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Michael Meacher

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The Right Honourable '''Michael Hugh Meacher''' (born November 4, 1939) is a United Kingdom British politician, member of Parliament for Oldham. He was educated at New College, Oxford and the LSE. He became a researcher and lecturer in social administration at Essex and York universities and wrote a noted book about older people's treatment in mental hospitals. He was first elected to Parliament in 1970, and served as a minister under Harold Wilson and James Callaghan. During opposition he was in the Shadow Cabinet for fourteen years and also lectured at the LSE. He was seen as a figure on the left and an ally of Tony Benn and stood as the left's candidate against Roy Hattersley in the 1983 deputy leadership election. He was an elected member of the Shadow Cabinet from 1983 to 1997, but Tony Blair only appointed him to junior ministerial position as Minister for the Environment, first at the Department for Environment, Transport and the Regions (1997-2001), then at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (2001-2003). His strong committment to environmental causes led him frequently to criticise government policy, distancing him from ministerial colleagues and limiting his influence outside a narrow group of non-governmental organisations and green campaigners. He was sacked in June 2003, to be replaced by Elliot Morley. Since then he has attacked the government on a number of issues, most notably genetically modified food and the 2003 invasion of Iraq 2003 Iraq war, though in the run-up to the invasion he had accepted the war could be justified on the basis of Saddam Hussein's treatment of the Iraqi people. He has also claimed that the response by United States authorities to the hijackings on September 11, 2001 was suspicious and 'offered an extremely convenient pretext' for subsequent military action in Afghanistan and Iraq. In May 2005 he introduced the [http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=28373 Climate Change EDM] to parliament, which calls upon the government to commit to yearly CO2 emission reductions of 3%. He appeared briefly as himself in the 1985 BBC Television drama serial ''Edge of Darkness''.

External links

- Free video clips of Michael Meacher at Big Picture TV
- ePolitix - Michael Meacher official site
- Guardian Politics Ask Aristotle - Michael Meacher MP
- TheyWorkForYou.com - Michael Meacher MP
- The Big Ask More information about the Climate Change EDM Category:1939 births Meacher, Michael Category:Living people Meacher, Michael Category:Members of the Privy Council Meacher, Michael Category:British MPs Meacher, Michael Category:UK Labour Party politicians Meacher, Michael Category:People questioning official 9/11 story {{UK-politician-stub}} nl:Michael Meacher

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