Jimmy Wray

For those of a similar name, see James Ray.
Jimmy Wray
Member of Parliament
for Glasgow Baillieston
Glasgow Provan (1987-1997)
In office
12 June 1987 – 11 April 2005
Preceded by Hugh Brown
Succeeded by Constituency Abolished
Personal details
Born James Aloysius Joseph Patrick Gabriel Wray
(1938-04-28)28 April 1938
Govan, Glasgow, Scotland, UK
Died 25 May 2013(2013-05-25) (aged 75)
Mearnskirk Home Hospital, Renfrewshire, Scotland, UK
Nationality British
Political party Labour

James Aloysius Joseph Patrick Gabriel Wray[1] (28 April 1935 – 25 May 2013)[2] was a Scottish politician and Labour member of Parliament for Glasgow Baillieston and Glasgow Provan.[3]

Born and raised in the Gorbals,[4] he was one of eight children born in an economically disadvantaged Roman Catholic family.[5] A boxer in his younger days, he was elected as a councillor to the then Glasgow Town Council in 1964 for Kelvinside, and moved over to the larger Strathclyde Regional Council in 1975 for Gorbals. He successfully blocked implementation of fluoridation in court by arguing it violated the 1946 Water Act and the 1968 Medicine Act.[1]

By the time he became an MP, Wray was a wealthy man.[5] He was on the left-wing of the Labour Party, and joined the Campaign Group. His political stances were Eurosceptic, an advocate of Irish republicanism regarding Northern Ireland,[6] and opposed to abortion and the abolition of Section 28.[7] His views on Northern Ireland led him to be tagged "I.R. Wray" by Private Eye.[6] In 2002, he attacked the Scottish Parliament, labeling its members "odds and sods".[8]

Wray stood down as an MP, aged 65, at the 2005 general election following a stroke in December 2003.[5]

Death

Wray died on 25 May 2013 in Mearnskirk Home Hospital in Renfrewshire[9] after suffering from bowel cancer, aged 78.[4] He had four children, two girls and two boys.

References

  1. 1 2 Aaron Goldstein "Jimmy Wray, R.I.P.", The American Spectator, 25 May 2013.
  2. ↑ "Jimmy Wray, former Labour MP, dies at 78", telegraph.co.uk, 25 May 2013
  3. ↑ "'Jack-the-lad' MP", BBC News, 3 March 2000.
  4. 1 2 Fiona McKay "Estranged wife pays tribute to 'lion of a man' Jimmy Wray", The Herald, 27 May 2013
  5. 1 2 3 Brian Beacom "Jimmy Wray, The Herald, 27 May 2013.
  6. 1 2 Robert Waller and Byron Criddle The Almanac of British Politics, London and New York: Routledge, 1999 (6th ed.), p. 312.
  7. ↑ Rory Reynolds, "Former Glasgow MP Jimmy Wray dies at 78", Scotland on Sunday, 26 May 2013
  8. ↑ "MP lays into Scots Labour colleagues", BBC News, 22 March 2002
  9. ↑ "Former Labour MP and socialist campaigner Jimmy Wray dies, aged 78". stv. 25 May 2013.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Hugh Brown		 Member of Parliament for Glasgow Provan
1987–1997 		constituency abolished
New constituency Member of Parliament for Glasgow Baillieston
1997–2005 		constituency abolished
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