Nigel Spearing facts for kids

Nigel John Spearing (born October 8, 1930 – died January 8, 2017) was a British politician. He was a member of the Labour Party. He served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for many years. An MP is a person elected to represent a group of people in the UK Parliament.

Early Life and Education

Nigel Spearing was born in Hammersmith, a part of London. He went to Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith. Later, he studied at St Catharine's College, Cambridge, a famous university.

After finishing his studies in 1956, Nigel worked as a teacher. He taught at Wandsworth School from 1956 to 1968. Then, he taught at Elliott School, Putney from 1969 to 1970.

Becoming a Member of Parliament

Nigel Spearing first tried to become an MP in 1964. He ran for the Warwick and Leamington area. He came in second place in that election.

In 1970, he was elected as the MP for Acton. This happened during the 1970 general election. The Labour Party had lost this seat before. Nigel won it back from the Conservative Party politician, Kenneth Baker.

Before the February 1974 general election, the Acton area changed its boundaries. Nigel lost his seat in this election. He was defeated by the Conservative candidate, George Young.

Representing Newham South

Just a few weeks after losing his Acton seat, Nigel Spearing returned to Parliament. He won a special election called a "by-election." This was for the Newham South area. The previous MP, Elwyn Jones, had become a life peer. This meant he joined the House of Lords and could no longer be an MP.

Nigel won the Newham South by-election with a large majority. He was then re-elected in the October 1974 general election. He continued to represent Newham South until 1997. In 1997, the Newham South area was changed. The seat he represented no longer existed.

Nigel Spearing and another Labour MP, Mildred Gordon, wanted to represent the new area called Poplar and Canning Town. However, a local politician and firefighter named Jim Fitzpatrick was chosen instead.

Views on Europe

Nigel Spearing was very interested in many topics, including transport. However, he spent a lot of his time campaigning against Britain being a member of the European Economic Community (EEC). The EEC later became the European Union (EU).

He believed that many important issues in Britain were connected to the rules and institutions of the European Union. He strongly felt that Britain should not be part of it.

Personal Papers and Records

• Nigel Spearing's personal papers about education and government are kept at the Institute of Education at the University of London. You can find out more about them at their Archives of the Institute of Education.
• More of Nigel Spearing's papers are held at the Churchill Archives Centre.