Martin Bell
Encyclopedia
Martin Bell, OBE
, (born 31 August 1938, Redisham
, Suffolk
) is a British UNICEF (UNICEF UK
) Ambassador, a former broadcast war reporter and former independent politician. He was the Member of Parliament
(MP) for Tatton
from 1997 to 2001.
, the brother of literary translator, Anthea Bell
OBE
and the uncle of weblogger
-banker Oliver Kamm
, who served as his political adviser during his term as a Member of Parliament
(MP).
He was educated at The Leys School
in Cambridge
and King's College, Cambridge
, where he achieved a 1st Class Honours Degree in English. At Cambridge, he served on the committee of Cambridge University Liberal Club, including a term as Publicity Officer. He failed to obtain a commission during his two-year national service
and served out his time as an acting corporal in the Suffolk Regiment
serving in Cyprus during the emergency.
as a reporter in Norwich in 1962 as a 24-year-old, following his graduation.
He moved to London three years later, beginning a distinguished career as a foreign affairs correspondent with his first assignment in Ghana
. Over the next thirty years, he covered eleven conflicts and reported from eighty countries, making his name with reports from wars and conflicts in Vietnam
, Middle East, Nigeria
, Angola
, and in Northern Ireland
(during the "Troubles").
He won the Royal Television Society
's Reporter of the Year award in 1977 and 1993, and was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1992. That same year, whilst covering the war in Bosnia
Bell was seriously wounded by shrapnel while recording a report.
He remained an official BBC correspondent, although from the mid-1990s he filed relatively few reports, and became disillusioned with the BBC.
, Martin Bell announced that he was leaving the BBC to stand as an independent candidate in the Tatton
constituency in Cheshire
. Tatton was one of the safest Conservative
seats in the country, where the sitting Conservative Member of Parliament, Neil Hamilton
, was embroiled in "sleaze" allegations. The Labour
and Liberal Democrat
parties withdrew their candidates in Bell's favour in a plan masterminded by Alastair Campbell
, Tony Blair
's press secretary.
Hamilton was trounced, and Martin Bell was elected an MP with a majority of 11,077 votes – overturning a Conservative majority of over 22,000 – and thus became the first successful independent parliamentary candidate since 1951.
He did not often speak in the House of Commons, and when he did, it was mostly on matters of British policy in the former Yugoslavia
and the Third World
. Although Bell voted with the Labour government of Tony Blair
on many issues, on a few others, such as reducing the homosexual age of consent and banning fox hunting, he voted with the Conservatives. On 12 November 1997, he was cheered from the Conservative benches when he asked Blair about the Bernie Ecclestone
affair, "Does the Prime Minister agree that the perception of wrong-doing can be as damaging to public confidence as the wrong-doing itself? Have we slain one dragon only to have another take its place, with a red rose in its mouth?".
He was urged by large numbers of his Tatton constituents to stand again in the 2001 general election
. Bell said that the only outcome which could make him change his mind would be Neil Hamilton being re-selected by the Tatton Conservative Party as candidate for the next General Election. However, future Chancellor George Osborne
was selected in March 1999, as Conservative party candidate for Tatton. Hamilton lost his libel case against Mohammed Al-Fayed in December 1999, ending any prospect of him making a political comeback. Though he regretted making the pledge of saying he would only serve for one term, Bell stuck to his promise.
In 2001, Bell was nonetheless persuaded to stand as an independent candidate against another Conservative MP Eric Pickles
in the "safe" Essex constituency of Brentwood and Ongar, where there were accusations that the local Conservative Association had been infiltrated by a Pentecostal church. Although he garnered nearly 32% of the vote coming second, Bell was however unsuccessful in the 2001 election, and announced his retirement from politics, saying that "winning one and losing one is not a bad record for an amateur".
The Channel 4
drama 'Mr White Goes to Westminster' was loosely based on Bell's political career.
Bell reversed his previous decision and stood for the European Parliament
in the June 2004 elections, but was ultimately unsuccessful as an independent candidate in the UK's eastern region, winning only 6.2% of the vote (see European Parliament election, 2004 (UK)
).
Before the 2005 election
he became affiliated with the Independent Network
to help promote independent candidates (its most prominent candidate being Reg Keys
who fought against prime minister Tony Blair
in the Sedgefield
constituency).
Bell now acts as an ambassador for UNICEF and as a critic on the state of journalism today, although he describes himself as "too old" for both journalism and politics.
In April 2006, Scottish National Party
MP Angus MacNeil
asked the Metropolitan Police
to investigate whether any law had been broken in the Cash for Peerages
scandal. Bell wrote jointly with MacNeil to Prime Minister Tony Blair
calling for all appointments to the House of Lords
to be suspended.
In May 2009, he came out in support of the Green Party
in the weeks before the 2009 European elections, supporting the Green Party's 'Clean Campaigning' pledge in the wake of the scandal over MPs' expenses.
On 21 May 2009, he appeared on the special live edition of BBC's Question Time
which was held in Salisbury
in the midst of the political scandal surrounding MPs' expenses.
He announced that he was considering standing against a third Conservative MP, Sir Nicholas Winterton
, the MP for Macclesfield
in the 2010 General Election, but following the latter's announcement that he was not going to seek re-election, did not do so. He indicated that he might stand against Hazel Blears
in Salford
(the first sitting MP of a party other than the Conservative party against whom he expressed an interest in standing) although in the end he did not stand in any constituency.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, (born 31 August 1938, Redisham
Redisham
Redisham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Suffolk. It is located 3½ miles south-west of Beccles and 4⅓ miles north-east of Halesworth in Waveney district. The mid-2005 population estimate for Redisham parish was 110...
, Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
) is a British UNICEF (UNICEF UK
UNICEF UK
UNICEF UK, also known as the United Kingdom Committee for UNICEF, is one of 36 UNICEF National Committees based in industrialised countries. The National Committees raise funds for the organisation's worldwide emergency and development work. In 2007, UNICEF UK raised £41.3 million for UNICEF’s work...
) Ambassador, a former broadcast war reporter and former independent politician. He 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,...
(MP) for Tatton
Tatton (UK Parliament constituency)
- Elections in the 1990s :- Elections in the 1980s :- Sources :* Data for the 2005 election are from the .* Data for the 2001 election are from http://www.election.demon.co.uk/....
from 1997 to 2001.
Background
Bell is the son of author-farmer Adrian BellAdrian Bell
Adrian Bell was an English journalist and farmer, who was the first compiler of The Times crossword.-Life:The son of a newspaper editor, he was born in London and educated at Uppingham School in Rutland...
, the brother of literary translator, Anthea Bell
Anthea Bell
Anthea Bell OBE is a British translator who has translated numerous literary works, especially children's literature, from French, German, Danish and Polish to English...
OBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
and the uncle of weblogger
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...
-banker Oliver Kamm
Oliver Kamm
Oliver Kamm is a British writer and journalist. He wrote Anti-Totalitarianism: The Left-wing Case for a Neoconservative Foreign Policy , an advocacy of interventionism in foreign policy....
, who served as his political adviser during his term as a 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).
He was educated at The Leys School
The Leys School
The Leys School is a co-educational Independent school, located in Cambridge, England, and is a day and boarding school for about 550 pupils aged between 11 and 18 years...
in Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
and King's College, Cambridge
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
, where he achieved a 1st Class Honours Degree in English. At Cambridge, he served on the committee of Cambridge University Liberal Club, including a term as Publicity Officer. He failed to obtain a commission during his two-year national service
National service
National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...
and served out his time as an acting corporal in the Suffolk Regiment
Suffolk Regiment
The Suffolk Regiment was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army with a history dating back to 1685. It saw service for three centuries, before being amalgamated with the Royal Norfolk Regiment as the 1st East Anglian Regiment in 1959...
serving in Cyprus during the emergency.
BBC correspondent
Martin Bell joined the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
as a reporter in Norwich in 1962 as a 24-year-old, following his graduation.
He moved to London three years later, beginning a distinguished career as a foreign affairs correspondent with his first assignment in Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
. Over the next thirty years, he covered eleven conflicts and reported from eighty countries, making his name with reports from wars and conflicts in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, Middle East, Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
, and in 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...
(during the "Troubles").
He won the Royal Television Society
Royal Television Society
The Royal Television Society is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present and future. It is the oldest television society in the world...
's Reporter of the Year award in 1977 and 1993, and was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1992. That same year, whilst covering the war in Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
Bell was seriously wounded by shrapnel while recording a report.
He remained an official BBC correspondent, although from the mid-1990s he filed relatively few reports, and became disillusioned with the BBC.
Independent politician
In 1997, twenty-four days before that year's British General ElectionUnited 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...
, Martin Bell announced that he was leaving the BBC to stand as an independent candidate in the Tatton
Tatton (UK Parliament constituency)
- Elections in the 1990s :- Elections in the 1980s :- Sources :* Data for the 2005 election are from the .* Data for the 2001 election are from http://www.election.demon.co.uk/....
constituency in Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
. Tatton was one of the safest 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...
seats in the country, where the sitting Conservative Member of Parliament, Neil Hamilton
Neil Hamilton (politician)
Mostyn Neil Hamilton is a former British barrister, teacher and Conservative MP. Since losing his seat in 1997 and leaving politics, Hamilton and his wife Christine have become media celebrities...
, was embroiled in "sleaze" allegations. The 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...
and Liberal Democrat
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
parties withdrew their candidates in Bell's favour in a plan masterminded by Alastair Campbell
Alastair Campbell
Alastair John Campbell is a British journalist, broadcaster, political aide and author, best known for his work as Director of Communications and Strategy for Prime Minister Tony Blair between 1997 and 2003, having first started working for Blair in 1994...
, Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
's press secretary.
Hamilton was trounced, and Martin Bell was elected an MP with a majority of 11,077 votes – overturning a Conservative majority of over 22,000 – and thus became the first successful independent parliamentary candidate since 1951.
He did not often speak in the House of Commons, and when he did, it was mostly on matters of British policy in the former Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
and the Third World
Third World
The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either capitalism and NATO , or communism and the Soviet Union...
. Although Bell voted with the Labour government of Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
on many issues, on a few others, such as reducing the homosexual age of consent and banning fox hunting, he voted with the Conservatives. On 12 November 1997, he was cheered from the Conservative benches when he asked Blair about the Bernie Ecclestone
Bernie Ecclestone
Bernard Charles "Bernie" Ecclestone is an English business magnate, as president and CEO of Formula One Management and Formula One Administration and through his part-ownership of Alpha Prema, the parent company of the Formula One Group of companies. As such, he is generally considered the primary...
affair, "Does the Prime Minister agree that the perception of wrong-doing can be as damaging to public confidence as the wrong-doing itself? Have we slain one dragon only to have another take its place, with a red rose in its mouth?".
He was urged by large numbers of his Tatton constituents to stand again in the 2001 general election
United Kingdom general election, 2001
The United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats...
. Bell said that the only outcome which could make him change his mind would be Neil Hamilton being re-selected by the Tatton Conservative Party as candidate for the next General Election. However, future Chancellor George Osborne
George Osborne
George Gideon Oliver Osborne, MP is a British Conservative politician. He is the Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom, a role to which he was appointed in May 2010, and has been the Member of Parliament for Tatton since 2001.Osborne is part of the old Anglo-Irish aristocracy, known in...
was selected in March 1999, as Conservative party candidate for Tatton. Hamilton lost his libel case against Mohammed Al-Fayed in December 1999, ending any prospect of him making a political comeback. Though he regretted making the pledge of saying he would only serve for one term, Bell stuck to his promise.
In 2001, Bell was nonetheless persuaded to stand as an independent candidate against another Conservative MP Eric Pickles
Eric Pickles
Eric Jack Pickles is a British Conservative Party politician. Pickles was appointed Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government of the coalition government headed by Prime Minister David Cameron on 12 May 2010....
in the "safe" Essex constituency of Brentwood and Ongar, where there were accusations that the local Conservative Association had been infiltrated by a Pentecostal church. Although he garnered nearly 32% of the vote coming second, Bell was however unsuccessful in the 2001 election, and announced his retirement from politics, saying that "winning one and losing one is not a bad record for an amateur".
The Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
drama 'Mr White Goes to Westminster' was loosely based on Bell's political career.
Post Political Life
Bell made a brief return to television news in 2003 when he provided analysis of the Iraq invasion for ITN's Channel Five News. The short films he compiled from the daily video footage brought a unique historical and humanitarian perspective to the events that was in stark contrast to the coverage of much of the mainstream media.Bell reversed his previous decision and stood for the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
in the June 2004 elections, but was ultimately unsuccessful as an independent candidate in the UK's eastern region, winning only 6.2% of the vote (see European Parliament election, 2004 (UK)
European Parliament election, 2004 (UK)
The European Parliament election, 2004 was the UK part of the European Parliament election, 2004. It was held on 10 June. It was the first European election to be held in the United Kingdom using postal-only voting in four areas. It coincided with local and London elections.The Conservative Party...
).
Before the 2005 election
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
he became affiliated with the Independent Network
Independent Network
The Independent Network is a United Kingdom-based non-profit organisation supporting independent politicians and political candidates.Founded in 2005, the IN consists of supporters and volunteers who advocate non-partisan politics. Martin Bell and Richard Taylor have been involved...
to help promote independent candidates (its most prominent candidate being Reg Keys
Reg Keys
Reginald Thomas Keys, better known as Reg Keys , is the father of a British serviceman killed in the Iraq War. He stood in the 2005 General Election as an anti-war independent candidate for MP of Sedgefield, a constituency held by the then Prime Minister, Tony Blair.- Biography :Keys is a founder...
who fought against prime minister Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
in the Sedgefield
Sedgefield (UK Parliament constituency)
Sedgefield is a county constituency 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...
constituency).
Bell now acts as an ambassador for UNICEF and as a critic on the state of journalism today, although he describes himself as "too old" for both journalism and politics.
In April 2006, Scottish National Party
Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....
MP Angus MacNeil
Angus MacNeil
Angus Brendan MacNeil is the Scottish National Party Member of Parliament for Na h-Eileanan an Iar...
asked the Metropolitan Police
Metropolitan police
Metropolitan Police is a generic title for the municipal police force for a major metropolitan area, and it may be part of the official title of the force...
to investigate whether any law had been broken in the Cash for Peerages
Cash for Peerages
Cash for Honours is the name given by some in the media to a political scandal in the United Kingdom in 2006 and 2007 concerning the connection between political donations and the award of life peerages...
scandal. Bell wrote jointly with MacNeil to Prime Minister Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
calling for all appointments to the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
to be suspended.
In May 2009, he came out in support of the Green Party
Green Party of England and Wales
The Green Party of England and Wales is a political party in England and Wales which follows the traditions of Green politics and maintains a strong commitment to social progressivism. It is the largest Green party in the United Kingdom, containing within it various regional divisions including...
in the weeks before the 2009 European elections, supporting the Green Party's 'Clean Campaigning' pledge in the wake of the scandal over MPs' expenses.
On 21 May 2009, he appeared on the special live edition of BBC's Question Time
Question Time
Question time in a parliament occurs when members of the parliament ask questions of government ministers , which they are obliged to answer. It usually occurs daily while parliament is sitting, though it can be cancelled in exceptional circumstances...
which was held in Salisbury
Salisbury
Salisbury is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England and the only city in the county. It is the second largest settlement in the county...
in the midst of the political scandal surrounding MPs' expenses.
He announced that he was considering standing against a third Conservative MP, Sir Nicholas Winterton
Nicholas Winterton
Sir Nicholas Raymond Winterton is a retired British Conservative Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament for Macclesfield from 1971 until he retired from the House of Commons at the 2010 general election....
, the MP for Macclesfield
Macclesfield (UK Parliament constituency)
Macclesfield is a county constituency 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.- Boundaries :...
in the 2010 General Election, but following the latter's announcement that he was not going to seek re-election, did not do so. He indicated that he might stand against Hazel Blears
Hazel Blears
Hazel Anne Blears is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Salford and Eccles since 2010 and was previously the MP for Salford since 1997...
in Salford
Salford (UK Parliament constituency)
Salford 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. The borough constituency dated from 1997 and was abolished in 2010.A parliamentary borough of the same...
(the first sitting MP of a party other than the Conservative party against whom he expressed an interest in standing) although in the end he did not stand in any constituency.
Publications
- In Harm's Way (London, 1995, revised edition 1996) ISBN 0140251081
- An Accidental MP (Viking, London, 2000, Penguin paperback 2001) ISBN 0670892319
- Through Gates of Fire: a Journey into World Disorder (London, 2003, Phoenix paperback 2004) ISBN 0753817861
- The Truth That Sticks: New Labour's Breach of Trust (Icon Books, London, 2007) ISBN 184046822X
- A Very British Revolution: The Expenses Scandal and How to Save Our Democracy (Icon Books, London, 2009) ISBN 9781848310964