171:, Mitchell felt increasingly uneasy with the leftward drift of the Labour Party. However, he was rooted in the Labour movement and was loath to leave the party that he been a member of for nearly four decades. This deep sense of connection contributed to his initial reluctance to leave the Labour Party but, by May 1981, he had formally announced that he did not plan to stand for re-election as a Labour candidate in Southampton Itchen. However, not until after the Labour conference in the autumn of 1981 did he formally leave Labour for the SDP. When he left, he cited his opposition to "further nationalisation, import controls and withdrawing Britain from the Common Market."
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Once he returned to the House of
Commons, Mitchell quickly re-established his reputation as a "classic trades-union rightist" within the Labour Party. He was a firm Atlanticist and a stalwart defender of the constitutional monarchy, but was also in favour of the nationalisation of Britain's ports.
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Mitchell taught mathematics and science at several schools before eventually finding a position as Senior Master and Head of the
Mathematics and Science Department of Bartley County Secondary School, becoming Deputy Head in 1965.
182:. Once out of parliament, Mitchell served as a lecturer in Business Studies at Eastleigh College of Further Education. He tried for selection as SDP candidate for the 1984 Portsmouth South by-election but lost out to
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117:, Mitchell won the seat by over 2,000 votes, propelled by the momentum of the Labour landslide in that election. His hold on Southampton Test would prove to be tenuous. In the
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Mitchell became active in Labour party politics. He was elected of the
Southampton borough council in 1955 and contested the safe Conservative seat of
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He opposed abortion, thinking it would make it more difficult for childless couples such as him and his wife to adopt. He served as
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Register of
Members' Interests as at 17 January 1983, House of Commons, Parliamentary Papers, Vol 172, 1982-83.
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Bob
Mitchell was married to Doreen Lilian Mitchell (Nee Gregory). The couple adopted two children.
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as the
Liberal-SDP Alliance candidate, but finished third behind Chope and the Labour candidate,
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in late 1970. Mitchell was selected as the Labour candidate for the seat in the resulting
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on 22 August 1927. He attended
Taunton's Grammar School as a youth and graduated from the
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from 1975 to 1979. He acted as consultant to B.A.T Industries Ltd, part of
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who went on to win the seat. He contested
Southampton Itchen again in the
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for long. His former
Parliamentary neighbour in Southampton Itchen, the
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Hansard, House of
Commons, Vol. 765, Col. 1454, 26 February 1970.
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Social Democratic Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
31:(22 August 1927 – 18 September 2003), commonly known as
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in 1971, which he won by a majority of nearly 10,000.
287:"Death Notices & Obituaries: Doreen Mitchell"
156:' PPS and as an indirectly elected member of the
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500:People educated at Godalming Grammar School
345:contributions in Parliament by Bob Mitchell
255:"BAT closing two UK and Ireland factories"
86:Mitchell was also an active member of the
19:For politicians with a similar name, see
329:Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs
490:Alumni of the University of Southampton
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495:MEPs for the United Kingdom 1973–1979
128:However, Mitchell was not out of the
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125:, Mitchell lost his marginal seat.
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219:Roth, Andrew (25 September 2003).
50:for Labour from 1966 to 1970, and
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354:Parliament of the United Kingdom
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263:. 13 July 2005. Archived from
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16:British politician (1927–2003)
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78:Professional life: Education
74:with a degree in Economics.
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21:Robert Mitchell#Politics
221:"Bob Mitchell obituary"
56:Social Democratic Party
140:, was elevated to the
176:1983 general election
123:1970 general election
115:1966 general election
111:1964 general election
104:1959 general election
66:Mitchell was born in
407:Member of Parliament
370:Member of Parliament
40:Member of Parliament
363:John Fletcher-Cooke
158:European Parliament
58:from 1971 to 1983.
411:Southampton Itchen
267:on 15 January 2006
52:Southampton Itchen
46:. He represented
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427:Christopher Chope
424:Succeeded by
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334:Guardian obituary
180:Christopher Chope
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485:UK MPs 1979–1983
480:UK MPs 1974–1979
470:UK MPs 1970–1974
465:UK MPs 1966–1970
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475:UK MPs 1974
450:2003 deaths
445:1927 births
400:Horace King
343:1803–2005:
198:Family life
192:John Denham
146:by-election
68:Southampton
439:Categories
206:References
167:After the
100:New Forest
62:Early life
293:27 March
35:, was a
340:Hansard
230:12 June
174:In the
109:In the
102:in the
271:7 June
260:Forbes
37:Labour
420:1983
416:1971
409:for
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