{{Short description|British politician (1933–2026)}} {{Use British English|date=July 2016}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}} {{Infobox officeholder | image = <!-- only free-content images are allowed for depicting living people - see WP:NONFREE --> | honorific_prefix = | name = David Winnick | honorific_suffix = | office = Member of Parliament <br> for Walsall North | parliament = | majority = | predecessor = Robin Hodgson | successor = Eddie Hughes | term_start = 3 May 1979 | term_end = 3 May 2017 | office2 = Member of Parliament <br> for Croydon South | parliament2 = | majority2 = | predecessor2 = Richard Thompson | successor2 = Richard Thompson | term_start2 = 31 March 1966 | term_end2 = 29 May 1970 | birth_name = David Julian Winnick | birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1933|06|26}} | birth_place = Brighton, Sussex, England<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whoswho/U40375 |title=Who's Who |publisher=Ukwhoswho.com |access-date=18 July 2016}}</ref> | death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2026|03|25|1933|06|26}} | death_place = | spouse = {{Marriage|Bengisu Rona|1968|end=divorce}} | party = Labour | relations = | children = 1 | alma_mater = | occupation = | profession = | signature = | website = }}
'''David Julian Winnick''' (26 June 1933 – 25 March 2026) was a British Labour Party politician who served 42 years as a Member of Parliament (MP), for Walsall North between 1979 and 2017, he was also the MP for Croydon South from 1966 to 1970.
==Early life== Winnick was born into a British Jewish family,<ref name="JC">{{cite news|title= New Jewish ministers and the Miliband rivalry|first= Jessica|last= Elgot|newspaper= The Jewish Chronicle|date= 14 May 2010|url= http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/31823/new-jewish-ministers-and-miliband-rivalry|access-date= 12 June 2017|url-status= live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100516232646/http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/31823/new-jewish-ministers-and-miliband-rivalry|archive-date= 16 May 2010|df= dmy-all}}</ref> on 26 June 1933,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mr David Winnick (Hansard)|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/people/mr-david-winnick/index.html|access-date=2021-05-11|website=api.parliament.uk}}</ref> in Brighton.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-06-10 |title=David Winnick: It was my privilege to be your MP for 38 years |url=https://beta.expressandstar.com/news/walsall/david-winnick-it-was-my-privilege-to-be-your-mp-for-38-years-6270982 |access-date=2026-03-27 |website=Express and Star |language=en}}</ref>
== Early career == Winnick was an advertising manager and a branch chairman of the Clerical and Administrative Workers Union. He was a councillor from 1959 on Willesden Borough Council, then on the London Borough of Brent.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bates |first=Stephen |date=2026-03-26 |title=David Winnick obituary |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/mar/26/david-winnick-obituary |access-date=2026-03-27 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
==Parliamentary career== After unsuccessfully fighting Harwich in 1964, Winnick was elected in 1966 as the MP for Croydon South (now the area covered roughly by Croydon Central constituency), defeating incumbent Richard Thompson.<ref>{{Cite web |title=BBC Politics 97 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/politics97/mps/926.shtml |access-date=2026-03-27 |website=www.bbc.co.uk}}</ref> He lost the seat to Thompson in 1970. After completing a diploma in social administration at the London School of Economics, he stood again unsuccessfully in Croydon Central in October 1974 and was returned for Walsall North in 1979.
Winnick was generally regarded as being on the left of the Labour Party and had a strong commitment to human rights.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Obituaries |first=Telegraph |date=2026-03-26 |title=David Winnick, influential Left-wing Labour MP who campaigned energetically for 40 years |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2026/03/26/david-winnick-labour-mp-walsall-north-blair-thatcher/ |access-date=2026-03-27 |work=The Telegraph |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235}}</ref> That commitment made him a strong voice in the House of Commons against both the Taliban and Saddam Hussein and he supported the 2003 invasion of Iraq.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://inews.co.uk/news/long-reads/current-labour-mps-voted-iraq-war-536814|title=Which current MPs voted for the Iraq war?|last=McDonald|first=Karl|date=6 July 2016|website=inews.co.uk|language=en|access-date=4 April 2020}}</ref>
He was a member of the British-Irish Parliamentary body from its formation in 1990, and British co-chair, 1997–2005.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McIntyre |first=Alex |date=2026-03-26 |title='Dedicated' former Walsall North MP David Winnick dies aged 92 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy41m898v8mo |access-date=2026-03-27 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref>
On 9 November 2005, Winnick's amendment to a government bill on detention of terrorist suspects without trial, proposing that the maximum period of detention should be 28 days rather than 90, passed in the House of Commons by 323 votes to 290, shortly after the government's 90-day proposal was defeated by 322 to 291. This was Tony Blair's first defeat in the House of Commons on a whipped vote, after serving nearly nine years as Prime Minister.
In January 2009, he urged the Communities Minister to deplore the fact that Richard Williamson, a British-born bishop and Holocaust denier, had been brought back into the fold by the Vatican.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eadt.co.uk/content/eadt/politics/story.aspx?brand=EADOnline&category=GrahamDines&tBrand=EADOnline&tCategory=zpolitics&itemid=IPED03%20Feb%202009%2011%3A09%3A32%3A403 |title=No excuse for anti-Semitism}}{{dead link |date=June 2017}}</ref>
Winnick played a prominent role in the campaign to force the resignation of the Speaker of the House of Commons, Michael Martin. This followed controversy from May 2009 concerning MPs' disclosure of expenses.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/8057203.stm |title=Under-fire Speaker to step down |publisher=BBC News |date=19 May 2009 |access-date=18 July 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090525220357/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8057203.stm |archive-date=25 May 2009 }}</ref>
At the 2010 general election, Walsall North was one of the most closely contested seats at the election, with Winnick being re-elected with a significantly reduced majority of 990 votes, compared to 6,640 votes at the previous election five years earlier.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/election2010/results/constituency/e86.stm| title=Election 2010 – Walsall North| publisher=BBC News| access-date=21 October 2015| url-status=live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170823071849/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/election2010/results/constituency/e86.stm| archive-date=23 August 2017| df=dmy-all}}</ref> In 2015, however, Winnick gained a majority of 1,937, despite the Labour Party incurring a net loss of seats.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/constituencies/E14001011| title=Walsall North parliamentary constituency – Election 2015| publisher=BBC News| access-date=21 October 2015| url-status=live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151007034024/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/constituencies/E14001011| archive-date=7 October 2015| df=dmy-all}}</ref> In his victory speech, he criticised the way in which his Conservative opponent had conducted their election campaign.
In 2017 (again against the national trend) he was defeated by Conservative Party candidate Eddie Hughes by 2,601 votes.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.expressandstar.com/news/politics/2017/06/09/general-election-end-of-an-era-for-emotional-david-winnick-in-walsall-north/ |title=General Election: End of an era for emotional David Winnick in Walsall North |newspaper=Express & Star |date=9 June 2017 |access-date=12 June 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170609113238/https://www.expressandstar.com/news/politics/2017/06/09/general-election-end-of-an-era-for-emotional-david-winnick-in-walsall-north/ |archive-date=9 June 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Harris |first=Jordan |title=David Winnick: It was my privilege to be your MP for 38 years |date=10 June 2017 |url=https://www.expressandstar.com/news/local-hubs/walsall/2017/06/10/winnick-speaks-of-privilege-after-38-years-of-service/ |access-date=25 February 2023 |newspaper=Express & Star |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=General Election 2017: David Winnick loses Labour seat after 38 years |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-shropshire-40215645 |access-date=2026-03-27 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref>
==Personal life and death== Winnick married Bengisu Rona (having met her when a student in London, later working at SOAS University of London from the 1980s){{Clarify|reason=Dangling modifiers: Who was a student? Who worked at SOAS?|date=March 2026}} on 23 September 1968, in Istanbul.<ref>''Aberdeen Press and Journal'' Tuesday 24 September 1968, page 1</ref><ref>''Daily Mirror'' Tuesday 24 September 1968, page 9</ref> They later divorced. Winnick died on 25 March 2026, aged 92.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Cartledge |first=James |date=2026-03-26 |title=Former Midland MP who served voters for 42 years dies at 92 |url=https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/black-country/former-midland-mp-who-served-33663658 |access-date=2026-03-26 |website=Birmingham Live |language=en}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist|2}}
==External links== * [http://www.davidwinnick.webs.com/ David Winnick] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220815031132/https://davidwinnick.webs.com/ |date=15 August 2022 }} official site * [https://web.archive.org/web/20010627174443/http://politics.guardian.co.uk/person/0,9290,-5621,00.html Guardian Unlimited Politics – Ask Aristotle: David Winnick MP] * [https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/david_winnick/walsall_north TheyWorkForYou.com – David Winnick MP] * {{Hansard-contribs | mr-david-winnick | David Winnick }} * [http://publicwhip.org.uk/mp.php?mpn=David_Winnick&mpc=Walsall+North The Public Whip – David Winnick MP] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411032630/https://www.publicwhip.org.uk/mp.php?mpn=David_Winnick&mpc=Walsall+North |date=11 April 2021 }} voting record * [http://www.publicwhip.org.uk/division.php?date=2005-11-09&number=85 Public Whip – Commons vote on Winnick's amendment to Terrorism Bill Clause 23, 9 November 2005] * {{C-SPAN|20085}}
{{s-start}} {{s-par|uk}} {{succession box | title = Member of Parliament for Croydon South | years = 1966–1970 | before = Richard Thompson | after = Richard Thompson }} {{s-bef|before=Robin Hodgson}} {{s-ttl|title=Member of Parliament for Walsall North|years=1979–2017}} {{s-aft|after=Eddie Hughes}} {{s-end}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Winnick, David}} Category:1933 births Category:2026 deaths Category:Alumni of the London School of Economics Category:Jewish English politicians Category:Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Category:Politics of the London Borough of Croydon Category:Councillors in Greater London Category:Councillors in the London Borough of Brent Category:UK MPs 1966–1970 Category:UK MPs 1979–1983 Category:UK MPs 1983–1987 Category:UK MPs 1987–1992 Category:UK MPs 1992–1997 Category:UK MPs 1997–2001 Category:UK MPs 2001–2005 Category:UK MPs 2005–2010 Category:UK MPs 2010–2015 Category:UK MPs 2015–2017