Tony McWalter
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tony McWalter (born 20 March 1945, Worksop) is a politician in the United Kingdom. He was Labour Party and Co-operative Member of Parliament for Hemel Hempstead between 1997 and 2005.
Contents |
[edit] Early life
[edit] Education
He went to the independent catholic St Benedict's School in Ealing. At the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, he gained a BSc in Pure Maths in 1967, and a BSc in Philosophy in 1968. At McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, he gained an MA in Philosophy in 1968. At University College, Oxford, he gained a BPhil in Philosophy in 1971 and an MLitt in 1983.
[edit] Career
From 1963-4, he was a teacher at the catholic Cardinal Wiseman secondary school in Greenford, west London. From 1964-7, he was a lorry driver for EH Paterson Ltd. From 1968-9, he was a teaching fellow at McMaster University.
He is a former philosophy lecturer at the University of Hertfordshire in Hatfield, beginning when it was known as Hatfield Polytechnic in 1974. He also lectured at Thames Polytechnic (now called the University of Greenwich) from 1972-4.
[edit] Parliamentary career
He contested St Albans in 1987 and Luton North in 1992.
McWalter won the seat from Robert Jones (Conservative) in 1997 and held it in 2001, and was narrowly defeated by Mike Penning, (Conservative) in 2005.
Early in his Westminster career, McWalter was one of a number of Labour MPs who petitioned for a planned cut in single-parents benefits, scheduled by the previous Conservative administration, to be cancelled before it came into effect. The cancellation of the cut was announced but then later revoked. McWalter abstained on the first vote in the Commons on implementing the cut but later was brought back onboard with the Government line and was put forward by the government to defend the policy on TV.
[edit] Personal life
He married Karen Omer on March 30 1991. They have one son and two daughters.
