Mick Whitley

Michael Whitley[2] (born 17 November 1951)[3] is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Birkenhead since 2019. He is a member of the Labour Party.

Mick Whitley
MP
Official portrait, 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
Political partyLabour
Other political
affiliations		Socialist Campaign Group (2019–present)
OccupationPolitician and union organiser
WebsiteOfficial website

Early life and career

Whitley was born in St Catherine's Hospital, Birkenhead and grew up in Woodchurch.[4] His father and some of his brothers were in the ship building industry.[5] After time in the Merchant Navy, Whitley worked for Vauxhall Motors becoming a trade union organiser and later regional secretary for Unite.[6]

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.[7] 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. During the 2021 Israel-Palestine Crisis, Whitley signed a letter along with 19 other MPs calling for sanctions on Israel "for its repeated violations of international law."[8]

On 14 December 2021, Whitley resigned from his role as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Ed Miliband in order to defy the whip by voting against mandatory COVID-19 vaccination for NHS staff.[9] He also voted in line with the party whip by voting in favour of COVID-19 vaccine passports and an expansion of mask mandates.[10][11]

On 24 February 2022, following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Whitley was one of 11 Labour MPs threatened with losing the party whip after they signed a statement by the Stop the War Coalition which questioned the legitimacy of NATO and accused the military alliance of "eastward expansion". All 11 MPs subsequently removed their signatures.[12]

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. 18 December 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  3. Brunskill, Ian (19 March 2020). The Times guide to the House of Commons 2019 : the definitive record of Britain's historic 2019 General Election. p. 102. ISBN 978-0-00-839258-1. OCLC 1129682574.
  4. "Mick Whitley MP for Birkenhead". Vote Labour. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  5. Bond, Daniel (16 December 2019). "Class of 2019: Meet the new MPs". Politics Home: The House. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  6. Rodgers, Sienna (3 August 2019). "Momentum-backed Mick Whitley picked to fight Frank Field in Birkenhead". LabourList.
  7. "Merseyside bucks national trend with Labour wins". BBC News. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  8. "JUSTICE FOR PALESTINE". Mick Whitley MP. 15 May 2021. Retrieved 11 July 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. Rodgers, Sienna; Chappell, Elliot (14 December 2021). "22 Labour MPs rebel and two frontbenchers quit over new Covid laws". LabourList. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  10. "Health Protection (Entry to venues etc) SI No 1416". UK Parliament. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  11. "Health Regulations (Face Coverings) SI No 1400". UK Parliament. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  12. Wearmouth, Rachel (24 February 2022). "11 Labour MPs threatened with suspension for signing Stop The War letter attacking NATO". Mirror. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
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