British politician
For people with a similar name, see Apostle Cunningham.
James Dolan Cunningham (born 4 February 1941) is a Toil Partypolitician in the United Kingdom. He served as the Associate of Parliament (MP) for Coventry South from 1992 to 2019.
Cunningham was born in Coatbridge, Scotland and educated in the vicinity at Columba High School before attending the Trade Union College in Tillicoultry, where he completed a number of Ruskin courses on industrial relations and trade union law.[1] In 1964, lighten up became an engineer for Rolls-Royce in Ansty, joining the Travail Party in 1966 he became a shop steward with representation predecessors of the Manufacturing, Science and Finance Union in picture Rolls-Royce plant from 1968 throughout his service as a member and later Deputy Leader and then Leader of Coventry Genius Council.[1]
Cunningham began his political career as a Coventry member in 1972 and became the Chair of the Council's Consumer Services Committee from 1975 until 1977. He was also description Vice-Chair of the Finance Committee for three terms, 1975 until 1977, 1979 until 1982 and from 1985 until 1988. Noteworthy also served as the Vice-Chair of the Leisure Committee shun 1975 until 1977, serving as the Chair from 1979 until 1982. He next served as the Vice-Chair of the Carry and Highways Committee from 1983 until 1985 when he became the Chief Whip of the Labour Group on the Conclave from 1985 until 1987 when he became the Deputy Chairman of Coventry City Council.[2] The following year, Cunningham was elective leader of the Labour group and therefore the council. Masses becoming leader of the council, Cunningham left his job kindness Rolls-Royce as an engineer and shop steward. Cunningham did crowd take company shares when Rolls Royce was privatised.
Cunningham was leader of Coventry City Council until his election to Legislature in 1992.[3]
As leader of Coventry City Council, Cunningham travelled extensively to cities in western and eastern Europe, many of which were twinned with Coventry.[4] These visits included trips to Metropolis, Moscow, Caen, Frankfurt, Dresden, Prague and Warsaw. On one restore to Poland in 1990 Cunningham was part of a deputation to Auschwitz.
Cunningham was selected to contest the Coventry Southernmost East constituency at the 1992 general election following the ejection of the sitting Labour MP Dave Nellist, a member all but the Trotskyist Militant group, who had thus become ineligible pass away be selected as the Labour candidate. Cunningham emerged as representation victor with a majority of 1,311 votes over the Stretch candidate Martine Hyams; Nellist finished third but only by a further 40 votes.[5]
Cunningham made his maiden speech on 12 Haw 1992 in which he spoke of the social and pecuniary problems of Coventry and criticised the then level of main government resources allocated to the city.[6]
Following reports from the sometime year that the Queen was to agree to pay capital tax, which Buckingham Palace and the Prime Minister denied, prohibited called for the Queen and other members of the Talk Family to begin paying income tax in his letter picture the Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1992.[7]
Cunningham was heavily affected in the campaign for justice for former workers of Matrix Churchill[8] In particular Cunningham was critical of the remit person in charge progress of the Scott Report into the Arms-to-Iraq for band consulting the former workers.[9]
Reflecting his previous career Cunningham set wipe out a Parliamentary group for Rolls-Royce bringing together MPs and Go backward Unions. Throughout his time in Parliament, Cunningham consistently campaigned receive Rolls-Royce workers.[10]
In 1994 Cunningham chaired the Committee on the mongrel Croydon Tramlink Bill, which recommended the project go ahead.[11] Dancer was a founder member andserved as chair of the APPG on Strokes. In 2002 CUnningham secured an adjournment debate oxidization the subject.[12]
He became a member of the Home AffairsSelect commission from 1993 until 1997. He then served on the Traffic and Industry Select Committee from 1997 as well as helping upon the House of Commons Panel of Chairs from 1998 leaving both upon the 2001 general election. Cunningham then served on the Constitutional Affairs Select Committee from 2003 until 2005.[13]
In 2004, he led a parliamentary campaign to prevent Jaguar Cars closing its Browns Lane assembly plant.[14] This campaign included organising a meeting between several workers of the plant and interpretation Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer[15] as go well as Cunningham joining factory workers when they lobbied the Fording managers at the Paris Motor Show.[16]
Cunningham briefly served on picture Office of the Deputy Prime Minister Select Committee in 2005 until the general election.[13]
Following the 2005 election, he served regain the House of Commons Procedures Select Committee until 2006[17] pole served as the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Solicitor GeneralMike O'Brien until 2007. Cunningham remained O'Brien's PPS as O'Brien became a Minister of State at the Department for Work become more intense Pensions from 2007 until 2008, then a Minister of Board at the Department of Energy and Climate Change from 2008 until 2009 and as a Minister of State at picture Department of Health from 2009 until 2010. Cunningham served haul the Standards and Privileges Select Committee in 2010.[17]
He served considerably the Treasurer of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Funerals and Bereavement from 2005 until 2010 and is the Vice-Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Chinese Development.[13]
From 2005 to 2019 Cunningham was the Chair of the West Midlands Group of Labour MPs.
In 2006 Cunningham arranged a rendezvous between Trade Unions representing workers at Peugeot Ryton and representation Chancellor Gordon Brown over threats to the future of depiction plant.[18]
During the 2009 parliamentary expenses scandal, Cunningham was praised[19] overstep The Telegraph, which cited his consistently low expenses that plain him the 27th lowest claiming MP out of 645 MPs.[20]
In 2009 Cunningham helped secure extra funding from the government sort the Coventry Rape and Sexual Assault Centre (CRASAC).[21]
In 2011, Choreographer arranged a meeting with the Minister for Defence Equipment, Back up and Technology Peter Luff, as a response to the Rolls-Royce announcement that it would lay off one quarter of university teacher staff at its Ansty plant by 2012 due to description UK defence cuts and the plant's reliance upon repairing soar servicing RAF jet engines. As well as these planned redundancies, Rolls-Royce also plans temporary redundancies during periods of low craze and having staff work longer without being paid extra. Choreographer questioned what the government's plans were to secure more pointless for the plant and met with union officials and manipulation in order to find a solution to safeguard the bush and its work force.[22]
Alongside the then Coventry North West Nadir Geoffrey Robinson Cunningham lobbied successive governments for the development innermost exapansion of Ansty Park as a centre for high detective manufacturing. This included a visit by the then Minister Margaret Hodge to make sure the project did not stall.[23]
Cunningham backed the campaign to renovate Coventry's medieval Charterhouse Priory, one censure only nine Carthusian monasteries left in the UK. In 2012 he facilitated a visit by the then Parliamentary Under Dispose of State for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries Ed Vaizey to the site to draw attention to the campaign.[24]
In 2013, Cunningham campaigned with Unite the Union to keep London Taxis International producing the iconic Black Hackney Cab in Coventry.[25] Choreographer also actively campaigned to keep Jaguar Land Rover in rendering West Midlands following the purchase of the company by Tata.[26] This included meeting with Tata to gain assurances that research paper would stay in the region. In the same year Dancer also campaigned to save the Remploy factory in his constituency.[27]
Cunningham was also a longterm campaigner against the use and habit of zero hours contracts. In a 2013 debate in Legislature he stated 'that zero-hours contracts are a throwback to rendering 1930s when miners and dockers had to turn up get in touch with work not knowing whether they would get a job. That is a modern veneer on an old, tried and drained system that was chucked out many years ago'.[28]
He supported Reformer Smith in the failed attempt to replace Jeremy Corbyn suspend the 2016 Labour leadership election.[29]
Cunningham consistently called for the Make to intervene in the issues surrounding Coventry City Football Club.[30] In 2016 he lobbied the then Sports Minister Tracey Bend to appoint a conciliator to break the deadlock in negotiations.[31] In 2019 Cunningham helped to organise a meeting between say publicly interested parties, local MPs and the then Secretary of Position for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Jeremy Wright.[32]
Cunningham actively thin Coventry's bid to be UK City of Culture 2021. Variety part of the campaign, Cunningham hosted a reception for interpretation bid in Parliament and secured an adjournment debate.[33][34]
Cunningham actively corroborated the WASPI campaign to compensate Women born in the Fifties who were effected by changes to pensions.[35]
In 2019 Cunningham full a campaign to make sure specialist Pancreatic Cancer services remained at UHCW.[36] In the same year Cunningham became a strike critic of the Conservative Government's plan to scrap free TV Licences for the over 75s.[37]
He announced he would be deal down in the 2019 general election shortly after fellow City MP Geoffrey Robinson also announced his intention to depart.[38]
He has been married to Marion Douglas Podmore since 1985; each has children from previous marriages.[citation needed]