Martin Linton

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John Martin Linton known as Martin Linton (born 11 August 1944, Stockholm, Sweden) is a British politician, and has been Labour Member of Parliament for Battersea since 1997, having been reelected in 2001 and again (albeit narrowly) in 2005.

He was schooled at Christ's Hospital School and Pembroke College, Oxford. Prior to becoming an MP he was a Guardian journalist, and served as a councillor in Wandsworth from 1971 to 1982.

During his media career he also worked at The Mail, The Financial Times, Labour Weekly and the Daily Star. Additionally, he has written on Third Way politics in general and "The Swedish Road to Socialism" in particular. However, he is said to feel that he has done far more as an MP than as a Guardian journalist.

He served as a Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to Baroness Blackstone in Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) from 2001-3, and to Peter Hain as Leader of the House of Commons from 2003 to 2005. After the 2005 General Election he was made a PPS again, this time in the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA).

He is Treasurer of British-Swedish Parliamentary Association and Vice-Chairman of All-Party British-Swedish Group, reflecting his Swedish roots.

After the 2005 General Election, his majority stands at 163, one of the Commons' smallest.