| Joe Benton MP | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament for Bootle |
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 8 November 1990 |
|
| Preceded by | Michael Carr |
| Majority | 21,181 (51.3%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 28 September 1933 Bootle, Lancashire, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse(s) | Doris Wynne |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Joseph Edward Benton (born 28 September 1933) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bootle since 1990.
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Benton was born in Bootle, Lancashire and was educated at the St Monica's Roman Catholic Primary School on Aintree Road and Secondary School in Bootle and the Bootle Municipal Technical College (called the Hugh Baird College of Further Education since 1974 when after merging with the Art College in 1968). On leaving school in 1949 he received an apprenticeship as a fitter and turner. He entered National Service in 1955 with the RAF. In 1958 he joined the Pacific Steam Navigation Company as a personnel officer, remaining in this position until 1981. In 1982 he became a personnel manager with Girobank.
He has been a Justice of the Peace on the Bootle Bench since 1969. He was elected to serve as a councillor on Bootle County Borough council in 1970, moving to Sefton Borough Council after local government reform in 1973 and serving until his election to Parliament in 1990. Benton was Leader of the Council from 1985.
Bootle saw the death of two young Labour MPs in 1990. Allan Roberts died on March 21 after a long battle with cancer; Benton was on the shortlist to follow him but lost out to Mike Carr who won the by-election on 24 May. Carr died on 20 July as a result of a heart attack just 57 days after his election. Benton won the selection to fight the second by-election in Bootle. He was elected comfortably on 8 November, obtaining 78% of the vote and nearly ten times that of his nearest rival, the Conservative James Clappison. Following the 2001 General Election, he held the safest Labour seat in the country.
Benton was appointed as an opposition whip by John Smith in 1994, but was given a government post by Tony Blair after the 1997 General Election. He has voted to restrict the availability of abortion, and opposes embryo research and euthanasia. Benton was one of fifteen Labour MPs to oppose the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill which equalised the age of consent for homosexual and heterosexual sex.
He married Doris Wynne in 1959 in Bootle and they have four daughters. The tip of Benton's index finger was bitten off by a dog while out campaigning on May 6 2010 in his Bootle constituency. He was hospitalized and could not vote in the General Election as a result.[1]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Mike Carr |
Member of Parliament for Bootle 1990–present |
Incumbent |