Eric Samuel Heffer (January 12, 1922 – May 27, 1991) was a British socialist politician. He was Labour Member of Parliament for Liverpool Walton from 1964 until his death. His working-class background and consciousness fed in to his left-wing politics, but to an extent disguised the depth of his knowledge: he was acknowledged as one of the best-read MPs of all. January 12 is the 12th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1922 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... May 27 is the 147th day (148th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 218 days remaining. ... 1991 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The color red and particularly the red flag are traditional symbols of Socialism. ... A politician is an individual involved in politics. ... The Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom (see British politics), and one of the United Kingdoms three main political parties. ... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters of an electoral district to a parliament; in the Westminster system, specifically to the lower house. ... Liverpool Walton is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... The United Kingdom general election of 1964 result was a very slim majority for the Labour Party, of 4, and led to their first government since 1951. ...

Working-class origins

Heffer was born in Hertford into a family which was thoroughly working-class. His grandfather was a bricklayer and later a railway signalmen, and his father was a boot-maker and repairer, although he owned his own business. In later life Heffer proudly declared "I am therefore completely proletarian in background". Heffer's family were members of the High church tendency of the Church of England, and Heffer himself was a choirboy in the local church: it was there that Heffer led his first strike at the age of 8, and, he said, first experienced victimization by his employer. Despite growing up in the 1930s, his family did not experience much of the economic privations common in other parts of the country. Typically for a working-class boy he attended school (Longmore Senior School, Hertford) only until the age of 14. Location within the British Isles Arms of Hertford Town Council Hertford (pronounced Hartford) is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is in the East Hertfordshire district of that county. ... Masonry is the building of structures from individual units laid in and bound together by mortar. ... The proletariat (from Latin proles, offspring) is a term used to identify a lower social class; a member of such a class is called a proletarian. ... High church is a term used in Protestant Christianity in general, and churches associated with the Anglican tradition in particular, in relation to those congregations that continue, with modifications, much of the ritual associated with the Roman Catholic Mass. ... The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and acts as the mother and senior branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion as well as a founding member of the Porvoo Communion. ... A choir or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. ...

Working life

On leaving school Heffer ran though a series of skilled apprenticeships, including as an electrician, leatherworker and finally a carpenter. He learnt the trade of a joiner, and worked on building sites from the age of 16. This was a skilled trade and when building work was much in demand, he could earn a good wage; however, when there were difficulties in the trade, work would dry up. However his work allowed him time to study and read in his spare time, and Heffer attended courses run by the Workers' Educational Association and at the National Council of Labour Colleges. Heffer was active first in the Amalgamated Society of Woodworkers, and after its merger, in the Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians (UCATT). During World War II, he served in the Royal Air Force in a maintenance unit at Fazakerley in Liverpool where he met his wife Doris. Joinery is the part of woodworking that involves the joining together of parts of wood. ... The Workers Educational Association (WEA) is a British voluntary organisation, active in the field of adult education. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km (over 11 miles) into the air, August 9, 1945 after the Allied atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. ... The Royal Air Force (often abbreviated to RAF) is the air force branch of the UK Armed Forces. ... Fazakerley is an area of North Liverpool. ... Liverpools skyline, as seen from the River Mersey. ...

Communism

When the Jarrow March passed through Hertford in 1936 Heffer had gone to see them and the experience had a profound effect upon him. The family often discussed politics at home and he saw his political convictions, support for trade unionism and his religious convictions as part of the same analysis of the world. In 1939 Heffer joined the Labour Party. However, when the Soviet Union was invaded by Nazi forces in 1941, Heffer resigned from Labour and joined the Communist Party of Great Britain; he said that "To me, Stalin was the greatest of men". While Communism was attractive to Heffer as an expression of working-class consciousness, he was not attracted to the party's intense control over its members, and was not inclined to defer to the party's dictates. He was a shop steward for his union; when in 1948 he led an unofficial carpenters' strike against the party's wishes, the Communist Party expelled him and he rejoined the Labour Party within six months. During the Great Depression, the people of the North East of England, who were mainly miners and shipworkers, suffered even more than the rest of the country from the prevailing unemployment and poverty. ... 1936 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1939 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom (see British politics), and one of the United Kingdoms three main political parties. ... The Nazi party used a right-facing swastika as their symbol and the red and black colors were said to represent Blut und Boden (blood and soil). ... 1941 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was a political party in the United Kingdom, which existed from 1920 to 1991. ... Iosif (usually anglicized as Joseph) Vissarionovich Stalin (Russian: Иосиф Виссарионович Сталин), original name Ioseb Jughashvili (Georgian: იოსებ ჯუღაშვილი; see Other names section) (December 21, 1879[1] – March 5, 1953) was a Bolshevik revolutionary and leader of the Soviet Union. ... 1948 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Socialism

After the war Heffer briefly lived in Hertford again with his parents, and fought as a Communist candidate for Hertford Urban District Council in 1946, but was defeated. He then settled in Liverpool, which was a fortunate choice as there was a strong working-class community and within it a large group of left-wing workers waiting to be organised. He responded to this demand in 1954 by linking with a group led by Harry McShane (from Glasgow) and the Militant Socialist Group from London to establish the 'Federation of Marxist Groups' (later renamed the 'Socialist Workers Federation') which had a policy of syndicalism. This group was a compromise: while it insisted that it itself was not a revolutionary political party, it simultaneously said that there was a need for such a party, and actively rejected the Labour Party. However, Heffer had decided by 1956 to rejoin the Labour Party. 1946 was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... Liverpools skyline, as seen from the River Mersey. ... 1954 was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Glasgows location in Scotland Glasgow (or Glaschu in Gaelic) is Scotlands largest city, on the River Clyde in west central Scotland. ... St Stevens Tower - The Clock Tower of the Palace of Westminster which contains Big Ben London (see also different names) is the capital city of the United Kingdom and of England. ... Syndicalism is a political and economic ideology which advocates giving control of both industry and government to labor union federations. ... 1956 was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Liverpool

His activities led to Heffer becoming known through Liverpool where he served on the Executive of the Trades Council; he was its Vice President of in 1958 and President in 1959 and again in 1964. The Trades Council was a local association of trade unions, and as such Heffer helped mediate and end an unofficial strike of seamen in 1960. He was also elected as a Liverpool City Councillor for Pirrie ward that year. In 1962 he made a run for the job of General Secretary of the Amalgamated Society of Woodworkers, but was defeated. Heffer made a contribution to a book, The Agreeable Autocracies, which was published in 1961. The book was a discussion of United States institutions. 1958 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1959 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1964 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1960 was a leap year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1962 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1961 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Parliament

In 1963 Heffer was unexpectedly selected to fight the Walton constituency in Liverpool for the Labour Party, when the right-wing Labour establishment was expecting its preferred candidate to win. The previously Conservative-held constituency went to Heffer on a large swing in the 1964 general election, as did a number of other Liverpool seats. There was never any doubt that Heffer would ally with the left in the Parliamentary Labour Party, and he campaigned in 1965 for early moves to nationalise the docks, where he knew from his experience on Liverpool Trades Council that dockers were employed on highly disadvantageous terms that effectively prevented trade unions forming. Also in 1965 Heffer protested outside the United States embassy against the use of napalm and gas in the Vietnam war, and in Parliament against the diplomatic support given by the government. He was rated as one of the most effective of the large 1964 intake of Labour MPs. 1963 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Conservative Party is the largest political party on the centre-right in the United Kingdom. ... Swing in a British political context is a mathematical calculation which allows the results of two constituencies to be compared. ... The United Kingdom general election of 1964 result was a very slim majority for the Labour Party, of 4, and led to their first government since 1951. ... The Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) consists of the Labour Party in Parliament: Labour MPs as a collective body. ... 1965 was a common year starting on Friday (link goes to calendar). ... Nationalization is the act of taking assets into state ownership. ... A dock is an area of water between two piers or alongside a pier, forming a chamber used for building or repairing one ship. ... A napalm airstrike during the Vietnam War Napalm is a flammable, gasoline-based weapon invented in 1942. ... The Vietnam War was fought from 1957 to 1975 between Soviet and Chinese-supported Vietnamese nationalist and Communist forces and an array of Western and pro-Western forces, most notably the United States. ...

Wilson's government

After winning re-election with a 5,000 majority in the 1966 general election, Heffer began to make his mark on economic policy. He pressed for cuts in defence spending as part of any deflationary measures taken during the July 1966 economic crisis and opposed the 'wage freeze' proposed in the government's Prices and Incomes Bill, rebelling against it in the House of Commons on several occasions in 1967. Heffer regarded unemployment as the worst catastrophe in running the economy and often demanded nationalisation of firms which threatened mass redundancies. Government policy was significantly different and placed more emphasis on maintaining the value of the pound. In August 1967, Wilson, who recognised his abilities, asked Heffer to take a junior post at the Ministry of Technology under Tony Benn. Heffer refused, citing his opposition to government economic policy, and demanded the resignation of James Callaghan as Chancellor of the Exchequer. The UK general election in 1966 was called by Harold Wilson because his government, elected in the 1964 election, had an unworkably small majority. ... 1966 was a common year starting on Saturday (link goes to calendar) // Events January January 1 - In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa ousts president David Dacko and takes over the Central African Republic. ... 1967 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Tony Benn speaking in London, June 2004 The Right Honourable Anthony Neil Wedgwood Benn (born April 3, 1925), known as Tony Benn, formerly 2nd Viscount Stansgate, is a British politician regarded as being on the left of the Labour Party. ... The Right Honourable Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC (27 March 1912 – 26 March 2005), was Labour Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979. ... The Right Honourable Gordon Brown, MP, current Chancellor of the Exchequer The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the ancient title held by the British cabinet minister whose responsibilities are akin to the posts of Minister for Finance or Secretary of the Treasury in other jurisdictions. ...

At this time, Heffer was a strong proponent of British membership of the EEC. He headed a study group established by the Society for Parliamentary Studies (a group for left-wing Labour MPs) to look into British relations with Europe, and demanded the resignation of Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Fred Peart when Peart expressed doubts about the merits of the Common Agriculture Policy. At the 1967 Labour Party conference, he argued for Britain in Europe to build up a third force in the world which would stand up to the USA and the Soviet Union (he also made an unsuccessful bid for a place on the National Executive Committee at this conference). Another preoccupation of Heffer at this time was the Waterloo Cup, a hare coursing event at [[Aintree] near his constituency. He promoted unsuccessful Private Member's Bill to ban hare coursing. Wikiquote has a collection of quotations by or about: European Union The European Union On-Line Official EU website, europa. ... The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food was a UK cabinet position, responsible for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. ... Fred Peart, Baron Peart (1914-1988) was a British Labour politician who served in the Labour governments of the 60s and 70s. ... Hare coursing is a blood sport involving the hunting of hares with dogs (usually Lurchers who have been bred for the purpose). ... A Private Members Bill is a proposed law introduced by a member of parliament, whether from the government or the opposition side, to that legislature or parliament. ...

In February 1968 Heffer was one of the Labour MPs to rebel against the government's decision to withdraw British passports from the Kenyan Asians who were fleeing persecution in Kenya in increasing numbers. He maintained pressure on the government over the war in Vietnam and criticised the Greek military dictatorship of 'the Colonels' for "bestial and barbarous practices". On two of the issues which divided the Labour Party at the time, Heffer took the side of the rebels: he rejected the proposals for reform of the House of Lords as too weak, preferring fundamental reform or preferably abolition, and he worked to change the proposals in Barbara Castle's trade union White paper In Place of Strife (although the rebels later forced the government to abandon it). 1968 was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... The term Asian can refer to something or someone from Asia. ... This article is about the British House of Lords. ... Barbara Castle, Baroness Castle of Blackburn (October 6, 1910 - May 3, 2002), British left-wing politician, was born Barbara Anne Betts in Bradford, Yorkshire, and adopted her familys politics, joining the Labour Party. ... A white paper can be an authoritative report on a major issue, as by a team of experts; a government report outlining policy; or a short treatise whose purpose is to educate (contrast position paper) industry customers. ... In Place of Strife was a British Government White paper, written in 1969. ...

Opposing Heath

As a strong opponent of the government's economic policy, Heffer was invited to submit an article to a Guardian book endorsing the re-election of a Labour government in the 1970 general election as a counter to an article by a Labour loyalist. Perhaps as a consequence of his identification with the left, Heffer had only a small swing against him in the election. After a narrow defeat in the elections for the Shadow Cabinet, he accepted a front bench job as deputy to Barbara Castle as Shadow Minister of Employment. As such he was closely involved in the protests over the Heath government's Industrial Relations Act, which attempted to restrict the powers of trade unions. The Guardian has used this logo on its masthead since its last major redesign in 1988. ... The United Kingdom general election of 1970 was held on June 18, 1970, and resulted in a surprise loss of power for Labour under Harold Wilson, who was replaced as Prime Minister by the Conservative leader, Edward Heath. ... The Shadow Cabinet (also called the Opposition Front Bench) is a senior group of opposition spokespeople in the Westminster System of government who together under the leadership of the Leader of the Opposition (or the leader of other smaller opposition parties) form an alternative cabinet to the governments, whose... The Right Honourable Sir Edward (Ted) Richard George Heath, KG, MBE (9 July 1916 – 17 July 2005), soldier and politician, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. ...

Heffer's vote in Shadow Cabinet elections rose in 1971 when he tied with Castle in 15th place. While Heffer could work with Barbara Castle, she was moved in a reshuffle in 1972 and replaced by Reg Prentice who was already beginning the move across the political spectrum which would see him join the Conservative Party in 1977. Prentice's refusal to pledge support to five dockers imprisoned under the Industrial Relations Act appalled Heffer who considered resignation. When in February 1973 it became clear that Prentice had more leadership support, Heffer resigned (refusing an offer of another post). 1971 is a common year starting on Friday (click for link to calendar). ... 1972 was a leap year that started on a Saturday. ... Reginald Ernest Prentice, Baron Prentice, PC (July 16, 1923 - January 18, 2001) was a UK politician, representing the Labour Party and later the Conservative Party. ... 1977 was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1977 calendar). ... 1973 was a common year starting on Monday. ...

Heffer had revised his opinions on the EEC in 1970, deciding that the spending on the Common Agriculture Policy was excessive and too big a burden on the budget. He voted with the majority of the Labour Party against endorsing the Heath government's application in October 1971. 1970 was a common year starting on Thursday. ...