Ray Gunter
Shadow Minister for Power | |
|---|---|
| In office November 1960 – 6 December 1961 | |
| Leader | Hugh Gaitskell |
| Preceded by | Frederick Lee |
| Succeeded by | Tom Fraser |
| Member of Parliament for Southwark | |
| In office 8 October 1959 – 30 March 1972 | |
| Preceded by | George Isaacs |
| Succeeded by | Harry Lamborn |
| Member of Parliament for Doncaster | |
| In office 23 February 1950 – 25 October 1951 | |
| Preceded by | Evelyn Walkden |
| Succeeded by | Anthony Barber |
| Member of Parliament for South East Essex | |
| In office 5 July 1945 – 23 February 1950 | |
| Preceded by | Victor Raikes |
| Succeeded by | Bernard Braine |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Raymond Jones Gunter 30 August 1909 Wales, UK |
| Died | 12 April 1977 (aged 67) |
| Political party | Labour |
Raymond Jones Gunter (30 August 1909 – 12 April 1977) was a British Labour Party politician. He was born in Wales and had a background in the railway industry and the British trade union movement – specifically his union, the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA).
Early political career
After seeing active service in the
Rise to ministerial office
Gunter was associated with the right wing of the Labour Party and was a member of the Labour Party's
Following Labour's heavy defeat in the 1959 election, its then leader, Hugh Gaitskell, sought to revise and moderate Labour's constitution – the so-called Clause IV dispute. The trade union leaders overwhelmingly disliked this shift and Gunter was one of the opponents. In 1963 Gaitskell died suddenly, the Clause IV conflict still unresolved. Harold Wilson was elected the new leader of the Labour Party, and Gunter continued to be a Labour shadow cabinet member.
Minister of Labour
Labour narrowly won the 1964 general election and Harold Wilson made Gunter Minister of Labour. The dilemma Gunter faced was this: as a union leader he believed that trade unions should be able to negotiate responsible pay rates for their members through "free collective bargaining"; on the other hand, the wildcat strikes in some parts of British industry were often seen as damaging to the economy, and "wage restraint" was the alternative.
Soon after Labour's landslide victory at the
Gunter was rumoured to have been the source of leaks to the media which put the cabinet in a negative light. In any event he resigned from government on 1 July, stating that he could no longer work in a Wilson government. Meanwhile, Gunter's successor in labour affairs, Barbara Castle, saw her proposals to reduce trade union powers in her 1969 white paper, 'In Place of Strife' fail in the teeth of concerted Trade Union opposition.
Later political life and legacy
Gunter was re-elected in his Southwark constituency at the
References
- Richard Crossman Backbench diaries, Hamish Hamilton & Jonathan Cape 1981 London p. 803
- The Labour Government 1964 – 70 by Harold Wilson, London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson and Michael Joseph (1971) pp. 541/2
External links
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Ray Gunter