Leslie Spriggs
Leslie Spriggs | |
---|---|
Member of Parliament for Hartley Shawcross | |
Succeeded by | seat abolished |
Personal details | |
Born | 22 April 1910 Bolton, Lancashire |
Died | 22 May 1990 (aged 80) Thornton, Lancashire |
Nationality | British |
Political party | Labour |
Spouse | Elfreda Spriggs |
Leslie Spriggs (22 April 1910 – 22 May 1990)[1] was a British Labour politician and trade unionist, MP for St Helens from 1958 until 1983.
Born in
Until elected a
A career backbencher, Spriggs was rarely in the public eye, and "often said it did not necessarily follow that those MPs who were rarely in the headlines were not representing their constituency properly." He believed that "behind the scenes" activity often produced the best results. One example of this was the price agreement he secured with foreign glassmakers that saved "countless" jobs in his constituency.[2] He supported proposals for a float glass plant at Pilkington's St Helens facility, which he claimed lost him votes in the October 1974 general election. Despite this claim, he only received one less vote than in the previous election.[6]
Spriggs had ill-health for much of his life. He suffered
I remember the famous case of Leslie Spriggs, the then-Member for St. Helens. We had a tied vote and he was brought to the House in an ambulance having suffered a severe heart attack. The two Whips went out to look in the ambulance and there was Leslie Spriggs laid there as though he was dead. I believe that
Joe Harper, "How do we know that he is alive?" So he leaned forward, turned the knob on the heart machine, the green light went around, and he said, "There, you've lost—it's 311" [the vote had been tied 310–310]. That is an absolutely true story. It is the sort of nonsense that used to happen. No one believes it, but it is true.
References
- Times Guide to the House of Commons, 1966 and 1979
- ^ a b c House of Commons Library, Research Paper 09/31, Members since 1979, p. 153 http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons/lib/research/rp2009/rp09-031.pdf
- ^ a b c "Obituary: Leslie Spriggs". St Helens Reporter. 25 May 1990.
- ^ St. Helens Reporter. 3 May 1958.
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- ^ St Helens Star. 9 June 1983.
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(help) - ^ Kevin Ludden (15 October 1974). "It's a record for Spriggs". St Helens Newspaper.
- )
- ^ "M.P. hits at quit rumours". St. Helens Reporter. 29 April 1970.
- ^ "Hansard 14 July 1997, Column 507, Paragraph 20".