Bob Wareing

Robert Nelson Wareing, commonly known as Bob Wareing (born 20 August 1930), is a British independent politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Liverpool West Derby from 1983 to 2010. Until November 2007 he was a Labour MP, but resigned the party whip following his deselection as the party's candidate for his constituency.

Early life

Wareing was born in Liverpool and attended Ranworth Square Council School (now Ranworth Square Primary School) in Norris Green, then Alsop High School on Queens Drive in Liverpool. He gained an external BSc degree in Economics from the University of London in 1956 and a teacher's certificate from Bolton College of Education (now part of the University of Bolton) the following year. He was a local government officer for Liverpool Corporation from 1946 to 1948 and from 1950 to 1956. He was a lecturer at Brooklyn Technical College in Great Barr from 1957 to 1959, at Wigan and District Mining and Technical College from 1959 to 1963, at Liverpool College of Commerce on Tithebarn Street from 1963 to 1965, at Liverpool City Institute of Further Education from 1964 to 1972, and at the Central Liverpool College of Further Education from 1972 to 1983 as Deputy Head of Adult Education. Wareing replaced Eric Heffer as the councillor for the Pirrie ward in Walton constituency. He would represent the ward for 19 years.^{[citation needed]}

Parliamentary career

Wareing was first elected to the House of Commons at the 1983 general election, having previously stood (unsuccessfully) in Liverpool Edge Hill at the by-election in March 1979 and at the 1979 general election. He also contested Berwick upon Tweed in 1970.

In 1995, Wareing, who was Chairman of the All-Party British-Yugoslav Parliamentary Group, was criticised by his party for holding talks with the Bosnian Serb leaders Radovan Karadzic and General Ratko Mladić.^[1] In July 1997, the House of Commons Select Committee on Standards and Privileges reprimanded and suspended Wareing from the Commons for a week^[2] over the non-declaration of the interests of his consultancy firm.^[3] Known in some quarters as "Serbian Bob" or the "member for Belgrade" as a result of his pro-Serb views, he was one of the few Labour MPs to vote against the NATO intervention over Kosovo in 1999.

Wareing was a member of the Socialist Campaign Group, and an affiliate of the Labour Representation Committee, frequently rebelling against the government. On 31 October 2006, Wareing was one of 12 Labour MPs to back Plaid Cymru and the Scottish National Party's call for an inquiry into the Iraq War.^[4] In August 2007 Wareing failed to gain sufficient support from grassroots Labour Party and trade union members to avoid facing a challenge in his reselection as the Labour candidate for the next general election. On 16 September 2007, Wareing was defeated in a selection contest by Stephen Twigg, a former MP. He denounced his deselection as the work of a "New Labour Mafia", announcing his intention to seek re-election as an independent, and resigned the Labour whip.^[5][6] However, on 4 March 2010, Wareing announced he would not be standing at the general election.^[7]

Personal life

He married Betty Coward (born July 1929) on 16 August 1962. She died in March 1989 in Lambeth.

Notes

External links

• Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Robert Wareing MP
• TheyWorkForYou.com - Robert Wareing MP
• The Public Whip - Robert Wareing MP voting record
• BBC News - Robert Wareing profile 30 March, 2006
• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Bob Wareing

Video clips

• YouTube March 2007 People's Assembly