Mick Whitley

Michael Whitley[2] (born 17 November 1951) is a British Labour Party politician. He has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Birkenhead since 2019.

Mick Whitley

MP
Whitley in 2019
Member of Parliament
for Birkenhead
Assumed office
12 December 2019
Preceded byFrank Field
Majority17,705 (41.8%)
Personal details
Born (1951-11-17) 17 November 1951[1]
Birkenhead, Cheshire, England
NationalityBritish
Political partyLabour
OccupationPolitician and union organiser

Early life and career

Whitley was born in St Catherine's Hospital, Birkenhead and grew up in Woodchurch.[3] His father and some of his brothers were in the ship building industry.[4] After time in the Merchant Navy, Whitley worked for Vauxhall Motors becoming a trade union organiser and later regional secretary for Unite.[5]

Parliamentary career

Whitley was elected as the Labour MP for Birkenhead in the 2019 general election, defeating Frank Field, a former Labour politician. Field resigned the Labour whip after 40 years as Birkenhead's MP and ran as an independent candidate under the banner of the Birkenhead Social Justice Party.[6] Whitley won the seat with a vote share of 59%, down 17.8% on the result that Field achieved in 2017. Aged 68, he was the oldest MP to be elected for the first time in 2019. Whitley’s candidacy was endorsed by Momentum and several trade unions.

References
  1. Brunskill, Ian (2020). The Times Guide to the House of Commons 2019. The Times. London. ISBN 9780008392581.
  2. "Members Sworn". Hansard.parliament.uk. 2019-12-18. Retrieved 2020-01-28.
  3. "Mick Whitley MP for Birkenhead". Vote Labour. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  4. Bond, Daniel (16 December 2019). "Class of 2019: Meet the new MPs". Politics Home: The House. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  5. Rodgers, Sienna (3 August 2019). "Momentum-backed Mick Whitley picked to fight Frank Field in Birkenhead". LabourList.
  6. "Merseyside bucks national trend with Labour wins". BBC News. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Frank Field		 Member of Parliament for Birkenhead
2019–present		 Incumbent
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