Ted Leadbitter

Edward Leadbitter (18 June 1919 – 23 December 1996) was a British Labour politician. Leadbitter was a teacher, and served as a councillor on West Hartlepool Borough Council.

Edward Leadbitter
Member of Parliament
for Hartlepool
In office
28 February 1974 – 16 March 1992
Preceded byConstituency created
Succeeded byPeter Mandelson
Member of Parliament
for The Hartlepools
In office
15 October 1964 – 8 February 1974
Preceded byJohn Kerans
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
Personal details
Born(1919-06-18)18 June 1919
Easington, County Durham[1]
Died23 December 1996(1996-12-23) (aged 77)
Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham
NationalityBritish
Political partyLabour
SpouseIrene Mellin (m. 1940)
Children2
Residence(s)Hartlepool, United Kingdom
OccupationCouncillor
ProfessionTeacher

Member of Parliament

Leadbitter was Member of Parliament for the Hartlepools and then the renamed Hartlepool from 1964 until he retired in March 1992. His successor was Peter Mandelson.

in 1979, Leadbitter played a role in publicly exposing Anthony Blunt as a spy for the Soviet Union. On Thursday 15 November 1979, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher revealed Blunt's wartime role in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom in reply to written parliamentary questions put to her by Leadbitter and Dennis Skinner, MP for Bolsover:[2]

Mr. Leadbitter and Mr. Skinner: Asked the Prime Minister if she will make a statement on recent evidence concerning the actions of an individual, whose name has been supplied to her, in relation to the security of the United Kingdom.[3]

The Prime Minister: "The name which the hon. Member for Hartlepool (Mr. Leadbitter) has given me is that of Sir Anthony Blunt."[4]

Leadbitter was also known for his argument against the 1991 judgment of the Court of Appeal and House of Lords in R v R that criminalised marital rape for the first time. He claimed that married women would now falsely allege rape if a couple had a row.

Shortly before he quit Parliament, he angered Neil Kinnock by buying shares in British Telecom and British Gas.

He died on 23 December 1996, in the intensive care unit at North Tees Hospital, where he was being treated after a road accident.[5]

References
Notes
  1. "Obituary: Ted Leadbitter". independent.co.uk. 27 December 1996. Archived from the original on 26 May 2022. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  2. Mrs Margaret Thatcher, The Prime Minister (15 November 1979). "Security (Written Answers)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Commons. col. 679W–681W.
  3. Mrs Margaret Thatcher, The Prime Minister (15 November 1979). "Security (Written Answers)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Commons. col. 679W–681W.
  4. Mrs Margaret Thatcher, The Prime Minister (15 November 1979). "Security (Written Answers)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Commons. col. 679W–681W.
  5. "MP who exposed Anthony Blunt dies". heraldscotland.com. 24 December 1996. Retrieved 15 April 2017.


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