Allan Roberts
| Allan Roberts | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament for Bootle |
|
|
In office 3 May 1979 – 21 March 1990 |
|
| Preceded by | Simon Mahon |
| Succeeded by | Michael Carr |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
28 October 1943 Droylsden, England, United Kingdom |
| Died | 21 March 1990 (aged 46) |
| Political party | Labour |
Allan Roberts (28 October 1943 – 21 March 1990) was a British politician who was the Labour Member of Parliament for Bootle from 1979 until his death. A teacher and social worker before his election, he was a member of the left-wing of the party.
Roberts was from a working-class background, the son of a baker and a machinist. He was born in Droylsden on the eastern side of Manchester, and went to Littlemoss Boys' County Secondary School. He first trained as a teacher at Ashton-under-Lyne College of Education and Didsbury College of Education. He joined the Labour Party while still a teenager in 1959, and the next year also joined the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. He unsuccessfully fought the Hazel Grove constituency in the February and October 1974 elections.
In May 1978, Roberts was a surprising choice to replace Simon Mahon who was retiring as Member of Parliament for Bootle, a constituency in which he had no local roots. Mahon and Roberts were almost polar opposites: Mahon was born in Bootle, a right-winger, a Roman Catholic with traditional views on morality, while Roberts was from Manchester, a member of the new-left who was also, according to openly gay Labour MP, Chris Bryant, gay. His experience with council housing issues was a considerable asset in winning selection, and he made a speech to the Labour Party conference in 1978 arguing that public authorities needed a surplus of council housing in order to solve the housing crisis.
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