Martin Salter
Encyclopedia
Martin John Salter is a British
Labour Party
politician who was the Member of Parliament
for Reading West
from 1997
to 2010.
but did not graduate. Salter worked in various jobs, including working as a lorry driver, scaffolder, builder's labourer, refuse collector and airport cargo handler. Latterly he worked as a coordinator for a centre for the unemployed and for a housing cooperative.
, Salter was an active member of the Transport and General Workers' Union
(TGWU). Similarly, Salter has been active within the Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians
(UCATT), holding titles of Shop Steward and Convenor Steward for several years. From 1984 to 1997, Salter was a Labour Councillor on Reading Borough Council representing Park Ward, during which time he chaired the Leisure Committee and served as Deputy Leader. In the 1987 general election
he stood unsuccessfully for the Reading East parliamentary constituency. In the 1997 general election
he was elected as Member of Parliament
for Reading West, a position he retained during the 2001 and 2005 general elections.
Salter was an active constituency MP, with frequent appearances in the local media and at local meetings. He has a high local profile and in the 2001 election secured the second highest swing to Labour in the country. After his re-election in 2005, Salter was one of only six Labour MPs with a majority still higher than the 1997 landslide.
In parliament, Salter served on the Select Committee on Northern Ireland
through the period of the Good Friday Agreement. He was also a member of the Modernisation Select Committee between 2001 and 2005, and in 2006 entered the Home Affairs Select Committee
. Salter was the Chair of the South East Group of PLP between 1999 and 2003, was the Deputy Convenor of Labour's Parliamentary Campaign Team between 2003 and 2005, and was twice elected by fellow MPs as a member of Labour's Parliamentary Committee between 2005 and 2008.
Salter was a member of the Multiple Sclerosis
, Rwanda & Genocide, Football, Angling
, Kashmir
, Environment
, Fibromyalgia
, Endometriosis
and Gurkha
All Party Parliamentary Groups. Salter is also a founding member of Labour Friends of Searchlight, an organisation that seeks to oppose the far-right. He holds membership for several organisations and charities, including Greenpeace
, National Trust
, Amnesty International
, Angling Conservation Association and the Green Lanes Environmental Action Movement. He is Patron of Cystinosis Foundation, Down Syndrome International Swimming Organisation, Berkshire MS Therapy Centre, ABC to Read, Thames Valley Positive Support, and is currently a Trustee of the Thames River Restorative Trust. He is the Vice President of the Reading YMCA
Trust.
On 30 November 2005, Salter resigned as Parliamentary Private Secretary
to Schools Minister Jacqui Smith
over school reform proposals and co-authored the Alternative Education White Paper with a group of centre-left MPs including John Denham, Angela Eagle
, John Ruddock and Alan Whitehead
. In June 2007, he was appointed as Vice Chair (Environment) of the Labour Party.
On 10 February 2009, Salter announced that he would be standing down from the Commons at the next General Election.
Salter maintains a blog
on The Daily Telegraph
s website.
". His campaign came about after the conviction at Lewes Crown Court
of Graham Coutts, for the murder of Brighton schoolteacher Jane Longhurst. A petition, objecting to "the presence of extreme Internet sites promoting violence against women in the name of sexual gratification", gained 50,000 signatures.
from 1980. His interests include freshwater angling and supporting Reading F.C.
, where he is a season ticket holder and Honorary Vice-President of Supporters' Trust At Reading (STAR). He also enjoys reading, walking, and gardening.
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 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 Reading West
Reading West (UK Parliament constituency)
Reading West is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like all such constituencies, it elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...
from 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...
to 2010.
Early life
Salter was born to Ray and Naomi Salter on 19 April 1954 and educated at local primary and grammar schools and attended the University of SussexUniversity of Sussex
The University of Sussex is an English public research university situated next to the East Sussex village of Falmer, within the city of Brighton and Hove. The University received its Royal Charter in August 1961....
but did not graduate. Salter worked in various jobs, including working as a lorry driver, scaffolder, builder's labourer, refuse collector and airport cargo handler. Latterly he worked as a coordinator for a centre for the unemployed and for a housing cooperative.
Politics
Prior to his career as a Labour Party CouncillorCouncillor
A councillor or councilor is a member of a local government council, such as a city council.Often in the United States, the title is councilman or councilwoman.-United Kingdom:...
, Salter was an active member of the Transport and General Workers' Union
Transport and General Workers' Union
The Transport and General Workers' Union, also known as the TGWU and the T&G, was one of the largest general trade unions in the United Kingdom and Ireland - where it was known as the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers' Union - with 900,000 members...
(TGWU). Similarly, Salter has been active within the Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians
Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians
The Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians is a British and Irish trade union which represents, as of December 2009, 127,433 workers in construction and allied trades, an increase of nearly 17,000 since 2003....
(UCATT), holding titles of Shop Steward and Convenor Steward for several years. From 1984 to 1997, Salter was a Labour Councillor on Reading Borough Council representing Park Ward, during which time he chaired the Leisure Committee and served as Deputy Leader. In the 1987 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1987
The United Kingdom general election of 1987 was held on 11 June 1987, to elect 650 members to the British House of Commons. The election was the third consecutive election victory for the Conservative Party under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher, who became the first Prime Minister since the 2nd...
he stood unsuccessfully for the Reading East parliamentary constituency. In 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 was elected 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 Reading West, a position he retained during the 2001 and 2005 general elections.
Salter was an active constituency MP, with frequent appearances in the local media and at local meetings. He has a high local profile and in the 2001 election secured the second highest swing to Labour in the country. After his re-election in 2005, Salter was one of only six Labour MPs with a majority still higher than the 1997 landslide.
In parliament, Salter served on the Select Committee on Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
through the period of the Good Friday Agreement. He was also a member of the Modernisation Select Committee between 2001 and 2005, and in 2006 entered the Home Affairs Select Committee
Home Affairs Select Committee
The Home Affairs Select Committee is a Committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom.-Remit:The Home Affairs Committee is one of the House of Commons Select Committees related to government departments: its terms of reference are to examine "the expenditure,...
. Salter was the Chair of the South East Group of PLP between 1999 and 2003, was the Deputy Convenor of Labour's Parliamentary Campaign Team between 2003 and 2005, and was twice elected by fellow MPs as a member of Labour's Parliamentary Committee between 2005 and 2008.
Salter was a member of the Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease in which the fatty myelin sheaths around the axons of the brain and spinal cord are damaged, leading to demyelination and scarring as well as a broad spectrum of signs and symptoms...
, Rwanda & Genocide, Football, Angling
Angling
Angling is a method of fishing by means of an "angle" . The hook is usually attached to a fishing line and the line is often attached to a fishing rod. Fishing rods are usually fitted with a fishing reel that functions as a mechanism for storing, retrieving and paying out the line. The hook itself...
, Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
, Environment
Environment (biophysical)
The biophysical environment is the combined modeling of the physical environment and the biological life forms within the environment, and includes all variables, parameters as well as conditions and modes inside the Earth's biosphere. The biophysical environment can be divided into two categories:...
, Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia is a medical disorder characterized by chronic widespread pain and allodynia, a heightened and painful response to pressure. It is an example of a diagnosis of exclusion...
, Endometriosis
Endometriosis
Endometriosis is a gynecological medical condition in which cells from the lining of the uterus appear and flourish outside the uterine cavity, most commonly on the ovaries. The uterine cavity is lined by endometrial cells, which are under the influence of female hormones...
and Gurkha
Gurkha
Gurkha are people from Nepal who take their name from the Gorkha District. Gurkhas are best known for their history in the Indian Army's Gorkha regiments, the British Army's Brigade of Gurkhas and the Nepalese Army. Gurkha units are closely associated with the kukri, a forward-curving Nepalese knife...
All Party Parliamentary Groups. Salter is also a founding member of Labour Friends of Searchlight, an organisation that seeks to oppose the far-right. He holds membership for several organisations and charities, including Greenpeace
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
, National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
, Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
, Angling Conservation Association and the Green Lanes Environmental Action Movement. He is Patron of Cystinosis Foundation, Down Syndrome International Swimming Organisation, Berkshire MS Therapy Centre, ABC to Read, Thames Valley Positive Support, and is currently a Trustee of the Thames River Restorative Trust. He is the Vice President of the Reading YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
Trust.
On 30 November 2005, Salter resigned as Parliamentary Private Secretary
Parliamentary Private Secretary
A Parliamentary Private Secretary is a role given to a United Kingdom Member of Parliament by a senior minister in government or shadow minister to act as their contact for the House of Commons; this role is junior to that of Parliamentary Under-Secretary, which is a ministerial post, salaried by...
to Schools Minister Jacqui Smith
Jacqui Smith
Jacqueline Jill "Jacqui" Smith is a member of the British Labour Party. She served as the Member of Parliament for Redditch from 1997 until 2010 and was the first ever female Home Secretary, thus making her the third woman to hold one of the Great Offices of State — after Margaret Thatcher and...
over school reform proposals and co-authored the Alternative Education White Paper with a group of centre-left MPs including John Denham, Angela Eagle
Angela Eagle
Angela Eagle is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Wallasey since 1992. She served as the Minister of State for Pensions and Ageing Society from June 2009 until May 2010. Eagle was elected to the Shadow Cabinet in October 2010 and was appointed by Ed...
, John Ruddock and Alan Whitehead
Alan Whitehead
Alan Patrick Vincent Whitehead is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Southampton Test since 1997.-Early life:...
. In June 2007, he was appointed as Vice Chair (Environment) of the Labour Party.
On 10 February 2009, Salter announced that he would be standing down from the Commons at the next General Election.
Salter maintains a blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
on The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
s website.
Extreme pornography legislation
Salter has promoted legislation proposing to criminalise possession of so-called "extreme pornographyExtreme pornography
Section 63 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 is a piece of legislation in the United Kingdom that criminalises possession of what it refers to as "extreme pornographic images". The law was enacted from 26 January 2009...
". His campaign came about after the conviction at Lewes Crown Court
Lewes Crown Court
Lewes Crown Court is a Crown Court in Lewes, East Sussex, England. It is housed in the Lewes Combined Court Centre which it shares with Lewes County Court in the Lewes High Street...
of Graham Coutts, for the murder of Brighton schoolteacher Jane Longhurst. A petition, objecting to "the presence of extreme Internet sites promoting violence against women in the name of sexual gratification", gained 50,000 signatures.
Personal life
He is married to Natalie. He has lived in ReadingReading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
from 1980. His interests include freshwater angling and supporting Reading F.C.
Reading F.C.
Reading Football Club is an English association football club based in the town of Reading, Berkshire who currently play in the Championship...
, where he is a season ticket holder and Honorary Vice-President of Supporters' Trust At Reading (STAR). He also enjoys reading, walking, and gardening.
External links
- Martin Salter MP (Martin Salter's web site)
- Daily Telegraph blog: Martin Salter (Martin Salter's blog)
- Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Martin Salter
- TheyWorkForYou.com - Martin Salter MP