John Austin (politician)

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John Eric Austin, formerly known as 'John Austin-Walker', (born August 21, 1944, in Blaby, Leicestershire) is a British Member of Parliament, first elected for Woolwich 1992-7, then for Erith and Thamesmead from 1997-present after boundary changes. He is a member of the Labour Party. He worked as a social worker and was leader of Greenwich council before entering Parliament.

Austin is a member of the left-wing Socialist Campaign Group. He stated his intention to act as a stalking horse against Tony Blair. He intended to trigger a leadership election at the party conference in September 2005 if Blair himself did not do so by resigning as leader. He indicated his hope that, in the event of an election, Gordon Brown would enter. However he was unable to accumulate the number of required nominations from fellow MPs (seventy-one in the current Parliament) before the conference.

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Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
John Cartwright
Member of Parliament for Woolwich
19921997
Succeeded by
constituency abolished
Preceded by
new constituency
Member of Parliament for Erith and Thamesmead
1997 – present
Incumbent


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