Ian Winterbottom, Baron Winterbottom
Encyclopedia
Ian Winterbottom, Baron Winterbottom (6 April 1913 – 4 July 1992), was a Labour Party
politician in the United Kingdom
.
He was elected at the 1950 general election
as Member of Parliament
for Nottingham Central
, a marginal constituency which the sitting Labour MP Geoffrey de Freitas
had abandoned for the promising Lincoln
seat.
He held the seat at the 1951 general election
with a majority of only 139 votes, but lost it at the 1955 election
to the Conservative candidate John Cordeaux
. He contested Nottingham Central again at the 1959 general election
, but Cordeaux held the seat with an increased majority.
He did not contest the 1964 election
, when Labour returned to government under Harold Wilson
, but was made a life peer
in 1965, as Baron Winterbottom of Clopton
in the County of Northampton
. After Labour's victory at the 1966 general election
, he joined the Labour Government
, serving as Under-Secretary of State for the Navy until 1967, as Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Public Building and Works from 1967 to 1968 and finally as Under-Secretary of State for the Air Force from 1968 until the government's defeat at the 1970 general election
.
He died in 1992, aged 79.
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 in the United Kingdom
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...
.
He was elected at the 1950 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1950
The 1950 United Kingdom general election was the first general election ever after a full term of a Labour government. Despite polling over one and a half million votes more than the Conservatives, the election, held on 23 February 1950 resulted in Labour receiving a slim majority of just five...
as Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Nottingham Central
Nottingham Central (UK Parliament constituency)
Nottingham Central was a borough constituency in the city of Nottingham. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
, a marginal constituency which the sitting Labour MP Geoffrey de Freitas
Geoffrey de Freitas
Sir Geoffrey Stanley de Freitas was a British politician and diplomat. For many years a Labour Member of Parliament, he also served as British High Commissioner in Accra and Nairobi, and later as President of the Council of Europe....
had abandoned for the promising Lincoln
Lincoln (UK Parliament constituency)
Lincoln is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
seat.
He held the seat at the 1951 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1951
The 1951 United Kingdom general election was held eighteen months after the 1950 general election, which the Labour Party had won with a slim majority of just five seats...
with a majority of only 139 votes, but lost it at the 1955 election
United Kingdom general election, 1955
The 1955 United Kingdom general election was held on 26 May 1955, four years after the previous general election. It resulted in a substantially increased majority of 60 for the Conservative government under new leader and prime minister Sir Anthony Eden against Labour Party, now in their 20th year...
to the Conservative candidate John Cordeaux
John Cordeaux
John Kyme Cordeaux , was a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom.Cordeaux was elected at the 1955 general election as Member of Parliament for Nottingham Central, narrowly defeating the Labour MP Ian Winterbottom.He held the seat in 1959, but lost it at the 1964 election to the Labour...
. He contested Nottingham Central again at the 1959 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1959
This United Kingdom general election was held on 8 October 1959. It marked a third successive victory for the ruling Conservative Party, led by Harold Macmillan...
, but Cordeaux held the seat with an increased majority.
He did not contest the 1964 election
United Kingdom general election, 1964
The United Kingdom general election of 1964 was held on 15 October 1964, more than five years after the preceding election, and thirteen years after the Conservative Party had retaken power...
, when Labour returned to government under Harold Wilson
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...
, but was made a life peer
Life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
in 1965, as Baron Winterbottom of Clopton
Clopton, Northamptonshire
Clopton is a small village and civil parish located in East Northamptonshire, close to the Cambridgeshire border. The village stretches along the north side of the B662 and was recorded in the Domesday Book as 'Clotone'. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population was 134 people. The...
in the County of Northampton
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
. After Labour's victory at the 1966 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1966
The 1966 United Kingdom general election on 31 March 1966 was called by sitting Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson. Wilson's decision to call an election turned on the fact that his government, elected a mere 17 months previously in 1964 had an unworkably small majority of only 4 MPs...
, he joined the Labour Government
Labour Government 1964-1970
The Labour Government 1964–1970 was led by Prime Minister Harold Wilson. The Labour Party had won the 1964 general election by a majority of 4 seats. The Profumo affair had seriously damaged the previous Conservatives government, meaning Alec Douglas-Home's Premiership lasted only 363 days...
, serving as Under-Secretary of State for the Navy until 1967, as Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Public Building and Works from 1967 to 1968 and finally as Under-Secretary of State for the Air Force from 1968 until the government's defeat at the 1970 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1970
The United Kingdom general election of 1970 was held on 18 June 1970, and resulted in a surprise victory for the Conservative Party under leader Edward Heath, who defeated the Labour Party under Harold Wilson. The election also saw the Liberal Party and its new leader Jeremy Thorpe lose half their...
.
He died in 1992, aged 79.