Martin Caton
Encyclopedia
Martin Philip Caton is a British
Labour Party
politician who has been the Member of Parliament
(MP) for Gower
since 1997
.
Caton was born in Bishop's Stortford
and educated at the Newport Free Grammar School
near Saffron Walden
, the Norfolk
School of Agriculture
, and the Aberystwyth
College of Further Education. From 1974 he worked for 10 years as a research officer with the Welsh Plant Breeding Station at Aberystwyth before becoming a researcher for the member of the European Parliament
David Morris. He was elected as a councillor of the Mumbles
Community Council 1986-1990, and to the Swansea
City Council from 1988 until his election to parliament
.
He won the safe Labour seat of Gower at the 1997 general election
on the retirement of Gareth Wardell
. He was elected with a majority of 13,007 and made a very amusing maiden speech on June 4, 1997 http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199798/cmhansrd/vo970604/debtext/70604-34.htm#70604-34_spnew1, in which he defended the cockle
industry in his constituency.
Caton has been a little rebellious in parliament, having participated in the rebellion of Labour MPs voting against the government decision to invade Iraq in 2003, and also being one of the 88 Labour MPs to vote against replacing the Trident Nuclear Missile System, Caton having been a member of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
for years. Within Parliament, he has spent a long time on the Welsh Affairs
Select Committee and sits with the Socialist Campaign Group of Labour MPs
http://l-r-c.org.uk/ge2010candidates/martin-caton/.
He married Bethan Evans in 1996 and they have two daughters.
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 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 who has been 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,...
(MP) for Gower
Gower (UK Parliament constituency)
Gower is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament , using the first-past-the-post voting system....
since 1997
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...
.
Caton was born in Bishop's Stortford
Bishop's Stortford
Bishop's Stortford is a historic market town and civil parish in the district of East Hertfordshire in the county of Hertfordshire in England. It is situated just west of the M11 motorway, on the county boundary with Essex and is the closest large town to London Stansted Airport and part of the...
and educated at the Newport Free Grammar School
Newport Free Grammar School
Newport Free Grammar School, in Newport, Essex, England was founded in 1588. The school is a mixed comprehensive school with a sixth form. It previously existed in different forms including a boarding school and a grammar school. The Headteacher is Mr Seán O' Hagan and the Deputy headteachers are...
near Saffron Walden
Saffron Walden
Saffron Walden is a medium-sized market town in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England. It is located north of Bishop's Stortford, south of Cambridge and approx north of London...
, the Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
School of Agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
, and the Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth is a historic market town, administrative centre and holiday resort within Ceredigion, Wales. Often colloquially known as Aber, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Ystwyth and Rheidol....
College of Further Education. From 1974 he worked for 10 years as a research officer with the Welsh Plant Breeding Station at Aberystwyth before becoming a researcher for the member of the European Parliament
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
David Morris. He was elected as a councillor of the Mumbles
Mumbles
Mumbles or The Mumbles is an area and community in Swansea, Wales which takes its name from the adjacent headland stretching into Swansea Bay...
Community Council 1986-1990, and to the Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
City Council from 1988 until his election to parliament
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
.
He won the safe Labour seat of Gower at 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...
on the retirement of Gareth Wardell
Gareth Wardell
Gareth Lodwig Wardell is a British Labour politician. He was elected as Member of Parliament for Gower in a 1982 by-election, and held the seat until he stood down at the 1997 general election....
. He was elected with a majority of 13,007 and made a very amusing maiden speech on June 4, 1997 http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199798/cmhansrd/vo970604/debtext/70604-34.htm#70604-34_spnew1, in which he defended the cockle
Cockle
Cockle may refer to:* Cockle , a group of edible saltwater clams * Lolium temulentum, a tufted grass plant* Berwick cockles, a confectionery from ScotlandCockleshell* The Mark II canoes used in Operation Frankton in 1942...
industry in his constituency.
Caton has been a little rebellious in parliament, having participated in the rebellion of Labour MPs voting against the government decision to invade Iraq in 2003, and also being one of the 88 Labour MPs to vote against replacing the Trident Nuclear Missile System, Caton having been a member of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament is an anti-nuclear organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty...
for years. Within Parliament, he has spent a long time on the Welsh Affairs
Wales Office
The Wales Office / Swyddfa Cymru is a United Kingdom government department. It replaced the former Welsh Office, which had extensive responsibility for governing Wales prior to Welsh devolution in 1999....
Select Committee and sits with the Socialist Campaign Group of Labour MPs
Socialist Campaign Group
The Socialist Campaign Group is a left-wing democratic socialist grouping of Labour Party Members of Parliament in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. It was formed in December 1982 as an alternative Parliamentary left-wing group to the Tribune Group...
http://l-r-c.org.uk/ge2010candidates/martin-caton/.
He married Bethan Evans in 1996 and they have two daughters.
External links
- Martin Caton MP official site
- Martin Caton MP Welsh Labour Party profile