John Silkin

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Lewisham Deptford Deptford (1963–1974)
In office 4 July 1963 – 26 April 1987
Preceded by	Leslie Plummer
Succeeded by	Joan Ruddock
Personal details
Born	(1923-03-18)18 March 1923 London, England
Died	26 April 1987(1987-04-26) (aged 64) London, England
Political party	Labour
Spouse	Rosamund John ​ (m. 1950)​
Alma mater	University of Wales Trinity Hall, Cambridge

John Ernest Silkin (18 March 1923 – 26 April 1987) was a British left-wing Labour politician and solicitor.

Early life

He was the third son of

). He was later promoted lieutenant. He was demobilised in 1946 and returned to Cambridge.

Silkin was admitted as a solicitor in 1950 and worked for his father's law practice in London.

Parliamentary career

He contested the seat of

(1974–87).

He was appointed to the

(1976–79).

In opposition, Silkin was an unsuccessful candidate in the 1980 Labour leadership election following the resignation of James Callaghan and in the deputy leadership election in 1981.^[1] He served as Opposition Spokesman on Industry (1979–80), Shadow Leader of the House of Commons (1980–83), Shadow Defence Secretary (1981–83) and the Dairy Industry Arbitrator (1986–87).

Silkin's publication, Changing Battlefields: The Challenge to the Labour Party appeared posthumously. His papers were given to the Churchill Archives Centre by his widow in February 1990. These cover his parliamentary and ministerial career, as well as his other public interests, such as the Channel Tunnel, the European Economic Community and the dairy industry. There is material of particular interest concerning his relationship with his Constituency Labour Party in Deptford and on the Labour Party Leadership and Deputy Leadership Elections in 1980 and 1981.

Family

He was married to the actress Rosamund John from 1950 until his death in 1987. Their son Rory L. F. Silkin was born in 1954.^[2] Rory has a daughter called Natasha Silkin, who also works in politics for Hanover Communications.^[3]

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by John Silkin
• The Papers of John Ernest Silkin held at Churchill Archives Centre

References

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Leslie Plummer	Member of Parliament for Deptford 1963–1974	Constituency abolished
New constituency	Member of Parliament for Lewisham Deptford 1974–1987	Succeeded by Joan Ruddock
Political offices
Preceded by Sydney Irving	Deputy Chief Whip of the House of Commons 1966	Succeeded by Charles Grey
	Treasurer of the Household 1966
Preceded by Edward Short	Chief Whip of the House of Commons 1966–1969	Succeeded by Bob Mellish
	Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury 1966–1969
Preceded by Bob Mellish	Minister of State for Public Buildings and Works 1969–1970	Succeeded by Julian Amery
Preceded by Barbara Castle	Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Services 1972–1974	Succeeded by Keith Joseph
Preceded by Graham Page as Minister of State for Local Government and Development	Minister of State for Local Government and Planning 1974–1976	Position abolished
Preceded by Fred Peart	Minister of State for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food 1976–1979	Succeeded by Peter Walker
Preceded by Eric Varley	Shadow Secretary of State for Industry 1979–1980	Succeeded by Stanley Orme
Preceded by Michael Foot	Shadow Leader of the House of Commons 1980–1983	Succeeded by Peter Shore
Preceded by Brynmor John	Shadow Secretary of State for Defence 1981–1984	Succeeded by Denzil Davies
Party political offices
Preceded by Sydney Irving	Labour Deputy Chief Whip of the House of Commons 1966	Succeeded by Charles Grey
Preceded by Edward Short	Labour Chief Whip of the House of Commons 1966–1969	Succeeded by Bob Mellish