Sydney Irving, Baron Irving of Dartford (1 July 1918 – 18 December 1989) was a British

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 Co-operative

Labour Co-operative

Labour and Co-operative describes those candidates in British elections standing on behalf of both the Labour Party and the Co-operative Party, based on a national agreement between the two parties....

 politician.

Irving was educated at Pendower School, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and the London School of Economics

London School of Economics

The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...

. He was a school teacher and lecturer and served as an alderman

Alderman

An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...

 on Dartford Borough Council.

Irving was twice 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 Dartford

Dartford (UK Parliament constituency)

-Elections in the 2000s:-Elections in the 1990s:-Notes and references:...

, originally elected in 1955. In 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...

's Labour Government 1964-1970

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...

, he was the government's Deputy Chief Whip

Chief Whip

The Chief Whip is a political office in some legislatures assigned to an elected member whose task is to administer the whipping system that ensures that members of the party attend and vote as the party leadership desires.-The Whips Office:...

 and Treasurer of the Household

Treasurer of the Household

The position of Treasurer of the Household is theoretically held by a household official of the British monarch, under control of the Lord Steward's Department, but is, in fact, a political office held by one of the government's Deputy Chief Whips in the House of Commons...

 from 1964 to 1966, and served as a Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons from 1966 to 1970, when he lost his seat to the Conservatives

Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

. He was re-elected in 1974, but lost the seat again in 1979, to the Conservative Bob Dunn

Bob Dunn (politician)

Robert John Dunn , known as Bob Dunn, was a British Conservative Party politician.Having been involved in the Conservative Party in his home-constituency of Eccles, near Manchester, Dunn was elected a councillor in the London Borough of Southwark in May 1974...

. Subsequently, Irving was given a life peerage as Baron Irving of Dartford, of Dartford in the County of Kent

Kent

Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

.