Jimmy Wray

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]

For those of a similar name, see James Ray.

Jimmy Wray
Member of Parliament
for Glasgow Baillieston
Glasgow Provan (1987-1997)
In office
11 June 1987 – 11 April 2005
Preceded byHugh Brown
Succeeded byConstituency Abolished
Personal details
Born
James Aloysius Joseph Patrick Gabriel Wray

(1935-04-28)28 April 1935
Govan, Glasgow, Scotland, UK
Died25 May 2013(2013-05-25) (aged 78)
Mearnskirk Home Hospital, Renfrewshire, Scotland, UK
NationalityBritish
Political partyLabour

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 70, 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. Aaron Goldstein "Jimmy Wray, R.I.P." Archived 12 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine, 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. Fiona McKay "Estranged wife pays tribute to 'lion of a man' Jimmy Wray", The Herald, 27 May 2013
  5. Brian Beacom "Jimmy Wray, The Herald, 27 May 2013.
  6. 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. Steven, Alasdair (27 May 2013). "Obituary: Jimmy Wray, former Labour MP". The Scotsman. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
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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