PAUL FLYNN (POLITICIAN)

'Paul Philip Flynn' (born February 9, 1935) is a British politician. He is the Labour Member of Parliament for Newport West. Paul Flynn was born in Cardiff of Welsh/Irish parentage.

Contents

Educational and Professional Background

Political career

Personality

Publications

External links

Offices Held

Educational and Professional Background

Flynn was educated at the St Illtyd Roman Catholic College in Cardiff and at the University College, Cardiff. On leaving education in 1955 he worked as a chemist in the steel industry, where he remained until 1983. After a year as a broadcaster on Gwent Community Radio, he became a researcher for the Member of the European Parliament Llew Smith in 1984 and remained as such until his election to Westminster.

Political career

Flynn was elected as a councillor on the Newport Borough Council in 1972-1981 and to the Gwent County Council 1974-1982. He unsuccessfully contested Denbigh at the October 1974 General Election where he was defeated by the Conservative Geraint Morgan by 4,551 votes. He was elected to the House of Commons at the 1987 General Election for Newport West defeating the Tory Mark Robinson, who had surprisingly won the seat at the 1983 General Election. Flynn defeated Robinson by 2,708 votes and has remained the MP since.
Flynn joined the front bench under Neil Kinnock in 1988 when he became a spokesman on health and social security and for social security in 1989. He resigned from the front bench in 1990 and has remained on the back benches since. He joined the transport select committee in 1990 until after the 1997 General Election when he joined the Welsh Affairs select committee for a year. He was a member of the environment audit select committee in 2003 until the 2005 General Election, since when he has been a member of the public administration committee.

Personality

An entertaining and literate character, Flynn speaks fluent Welsh and is highly regarded amongst his parliamentary colleagues, having received acccolades for his campaigning work. He was an early adopter of using CD-ROMs to access Hansard and in 2000 won the New Satesman New Media Award for his website and has and been voted the best website of all MPs on many other occasions. He has also written a book, Dragons Led By Poodles, about the devolution campaign in Wales in the 1990s. He has been twice married, first to Anne Harvey in 1962 with whom he has a son and a deceased daughter, they divorced in 1984; he has been married to Samantha Morgan Cumpstone since 1985. He has often called for the legalisation of cannabis.

Publications

★ ''Television in Wales'' by Paul Flynn, 1974

★ ''Commons Knowledge: How to Be a Backbencher'' by Paul Flynn, 1997, Seren Books ISBN 1-85411-206-6

★ ''Baglu 'Mlaen (Cyfres Y Cewri)'' by Paul Flynn, 1998, Cyhoeddiadau Mei ISBN 0-86074-147-8

★ ''Dragons Led by Poodles: Inside Story of a New Labour Stitch Up'' by Paul Flynn, 1999, Politico's Publishing ISBN 1-902301-24-2

External links

★ Paul Flynn MP official site

★ Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Paul Flynn MP

★ TheyWorkForYou.com - Paul Flynn MP

Offices Held