Dennis Skinner

Dennis Edward Skinner (born 11 February 1932) is a British Labour politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Bolsover since 1970. He was Chairman of the Labour Party from 1988–1989 and served as a member of its National Executive Committee.

Born in Clay Cross, Derbyshire, Skinner is the third of nine children of coal miner Edward Skinner, who was sacked after the 1926 general strike. Skinner himself worked as a miner for over twenty years and became a NUM leader and Clay Cross Labour Party councillor. He is known for his left-wing views, acerbic wit and for never missing a Commons session. He is a member of the Socialist Campaign Group of Labour MPs.

Early life

Skinner was educated at Tupton Hall Grammar School after passing the Eleven-plus a year early. He worked in the mines from 1949–70, at Parkhouse Colliery in Clay Cross until it closed in 1962, then at Glapwell Colliery near Chesterfield. He joined the Labour Party in 1956.

Union and political career

Skinner was a member of Derbyshire County Council from 1964 to 1970, and a Clay Cross councillor from 1960 to 1970. He was president of the Derbyshire area of the National Union of Mineworkers between 1966 and 1970. He attended Ruskin College in his thirties, after attending a preparatory course run by the NUM at the University of Sheffield.