James Sheridan (known as
Jim Sheridan) (born 24 November 1952) is a
Labour PartyThe Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century, it has been seen since 1920 as the principal party of the Left in England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland, where it has only recently begun to organise again...
politicianA politician or political leader is an individual who is involved in influencing public decision making. This includes people who hold decision-making positions in government, and people who seek those positions, whether by means of election, coup d'état, appointment, electoral fraud, conquest,...
in the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
. In the
2005 General ElectionThe United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect members to the House of Commons.The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a reduced overall majority of 66 and they failed to gain any new seats...
, Sheridan was elected as
Member of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a parliament. In many countries the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a unique title, such as senate, and thus also have unique titles for its members, such as senators. Members of...
(MP) for
Paisley & Renfrewshire NorthPaisley and Renfrewshire North is a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was created for the 2005 general election, replacing most of Paisley North and Renfrewshire West....
,
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
He was born in Glasgow. He went St Sextus Primary School, and to St Pius Secondary School on
Cally Avenue in
DrumchapelDrumchapel is part of the city of Glasgow, Scotland, having been annexed from Dunbartonshire in 1938. It borders Bearsden to the east and Clydebank to the west . The area is bordered by Knightswood and Yoker in Glasgow...
, now the home of
Drumchapel High School.
He also served on
Renfrewshire County CouncilRenfrewshire is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic Renfrewshire, also known as the County of Renfrew or Greater Renfrewshire, the other two being Inverclyde to the west and East Renfrewshire to the east...
from 1999 representing Erskine Central.
James Sheridan (known as
Jim Sheridan) (born 24 November 1952) is a
Labour PartyThe Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century, it has been seen since 1920 as the principal party of the Left in England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland, where it has only recently begun to organise again...
politicianA politician or political leader is an individual who is involved in influencing public decision making. This includes people who hold decision-making positions in government, and people who seek those positions, whether by means of election, coup d'état, appointment, electoral fraud, conquest,...
in the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
. In the
2005 General ElectionThe United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect members to the House of Commons.The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a reduced overall majority of 66 and they failed to gain any new seats...
, Sheridan was elected as
Member of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a parliament. In many countries the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a unique title, such as senate, and thus also have unique titles for its members, such as senators. Members of...
(MP) for
Paisley & Renfrewshire NorthPaisley and Renfrewshire North is a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was created for the 2005 general election, replacing most of Paisley North and Renfrewshire West....
,
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
Early life
He was born in Glasgow. He went St Sextus Primary School, and to St Pius Secondary School on
Cally Avenue in
DrumchapelDrumchapel is part of the city of Glasgow, Scotland, having been annexed from Dunbartonshire in 1938. It borders Bearsden to the east and Clydebank to the west . The area is bordered by Knightswood and Yoker in Glasgow...
, now the home of
Drumchapel High School.
He also served on
Renfrewshire County CouncilRenfrewshire is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic Renfrewshire, also known as the County of Renfrew or Greater Renfrewshire, the other two being Inverclyde to the west and East Renfrewshire to the east...
from 1999 representing Erskine Central. Before entering politics he worked on shipyards from 1970-8, then as a printer for the
Paisley Daily ExpressThe Paisley Daily Express is a Scottish newspaper based in Paisley, covering the Renfrewshire area. The paper, which is currently owned by Trinity Mirror has its main offices on New Street in Paisley town centre. However, it is printed in Irvine, North Ayrshire.The paper is sold in newsagents and...
from 1978-84, then for
Thales OptronicsThales Optronics is a major unit of Thales Group and has three main subsidiaries:*Thales Optronics Ltd. *Thales Optronique SA *Thales Optronics B.V.-Thales Optronics Ltd.:...
(formerly
Barr and Stroud before 2001) on
Linthouse Road in Glasgow, where he was a trade union convenor for the
TGWUThe 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...
from 1984-2000.
Parliamentary career
He was previously MP for
Renfrewshire WestWest Renfrewshire was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 to 1983 and again from 1997 until 2005...
from the
2001 electionThe UK general election, 2001 was held on 7 June 2001 and was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media. There was little change at all - outside Northern Ireland - with 620 out of 641 seats remaining unchanged. Labour enjoyed its second so-called 'landslide victory' in a row, maintaining its...
until the constituency was abolished in 2005. Following the 2005 election, he was appointed as a
Parliamentary Private SecretaryA 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 salaried by one or more...
in the
Ministry of DefenceThe Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
. He resigned this post on August 9 2006 in protest at the Government's policy on the
2006 Israel-Lebanon conflictThe 2006 Lebanon War, also called the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah War and known in Lebanon as the July War and in Israel as the Second Lebanon War , was a 34-day military conflict in Lebanon and northern Israel. The principal parties were Hezbollah paramilitary forces and the Israeli military...
, particularly the permitting of aircraft carrying
U.S.The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
weapons for
IsraelIsrael officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...
to refuel in the UK.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4777677.stm http://www.james-sheridan-mp.org.uk/news.htm#Resignation_Statement_-_9th_August_2006. He was a strong supporter of Speaker of the House
Michael MartinMichael John Martin, Baron Martin of Springburn, PC is a British politician. He was a Labour Member of Parliament for Glasgow North East from 1979 and was the Speaker of the House of Commons from 2000, until his resignation from both posts in 2009.On his election to the post of Speaker in 2000 he...
, at the time of the second-home expenses scandal, for instance stating that Mr Martin did not know about the expenses claims of MPs on Radio 4's Today program (18 May, 2009).
In November 2008, Sheridan tabled a Commons
early day motionAn early day motion , in the Westminster system, is a motion tabled by Members of Parliament for debate "on an early day" . They are only very rarely debated on the floor of the Chamber of the House...
backing a
Great Britain football teamNo United Kingdom national football team currently exists as there are separate teams representing England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in football...
at the 2012 Olympics, saying football "should not be any different from other competing sports and our young talent should be allowed to show their skills on the world stage". The football governing bodies of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are all opposed to a Great Britain team, fearing it would stop them competing as individual nations in future tournaments.
Personal life
He lives in
ErskineErskine is a town in Renfrewshire, Scotland. It is located on the southern bank of the River Clyde and borders Renfrew, Bishopton, Inchinnan and Paisley and is located near Glasgow International Airport...
, Renfrewshire with his wife Jean. They have a son and daughter.
Legislation
Sheridan was the promoter of the Bill which successfully led to the
Gangmasters (Licensing) Act 2004The Gangmasters Act 2004 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which regulates the agencies that place vulnerable workers in agricultural work shellfish collecting and industries packing either . It is the most recent plank of UK agency worker law...
.
External links