of Huddersfield, in the county of West Yorkshire, England. On 30 November 2023 the college was assessed as 'Good' fol ...

; the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

, where he obtained a BSc in Economics in 1970; and the

University of Sussex The University of Sussex is a public university, public research university, research university located in Falmer, East Sussex, England. It lies mostly within the city boundaries of Brighton and Hove. Its large campus site is surrounded by the ...

where he was awarded a DPhil in Economics in 1977. Berry lectured in Economics at the School of African and Asian Studies in London from 1973–4; Institute of Development Studies at the

from 1973–4; the

University of Papua New Guinea The University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) is a university located in Port Moresby, capital of Papua New Guinea. It was established by ordinance of the Australian administration in 1965. This followed the Currie Commission which had enquired ...

from 1974–8; and the University of Bristol from 1978–92. He was elected as a councillor to the Avon County Council in 1981, becoming the deputy in 1985 and the Labour group leader from 1986–92; he stood down from the council in 1993.

Parliamentary career

Berry contested

Weston-super-Mare Weston-super-Mare ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the North Somerset unitary district, in the county of Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. Its population ...

at the 1983 general election but was defeated by Jerry Wiggin. Berry also unsuccessfully fought the seat of

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

for the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

. Berry was selected to contest the marginal seat of Kingswood at the 1987 general election but was defeated by Conservative Robert Hayward by over 4,000 votes. Berry again contested Kingswood against Hayward at the 1992 general election and this time was victorious, winning the seat with a majority of 2,370. He made his

maiden speech A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament. Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country. In many Westminster system governments, there is a convention th ...

on 10 June 1992. Berry was a frequent "rebel" against the Labour government after 1997. He was a Member of the Trade and Industry Committee. On 17 January 2007, he criticised the government for halting a corruption inquiry into arms sales to Saudi Arabia, saying it would do irreparable damage to Britain's reputation. In December 2007 Berry added his name to a petition to save the threatened Cadbury's Somerdale Factory from demolition. Early on in his parliamentary career, Berry became known as a

disability rights The disability rights movement is a global social movement that seeks to secure equal opportunities and equal rights for all disabled people. It is made up of organizations of disability activists, also known as disability advocates, around ...

activist, and was Secretary and Co-Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Disability Group. Berry lost his seat to Conservative Party candidate Chris Skidmore in the 2010 general election. The seat was not very high among the Tory targets, and his defeat was the result of a swing of nearly 10% in favour of the Tories, with Labour Party officials blaming the result on a restructuring of constituency boundaries which were seen to favour the Tory vote. After losing his seat, Berry became a trustee of the charity Disability Rights UK and served as chair of the Avon and Bristol Law Centre.

Personal life

He married Alison Delyth in December 1996 in

Pontypridd Pontypridd ( , ), Colloquialism, colloquially referred to as ''Ponty'', is a town and a Community (Wales), community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales, approximately 10 miles north west of Cardiff city centre. Geography Pontypridd comprises the ...

References

External links

Website of Roger Berry MP
*

* ttps://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/roger_berry/kingswood TheyWorkForYou.com – Roger Berry MP
The Public Whip – Roger Berry MP
voting record
BBC Politics page

News items

2000 Budget
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berry, Roger 1948 births Living people Politics of Bristol Politics of South Gloucestershire District Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Councillors in South West England UK MPs 1992–1997 UK MPs 1997–2001 UK MPs 2001–2005 UK MPs 2005–2010 British disability rights activists People from Huddersfield Alumni of the University of Sussex Academic staff of the University of Papua New Guinea People educated at Huddersfield New College Alumni of the University of Bristol