Jim Sheridan (politician)

James Sheridan
Member of Parliament
for Paisley & Renfrewshire North
Renfrewshire West (2001-2005)
Incumbent
Assumed office
7 June 2001
Preceded by Thomas Graham
Majority 15,280 (34.96%)
Personal details
Born 24 November 1952
Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland
Nationality British
Political party Labour
Religion Roman Catholic
Website www.james-sheridan-mp.org.uk

James Sheridan (born 24 November 1952) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Paisley & Renfrewshire North since 2005. He was previously MP for Renfrewshire West from 2001 to 2005.

Early life

Jim Sheridan was born in Glasgow and attended St Sixtus Primary School and St Pius Secondary School on Cally Avenue in Drumchapel, now the home of Drumchapel High School. He also served on Renfrewshire Council from 1999 representing Erskine Central. Before entering politics he worked in shipyards from 1970 to 1978, then as a printer for the Paisley Daily Express from 1978 to 1984, then for Thales Optronics (formerly Barr and Stroud before 2001) on Linthouse Road in Glasgow, where he was a trade union convenor for the TGWU from 1984 to 2000.

Parliamentary career

He was previously MP for Renfrewshire West from the 2001 election until the constituency was abolished in 2005.

Sheridan was the promoter of the Bill which successfully led to the Gangmasters (Licensing) Act 2004.

Following the 2005 election, he was appointed as a Parliamentary Private Secretary in the Ministry of Defence. He resigned this post on August 9, 2006 in protest at the Government's policy on the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, particularly the permitting of aircraft carrying U.S. weapons for Israel to refuel in the UK.[1][2] He was a strong supporter of Speaker of the House Michael Martin, at the time of the second-home expenses scandal, for instance stating that Mr Martin did not know about the expenses claims of MPs on Radio 4's Today programme (18 May 2009).

In November 2008, Sheridan tabled a Commons early day motion backing a Great Britain football team at the 2012 Olympics, saying football "should not be any different from other competing sports and our young talent should be allowed to show their skills on the world stage". The football governing bodies of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are all opposed to a Great Britain team, fearing it would stop them competing as individual nations in future tournaments.

The Daily Telegraph reported in 2009 that the Labour MP claimed a 42-inch plasma TV costing £699.99, a leather bed and hundreds of pounds worth of furniture through his parliamentary allowances. He defended his expenses as "authorised by the Fees Office and receipts were provided against all claims."

He was one of 16 signatories of an open letter to Ed Miliband in January 2015 calling on the party to commit to oppose further austerity, take rail franchises back into public ownership and strengthen collective bargaining arrangements[3]

Personal life

He lives in Erskine, Renfrewshire with his wife Jean. They have a son and daughter.

References

  1. ↑
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ Eaton, George (26 January 2015). "The Labour left demand a change of direction - why their intervention matters". New Statesman. Retrieved 5 April 2015.

External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Thomas Graham		 Member of Parliament for Renfrewshire West
2001–2005 		Constituency abolished
New constituency Member of Parliament for Paisley & Renfrewshire North
2005–present 		Incumbent