Glyn Ford

Glyn Ford
MEP
Member of the European Parliament
for South West England
In office
1 May 1999 – 14 July 2009
Preceded by Constituency established
Succeeded by Seat abolished
Leader
European Parliamentary Labour Party
In office
1989–1993
Member of the European Parliament
for Greater Manchester East
In office
14 June 1984 – 10 June 1999
Preceded by Constituency established
Succeeded by Constituency abolished
Personal details
Born (1950-01-28) 28 January 1950
Gloucester, England
Nationality British
Political party Labour
Alma mater University of Reading
University College London
Profession Academic
Website glynford.org

Glyn Ford (born 28 January 1950) is a former Labour Party member of the European Parliament (1984–2009), initially for Greater Manchester East until 1999, then South West England from 1999 to 2009.[1]

Early life and education

Ford was born in Gloucester.[1] He went to Marling School, Stroud. After a year as an apprentice at the British Aircraft Corporation he returned to education gaining a degree in Geology from the University of Reading in 1972, then a master's degree in marine Earth science from University College London in 1974.[2][3]

Academic career

For most of his academic career Ford worked at the University of Manchester, as a research fellow (1976-1979), a lecturer (1979-1980), and finally as a senior research fellow in the Department of Science and Technology Policy (1980-1984).[2][3]

He also taught for the Open University (1976-1978) and UMIST (1977-1978). He was a research fellow at the University of Sussex (1978-1979). In 1983, he spent six months as a visiting professor at Tokyo University.[2][3]

After becoming a member of the European Parliament in 1984, the University of Manchester made him an honorary visiting research fellow.[2]

Political career

While working at the University he was a local councillor in the Greater Manchester borough of Tameside, where he was the Chair of the Environmental Health and Education Committees.

On 14 June 1984 Ford was elected as a member of the European Parliament for the new constituency of Greater Manchester East. He held this seat for three terms, until the constituency was abolished in 1999, being re-elected on 15 June 1989 and 9 June 1994.

In 1987 he stood as the Labour candidate for the Hazel Grove constituency in Greater Manchester in the 1987 general election, a seat where Labour had no likelihood of winning.[2]

From 1989 to 1993 he was a member of Labour's National Executive Committee.[2]

Also, from 1989 to 1993 Ford was Leader of the European Parliamentary Labour Party and Deputy Chair of the European Parliament Socialist Group.[2]

On 10 June 1999 Ford was elected as a member of the European Parliament for the constituency of South West England for both the Labour Party and the Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party. Gibraltar was part of the South West England European Parliament constituency. Ford campaigned for Gibraltar to have its own seat in the European Parliament, rather than only having representation through the South West England constituency.[4][5]

Ford held this seat for two terms, being re-elected on 10 June 2004. He lost his seat in the elections on 4 June 2009. The Labour Party gained 118,716 votes (7.61%) in the South West region in 2009, which was insufficient to win a seat in the multi-member constituency which had had its representation reduced from seven to six at that election.[6]

Ford's three main areas of interest are Research and Development, Racism and East Asia.[7] Ford was for fifteen years a member of the European Parliament's Research Committee, the Guest Editor of the Science and Public Policy Special Issue on Science and Technology in Europe and the author, with Chris Niblett and Lindsay Walker, of The Future for Ocean Technology (Frances Pinter, 1987).

Ford was Chair of the European Parliament's Committee of Inquiry into The Growth of Racism and Fascism in Europe (1984–86) and rapporteur for a second European Parliament Committee of Inquiry into Racism and Xenophobia. He served as the European Parliament's representative on the Council of Ministers Consultative Commission on Racism and Xenophobia (1994–99). He was National Treasurer of the Anti-Nazi League[7] and author of Fascist Europe (Pluto, 1992).

He served throughout his time in the European Parliament as a member of the Japan Delegation and as a member of the Korean Peninsula Delegation from its formation in 2004. He was the EU's Chief Election Observer in Indonesia in 2004 and Aceh 2006-7. In 2008, he published, North Korea on the Brink: Struggle for Survival (Pluto) which has been subsequently been published in Japanese and Korean. He writes for The Japan Times.[8]

He published with Glenys Kinnock and Arlene McCarthy Changing States: A Labour Agenda for Europe (Mandarin, 1996). He is a regular contributor to Tribune.[9]

After leaving the European Parliament, Ford founded the Public Affairs and International Relations consultancy POLINT.[10]

Ford stood in the 2014 European Parliament election, but his second position on the Labour South West England list did not yield a seat.

Ford is a member of the Labour Party National Policy Forum, and was re-elected in 2015.[11][12]

Bibliography

References

  1. 1 2 "Glyn FORD". European Parliament. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "(James) Glyn FORD". People of Today. Debretts. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 "Mr. Glyn Ford MEP: Brief CV" (PDF). European Institute for Asian Studies. 15 April 2004. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  4. ↑ http://www.webcitation.org/5gPXFUSBZ
  5. ↑ http://www.panorama.gi/localnews/headlines.php?action=view_article&article=4381&offset=0
  6. ↑ "Results of 2009 European elections in the UK". UK Office of the European Parliament. 9 June 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-09.
  7. 1 2 "Glyn Ford". Your Britain. Labour. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  8. ↑ "Glyn Ford". The Japan Times. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  9. ↑ "All articles by: Glyn Ford". Tribune. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  10. ↑ "J. Glyn Ford". POLINT. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  11. ↑ "National Policy Forum - the results". LabourList. 20 June 2012. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  12. ↑ "Results of elections to the National Policy Forum and Conference Arrangements Committee". Labour Party. 14 September 2015. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
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