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William "Bill" Etherington (born 17 July 1941) United Kingdom politician He has been the Labour Party Member of Parliament for Sunderland North since 1992.
Early lifeBill Etherington was born in Sunderland and was educated at the Redby Infant and Junior Schools on Fulwell Road, Monkwearmouth Grammar School (five years above Hilary Armstrong - the school relocated to a new site at Seaburn Dene while the old building became part of the City of Sunderland College and is now part of the Wearmouth Community Development Trust) on Swan Street in Sunderland and latterly at Durham University. He was an apprentice fitter at the Austin and Pickersgill Shipyard in Sunderland for five years from 1957. He became a fitter for Beal & Co in Sunderland in 1962, before joining the National Coal Board in 1963 and for the following twenty years worked as a fitter at the Dawdon Colliery in County Durham. He has been a member of the National Union of Mineworkers since 1963, and from 1983 until his election was a full time trade union official with them, and was a full-time official during the UK miners' strike (1984-1985). Parliamentary careerHe was first elected in the 1992 General Election for Sunderland North, replacing fellow left-winger, Bob Clay. Etherington held the seat comfortably with a majority of 17,004 votes, and has been re-elected with strong majorities in every General Election since. He made his maiden speech on 11 May 1992. In the 1992 general election, he polled 60.7% of the vote, with his Conservative opponent winning 26.9% of the vote. In the 1997 election, he took 68.2% against Conservative Andrew Selous, who ranked in second place with just 16.7% of the vote. He also confidently beat his Conservative opponents in the 2001 (62.7% against 17.9%) and 2005 general elections (54.4% against 19.8%). He is a left-winger, a member of the Socialist Campaign Group and has rebelled against Tony Blair's government. While debating the reform of the House of Lords in March 2007, Etherington also called for the abolition of the British Monarchy. Personal lifeHe has been married to Irene Holton since 1963 and they have two daughters. He is characterised in parliament by his three-piece suits and strong Mackem accent. In December 2006, Etherington announced he will not stand again at the next general election. I shall not be fighting the next election. I'll be 68 or 69 by then and I've done my bit. My constituency is disappearing under the boundary shake-up and it's the right time to go. [1] Notes
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