Gerald Edward Bermingham is 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...

 politician, and was Labour

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...

 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 St Helens South

St Helens South (UK Parliament constituency)

St Helens South was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...

 from 1983 until 2001.

He was born 20 August 1940 in Dublin, Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

, and educated at Cotton College, Wellingborough Grammar School and Sheffield University, where he obtained a degree in law. He was admitted as a solicitor in 1967, and was called to the Bar (Gray's Inn

Gray's Inn

The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...

) in 1985. He was a Sheffield

Sheffield

Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...

 City councillor from 1975 to 1979. He contested South East Derbyshire in 1979.

In 1994, he was one of six Labour MPs who voted against any reduction in the age of consent for homosexuals, even to 18 (at the time, the age of consent was 21).

On his retirement, he was succeeded by Shaun Woodward

Shaun Woodward

Shaun Anthony Woodward is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for St Helens South since 2001. He served in the Cabinet from 28 June 2007 to 11 May 2010 as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland...

, a Conservative

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...

 defector, who swapped his old seat of Witney

Witney (UK Parliament constituency)

Witney is a county constituency in Oxfordshire 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, and was created for the 1983 general election....

to represent the ultra-safe St Helens South.