Jack Cunningham
Encyclopedia
John "Jack" Anderson Cunningham, Baron Cunningham of Felling, PC
, DL
(born 4 August 1939) is a British
Labour Party
politician
, who was the Member of Parliament
for Copeland
from 1983
to 2005
, and previously served in the Cabinet.
) in the same class as Doug McAvoy
, future general secretary of the National Union of Teachers
. Cunningham then studied at Bede College
of the University of Durham, receiving a BSc
in Chemistry
in 1962, and a PhD
in 1967. He stayed at the university to become a research fellow from 1966-8, whilst working as an officer for the General and Municipal Workers' Union
.
His father was Andrew Cunningham, leader of the Labour Party in the Northern Region in the 1970s, who was disgraced in the 1974 Poulson
scandal. Dr Cunningham was first elected as member for Whitehaven
in 1970; and the renamed Copeland constituency, which was the same constituency as Whitehaven, in 1983.
He was a district councillor for Chester le Street Rural & Parish Council, prior to becoming an MP and continued to live in Garden Farm area of the town, bringing up his family there.
in 1983, and ran the Labour Party
's general election campaign in 1992
. He also appeared on many television Election programmes as one of the main spokesmen of the Party.
After the 1997 general election
, he became Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
and embarked on a modernisation programme for the Ministry, loosening its hitherto fierce loyalty to the producer interest, and emphasizing its duty to the consumer. He worked hard to secure the lifting of the European Union
ban on the export of UK beef
, and achieved some limited success on this. He also paved the way for the creation of the disputably independent Food Standards Agency
.
He was promoted in 1998 to Minister for the Cabinet Office
and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
. The media dubbed him cabinet enforcer, claiming that his role was effectively to sell the Government and its policies to the public and the media. Although there was some truth in this, he also led the government's work on modernising government, and chaired the Ministerial Committee on genetically-modified foods and crops.
He retired from the Cabinet in 1999, and became an influential backbencher. He stood down from parliament at the 2005 general election
.
Having represented the parliamentary constituency that includes Sellafield
, the UK's largest nuclear facility, for 35 years, he is a strong proponent of nuclear power
and is the founding European legislative chairman of the Transatlantic Nuclear Energy Forum.
, and he was created Baron Cunningham of Felling, of Felling in the County of Tyne and Wear
, on 27 June. He had previously been Rt Hon Dr Jack Cunningham, so following his enoblement he uses the style, Rt Hon Lord Cunningham of Felling, PC DL PhD.
Lord Cunningham of Felling is still active in politics and chairs an all-party parliamentary committee to review the powers of the House of Lords
.
He lives with his wife near Stocksfield
, in Northumberland
and is an avid fly fisherman
. He married Maureen Appleby in 1964 in Durham. They have one son and two daughters.
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Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
, DL
Deputy Lieutenant
In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....
(born 4 August 1939) is a British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
Labour Party
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
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
, who was the 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 Copeland
Copeland (UK Parliament constituency)
Copeland is a county 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.-Boundaries:...
from 1983
United Kingdom general election, 1983
The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945...
to 2005
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
, and previously served in the Cabinet.
Early life
He was educated at Jarrow Grammar School (now Jarrow SchoolJarrow School
Jarrow School is a secondary school located in Jarrow, Tyne and Wear admitting pupils aged 11 to 16.-Admissions:It is around a half-mile south-west of the southern entrance of the Tyne Tunnel, in Jarrow.- History :...
) in the same class as Doug McAvoy
Doug McAvoy
Doug McAvoy is a retired British trade union leader. He was General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers from 1989 to 2004.A teacher, McAvoy was secretary of Newcastle-upon-Tyne NUT and became a member of the National Executive of the Union in 1970...
, future general secretary of the National Union of Teachers
National Union of Teachers
The National Union of Teachers is a trade union for school teachers in England, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. It is a member of the Trades Union Congress...
. Cunningham then studied at Bede College
College of St Hild and St Bede
The College of St Hild and St Bede, commonly known as Hild Bede, is a college of Durham University in England. It is the University's second largest collegiate body, with over 1000 students. The co-educational college was formed in 1975 following the merger of two much older single-sex...
of the University of Durham, receiving a BSc
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
in Chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
in 1962, and a PhD
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in 1967. He stayed at the university to become a research fellow from 1966-8, whilst working as an officer for the General and Municipal Workers' Union
GMB Union
The GMB is a general trade union in the United Kingdom, and has more than 600,000 members. Its members are drawn from many sectors, with particular strength amongst manual workers in local government and the health service...
.
His father was Andrew Cunningham, leader of the Labour Party in the Northern Region in the 1970s, who was disgraced in the 1974 Poulson
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...
scandal. Dr Cunningham was first elected as member for Whitehaven
Whitehaven (UK Parliament constituency)
Whitehaven was a constituency centred on the town of Whitehaven in Cumberland , which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.It was created in 1832 and renamed Copeland at the 1983 general election....
in 1970; and the renamed Copeland constituency, which was the same constituency as Whitehaven, in 1983.
He was a district councillor for Chester le Street Rural & Parish Council, prior to becoming an MP and continued to live in Garden Farm area of the town, bringing up his family there.
Shadow Cabinet and in government
Cunningham joined the Shadow CabinetShadow Cabinet
The Shadow Cabinet is a senior group of opposition spokespeople in the Westminster system of government who together under the leadership of the Leader of the Opposition form an alternative cabinet to the government's, whose members shadow or mark each individual member of the government...
in 1983, and ran the Labour Party
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...
's general election campaign in 1992
United Kingdom general election, 1992
The United Kingdom general election of 1992 was held on 9 April 1992, and was the fourth consecutive victory for the Conservative Party. This election result was one of the biggest surprises in 20th Century politics, as polling leading up to the day of the election showed Labour under leader Neil...
. He also appeared on many television Election programmes as one of the main spokesmen of the Party.
After the 1997 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1997
The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...
, he became Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food was a UK cabinet position, responsible for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. The post was originally named President of the Board of Agriculture and was created in 1889...
and embarked on a modernisation programme for the Ministry, loosening its hitherto fierce loyalty to the producer interest, and emphasizing its duty to the consumer. He worked hard to secure the lifting of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
ban on the export of UK beef
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy , commonly known as mad-cow disease, is a fatal neurodegenerative disease in cattle that causes a spongy degeneration in the brain and spinal cord. BSE has a long incubation period, about 30 months to 8 years, usually affecting adult cattle at a peak age onset of...
, and achieved some limited success on this. He also paved the way for the creation of the disputably independent Food Standards Agency
Food Standards Agency
The Food Standards Agency is a non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for protecting public health in relation to food throughout the United Kingdom and is led by a board appointed to act in the public interest...
.
He was promoted in 1998 to Minister for the Cabinet Office
Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Minister for the Cabinet Office is a position in the Cabinet Office of the United Kingdom. The post of Minister of the Cabinet Office is sometimes derided as the Minister for the Today programme.-Ministers for the Cabinet Office:...
and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is, in modern times, a ministerial office in the government of the United Kingdom that includes as part of its duties, the administration of the estates and rents of the Duchy of Lancaster...
. The media dubbed him cabinet enforcer, claiming that his role was effectively to sell the Government and its policies to the public and the media. Although there was some truth in this, he also led the government's work on modernising government, and chaired the Ministerial Committee on genetically-modified foods and crops.
He retired from the Cabinet in 1999, and became an influential backbencher. He stood down from parliament at the 2005 general election
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
.
Having represented the parliamentary constituency that includes Sellafield
Sellafield
Sellafield is a nuclear reprocessing site, close to the village of Seascale on the coast of the Irish Sea in Cumbria, England. The site is served by Sellafield railway station. Sellafield is an off-shoot from the original nuclear reactor site at Windscale which is currently undergoing...
, the UK's largest nuclear facility, for 35 years, he is a strong proponent of nuclear power
Nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
and is the founding European legislative chairman of the Transatlantic Nuclear Energy Forum.
Personal life
On 13 May 2005 it was announced that he would be created a life peerLife 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...
, and he was created Baron Cunningham of Felling, of Felling in the County of Tyne and Wear
Tyne and Wear
Tyne and Wear is a metropolitan county in north east England around the mouths of the Rivers Tyne and Wear. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972...
, on 27 June. He had previously been Rt Hon Dr Jack Cunningham, so following his enoblement he uses the style, Rt Hon Lord Cunningham of Felling, PC DL PhD.
Lord Cunningham of Felling is still active in politics and chairs an all-party parliamentary committee to review the powers of the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
.
He lives with his wife near Stocksfield
Stocksfield
Stocksfield is a small, sprawling commuter village situated close to the River Tyne, about west of Newcastle upon Tyne and east of Hexham in the southern part of Northumberland, England...
, in Northumberland
Northumberland
Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...
and is an avid fly fisherman
Fly fishing
Fly fishing is an angling method in which an artificial 'fly' is used to catch fish. The fly is cast using a fly rod, reel, and specialized weighted line. Casting a nearly weightless fly or 'lure' requires casting techniques significantly different from other forms of casting...
. He married Maureen Appleby in 1964 in Durham. They have one son and two daughters.
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