Frank Cook
Francis 'Frank' Cook (born
3 November 1935)
British politician. He is the
Labour Member of Parliament for
Stockton North.
Frank Cook was born in
Hartlepool and was educated at the Corby School in
Sunderland, the De la Salle College,
Manchester, and the
Institute of Education, Leeds. He was selected to contest Stockton North at the
1983 General Election. He secured the nomination to stand following the defection of the sitting Labour MP
Bill Rodgers who was one of the original gang of four who set up the
Social Democratic Party in
1981 along with
Roy Jenkins,
David Owen and
Shirley Williams. Cook won the seat with a majority of 1,870 with Rodgers finishing in third place behind the
Conservative candidate. Cook has remained a member of parliament since.
He is a member of the left-wing
Socialist Campaign Group. He served as
Opposition whip under
Neil Kinnock from
1987 to
1992. Cook was married to Patricia Lundrigan in
1959 and they have a son (who is in the
British Army) and three daughters, they have since
divorced. He is currently a member of the
Speaker's Panel of Chairmen. Before his election to the
Commons, Cook worked variously as a transport manager at a
steelworks, a
teacher, and a construction planning engineer. He was a lead campaigner for gun control following the
Dunblane massacre in
1996, and it was reported that he once asked the Tory MP
Andrew Mackay to 'step outside for a fight'. In the 2005 political year, the Public Whip found Cook to be the 38th most rebellious MP (out of 635) and he has recently become known for his dissent concerning the controversial ID Cards and Racial And Religious Hatred Acts. He has the large
Imperial Chemical Industries site of
Billingham in his constituency and is a proud supporter of Hartlepool FC.
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Frank Cook MP official site
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Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Frank Cook MP*
TheyWorkForYou.com - Frank Cook MP*
The Public Whip - Frank Cook MP voting record
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BBC News - Frank Cook profile 10 February, 2005
