Martin Whitfield

Martin Whitfield
MP

Official parliamentary portrait by Chris McAndrew (June 2017)
Member of Parliament
for East Lothian
Assumed office
9 June 2017
Preceded by George Kerevan
Majority 3,083 (5.5%)
Personal details
Born 1965
Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England, UK
Political party Labour

Martin Whitfield (born 1965)[1] is a Scottish Labour Party politician and former primary school teacher. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for East Lothian[2] since the 2017 snap general election,[3] defeating the sitting MP at the time, George Kerevan of the SNP.[4]

Whitfield was born in Newcastle and trained in Law in Edinburgh, but later left the law profession and retrained as a school teacher. He worked at Prestonpans Primary School and served as a council member of the General Teaching Council of Scotland as well as a member of the EIS, Scotland's largest trade union.[5][6] He lives in Prestonpans with his family.[5]

Political stances

Martin Whitfield has supported the official recognition of non-binary people in official government documentation.[7] He has pledged his support to 'The Israel British Alliance,' part of the Zionist Federation, a group supporting Israel and Zionism.[8]

Whitfield attracted controversy in a debate on the abuse of MPs when he claimed that "now is the time to ban anonymous social media accounts".[9] A move online blogger Paul Staines called "draconian" and "idiotic."[10] Whitfield claimed he was echoing similar remarks from SNP MEP Alyn Smith.

References

  1. ↑ "England & Wales births 1837-2006 Transcription". (Subscription required (help)).
  2. ↑ "Martin Whitfield MP". UK Parliament.
  3. ↑ "East Lothian parliamentary constituency - Election 2017" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  4. ↑ "East Lothian". Election 2017. BBC News. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  5. 1 2 "Labour confirm candidate for General Election". East Lothian Courier. 28 April 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  6. ↑ "Labour confirm candidate for General Election". East Lothian Courier. Retrieved 2017-07-29.
  7. ↑ "Scotland’s new MPs – June 2017 — Equality Network". www.equality-network.org. Retrieved 2017-07-29.
  8. ↑ "Pledge - The Israel Britain Alliance". The Israel Britain Alliance. Retrieved 2017-07-29.
  9. ↑ "UK Elections: Abuse and Intimidation - Hansard Online". hansard.parliament.uk. Retrieved 2017-07-29.
  10. ↑ "MP Demands Ban on Anonymous Twitter Accounts". Guido Fawkes. 2017-07-13. Retrieved 2017-07-29.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
George Kerevan		 Member of Parliament
for East Lothian
2017–present 		Incumbent


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