Michael O'Halloran (UK politician)
| Michael O'Halloran | |
|---|---|
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Member of Parliament for Islington North |
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In office 30 October 1969 – 9 June 1983 |
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| Preceded by | Gerry Reynolds |
| Succeeded by | Jeremy Corbyn |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
20 August 1933 County Clare, Ireland |
| Died | 29 November 1999 (aged 66) County Wexford, Ireland |
| Political party |
Labour (Before 1981) Social Democratic (1981–1983) independent Labour (1983–1999) |
Michael Joseph O'Halloran (20 August 1933 – 29 November 1999) was an Irish-born British politician. He was brought up in County Clare, Ireland, and, finding no employment, he "drifted to London" in 1948, aged 15, and worked as a railwayman until he entered politics.
He was elected Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North in a by-election in 1969 following the death of sitting MP Gerry Reynolds. He had previously been the secretary of the Constituency Labour Party. His selection over Keith Kyle was the subject of an investigation in the early 1970s by The Sunday Times newspaper. They highlighted his background with a local building company and the local Irish community and questioned the propriety of the tactics of his supporters during his selection as candidate. He was a staunch Catholic in his political beliefs, although he made relatively few contributions to parliamentary debates. He frequently drew on his experience as a railwayman when discussing transport policy.
In 1976, a local party member called Mr. Veness was expelled for saying that O'Halloran was dominated by Irish Catholic influences, but later reinstated by the party's NEC.
He was a strong opponent of the legalisation of abortion. His office was invaded by activists in 1977, and he claims that he was punched to the ground and kicked, and only revived when the police arrived. In the same year, when the Labour Government's majority was under threat, he threatened to resign unless the far-left in his constituency party were brought under control.
Following pressure from the far-left in his local party, O'Halloran was among the Labour MPs who defected to the new Social Democratic Party (SDP) in 1981. However, in 1983, the SDP chose John Grant, the MP for Islington Central (which was being abolished in boundary changes), to be its candidate in Islington North. O'Halloran left the SDP to stand as an independent Labour candidate in the 1983 general election. The official Labour candidate Jeremy Corbyn won while O'Halloran came in fourth with 11% of the vote. Grant came third with 22% of the vote.
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