Eddie Milne
Encyclopedia
Edward James "Eddie" Milne (18 October 1915 – 23 March 1983) was a British
Labour
politician, who was elected as independent candidate after deselection by his party.
He succeeded Alfred Robens
as MP for Blyth, later known as Blyth Valley
, in a 1960 by-election
. Robens was unexpectedly and somewhat controversially elevated to the chairmanship of the National Coal Board
, and Milne, a trades union official, was selected by the local Constituency Labour Party
and with the support of the shopworkers union, USDAW
.
During his Parliamentary career, Milne became increasingly concerned about problems of endemic corruption within local government in the north east of England. These were eventually revealed in the Poulson Affair
involving corruption leading Labour movement figures Andrew Cunningham and T. Dan Smith
. Known as a difficult man to get on with, Milne's problems were not restricted to his opponents in the local Labour Party; he twice unsuccessfully reported a local journalist, Jim Harland, to the Press Council over articles he had written.
By 1974 the breach between Milne and the local party was irreparable, and he was deselected on the eve of the February 1974 general election
. Milne had already made preparations for this eventuality and ran a campaign as an Independent Labour candidate. He overturned the Labour majority and defeated Ivor Richard
, who had the official endorsement, by 6,140 votes.
However, it was a short-lived victory, as Milne was narrowly defeated in the October 1974 general election
by John Ryman
by 78 votes.
Milne's supporters who won seats on the local authority
had all been defeated by 1979; when Milne stood again in the 1979 general election
he did badly.
Milne wrote a book entitled No Shining Armour (1976) (ISBN 0-7145-3514-1) detailing his travails with the local party, and giving his view on the corruption scandals of the 1970s. It attracted 36 libel writs, and the costs and damages associated with it came close to bankrupting his publishers.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
politician, who was elected as independent candidate after deselection by his party.
He succeeded Alfred Robens
Alfred Robens, Baron Robens of Woldingham
Alfred Robens, Baron Robens of Woldingham CBE PC was an English trade unionist, Labour politician and industrialist...
as MP for Blyth, later known as Blyth Valley
Blyth Valley (UK Parliament constituency)
Blyth Valley is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
, in a 1960 by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
. Robens was unexpectedly and somewhat controversially elevated to the chairmanship of the National Coal Board
National Coal Board
The National Coal Board was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the mines on "vesting day", 1 January 1947...
, and Milne, a trades union official, was selected by the local Constituency Labour Party
Constituency Labour Party
A Constituency Labour Party is an organisation of members of the British Labour Party who live in a particular UK parliamentary constituency in England, Scotland and Wales. The Labour Party in Northern Ireland has, since February 2009, been organised as a province-wide Constituency Labour Party...
and with the support of the shopworkers union, USDAW
Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers
The Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers is a trade union in the United Kingdom. Consisting of over 405,000 members, USDAW is the UK's fourth largest and fastest growing trade union. Membership has increased by more than 17% in the last five years and by nearly a third in the last decade...
.
During his Parliamentary career, Milne became increasingly concerned about problems of endemic corruption within local government in the north east of England. These were eventually revealed in the Poulson Affair
John Poulson
John Garlick Llewellyn Poulson was a British architect and businessman who caused a major political scandal when his use of bribery was disclosed in 1972. The highest-ranking figure to be forced out was Conservative Home Secretary Reginald Maudling...
involving corruption leading Labour movement figures Andrew Cunningham and T. Dan Smith
T. Dan Smith
Thomas Daniel Smith was a British politician who was Leader of Newcastle upon Tyne City Council from 1960 to 1965. He was a prominent figure in the Labour Party in the north east of England, such that he was nicknamed 'Mr Newcastle'...
. Known as a difficult man to get on with, Milne's problems were not restricted to his opponents in the local Labour Party; he twice unsuccessfully reported a local journalist, Jim Harland, to the Press Council over articles he had written.
By 1974 the breach between Milne and the local party was irreparable, and he was deselected on the eve of the February 1974 general election
United Kingdom general election, February 1974
The United Kingdom's general election of February 1974 was held on the 28th of that month. It was the first of two United Kingdom general elections held that year, and the first election since the Second World War not to produce an overall majority in the House of Commons for the winning party,...
. Milne had already made preparations for this eventuality and ran a campaign as an Independent Labour candidate. He overturned the Labour majority and defeated Ivor Richard
Ivor Richard, Baron Richard
Ivor Seward Richard, Baron Richard, PC , is a British politician belonging to the Labour Party and former member of the Commission of the European Communities.-Background:...
, who had the official endorsement, by 6,140 votes.
However, it was a short-lived victory, as Milne was narrowly defeated in the October 1974 general election
United Kingdom general election, October 1974
The United Kingdom general election of October 1974 took place on 10 October 1974 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. It was the second general election of that year and resulted in the Labour Party led by Harold Wilson, winning by a tiny majority of 3 seats.The election of...
by John Ryman
John Ryman
John Ryman QC is a former British Labour Party Member of Parliament who sat as an independent MP for his last year in the House of Commons.Ryman was a barrister and a fox-hunter...
by 78 votes.
Milne's supporters who won seats on the local authority
Blyth Valley
Blyth Valley was a Local government district and borough in south-east Northumberland, England, bordering the North Sea and Tyne and Wear. The two principal towns were Blyth and Cramlington...
had all been defeated by 1979; when Milne stood again in the 1979 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1979
The United Kingdom general election of 1979 was held on 3 May 1979 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. The Conservative Party, led by Margaret Thatcher ousted the incumbent Labour government of James Callaghan with a parliamentary majority of 43 seats...
he did badly.
Milne wrote a book entitled No Shining Armour (1976) (ISBN 0-7145-3514-1) detailing his travails with the local party, and giving his view on the corruption scandals of the 1970s. It attracted 36 libel writs, and the costs and damages associated with it came close to bankrupting his publishers.