History UsefulNotes / DennisSkinner

-->--'''Skinner''' in the House of Commons, 8 December 2005

Dennis Edward Skinner (born 11 February 1932) is a British Labour Party politician, who served as a Member of Parliament from 1970 until he lost his seat to Conservative challenger Mark Fletcher in 2019. He was one of dozens of Labour [=MPs=] who lost in once-safe Labour seats that had voted for Brexit in the 2016 referendum; the upstart Brexit Party, under the leadership of leading Eurosceptic Nigel Farage, possibly acting on the orders of US President UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump, focussed all its efforts on unseating non-Conservative [=MPs=] in 2019. (Skinner himself had supported Brexit, albeit overwhelmingly for opposite reasons to why Farage did.) He was the oldest member of the House of Commons and had the second longest record of continuous service at the time of his departure. He was one of just two remaining [=MPs=] at the time of the 2019 election who had been in office when the UK joined the European Economic Community in 1973 (the pro-EU Conservative Ken Clarke -- who, like Skinner, was first elected at the 1970 general election -- being the other) and was the only one who stood for re-election to the Commons in 2019.[[note]]Therefore, had he been returned to Parliament, [[WhatCouldHaveBeen he would have been the only MP whose parliamentary term encompassed the entire period of Britain's EEC/EU membership]].[[/note]] [[FanNickname Nicknamed the "Beast of Bolsover"]] for his [[DeadpanSnarker acerbic style]] (see the page quotation) and the name of his constituency. He was born as the [[MassiveNumberedSiblings third of nine children]] in a coal-mining town, and he was a miner himself before he became an MP. He's often controversial, and was thrown out of the House of Commons several times for breaches of order (including over the quip at the top of the page, in 1984 when he accused UsefulNotes/MargaretThatcher of being prepared to bribe judges, and in 2016 when he called UsefulNotes/DavidCameron "Dodgy Dave" over his alleged involvement with companies named in the Panama Papers[[note]]This got a CallBack in 2021, by which time both men were out of Parliament, when Cameron was implicated in the Greensill scandal.[[/note]]). He's also famously anti-monarchy and for the abolition of the House of Lords, among his other left-wing positions, and frequently made snarky comments to the Queen's messenger during the state opening of Parliament.

In 2017 a documentary film, ''Dennis Skinner: Nature of the Beast'', was released detailing his life, supported by interviews from his surviving brothers. Filmmaker Daniel Draper described himself as having recently been attracted to the Labour Party and thought of Skinner as the personification of its values.

->''"Is my right hon. Friend aware that, in the 1970s and a lot of the 1980s, we would have thanked our lucky stars in the coalfield areas for growth of 1.75 per cent? [[TakeThat The only thing growing then were the lines of coke in front of boy George [Osborne, then the shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer] and the rest of them.]]"''

[[caption-width-right:200:The "Beast" at his second home.]]

Dennis Edward Skinner (born 11 February 1932) is a British Labour Party politician, who served as a Member of Parliament from 1970 until he lost his seat to Conservative challenger Mark Fletcher in 2019. He was one of dozens of Labour [=MPs=] who lost in once-safe Labour seats that had voted for Brexit in the 2016 referendum; the upstart Brexit Party, under the leadership of leading Eurosceptic Nigel Farage, possibly acting on the orders of US President UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump, focussed all its efforts on unseating non-Conservative [=MPs=] in 2019. (Skinner himself had supported Brexit, albeit overwhelmingly for opposite reasons to why Farage did.) He was the oldest member of the House of Commons and had the second longest record of continuous service at the time of his departure. He was one of just two remaining [=MPs=] at the time of the 2019 election who had been in office when the UK had joined the European Economic Community in 1973 (the pro-EU Conservative Ken Clarke -- who, like Skinner, was first elected at the 1970 general election -- being the other) and was the only one who stood for re-election to the Commons in 2019.[[note]]Therefore, had he been returned to Parliament, he would have been the only MP whose Parliamentary term encompassed the entire period of EEC/EU membership.[[/note]] [[FanNickname Nicknamed the "Beast of Bolsover"]] for his [[DeadpanSnarker acerbic style]] (see the page quotation) and the name of his constituency. He was born as the [[MassiveNumberedSiblings third of nine children]] in a coal-mining town, and he was a miner himself before he became an MP. He's often controversial, and was thrown out of the House of Commons several times for breaches of order (including over the quip at the top of the page, in 1984 when he accused UsefulNotes/MargaretThatcher of being prepared to bribe judges, and in 2016 when he called UsefulNotes/DavidCameron "Dodgy Dave" over his alleged involvement with companies named in the Panama Papers). He's also famously anti-monarchy and for the abolition of the House of Lords, among his other left-wing positions, and frequently made snarky comments to the Queen's messenger during the state opening of Parliament.

In 2017 a documentary film, ''Dennis Skinner: Nature of the Beast'', was released detailing his life with interviews from his surviving brothers.

Dennis Edward Skinner (born 11 February 1932) is a British Labour Party politician, who served as a Member of Parliament from 1970 until he lost his seat to Conservative challenger Mark Fletcher in 2019. He was one of dozens of Labour [=MPs=] who lost in once-safe Labour seats that had voted for Brexit in the 2016 referendum; the upstart Brexit Party, under the leadership of leading Eurosceptic Nigel Farage, possibly acting on the orders of US President UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump, focussed all its efforts on unseating non-Conservative [=MPs=] in 2019. (Skinner himself had supported Brexit, albeit overwhelmingly for opposite reasons to why Farage did.) He was the oldest member of the House of Commons and had the second longest record of continuous service at the time of his departure. He was one of just two remaining [=MPs=] at the time of the 2019 election who had been in office when the UK had joined the European Economic Community in 1973 (the pro-EU Conservative Ken Clarke -- who, like Skinner, was first elected at the 1970 general election -- being the other) and was the only one who stood for re-election to the Commons in 2019. [[FanNickname Nicknamed the "Beast of Bolsover"]] for his [[DeadpanSnarker acerbic style]] (see the page quotation) and the name of his constituency. He was born as the [[MassiveNumberedSiblings third of nine children]] in a coal-mining town, and he was a miner himself before he became an MP. He's often controversial, and was thrown out of the House of Commons several times for breaches of order (including over the quip at the top of the page, in 1984 when he accused UsefulNotes/MargaretThatcher of being prepared to bribe judges, and in 2016 when he called UsefulNotes/DavidCameron "Dodgy Dave" over his alleged involvement with companies named in the Panama Papers). He's also famously anti-monarchy and for the abolition of the House of Lords, among his other left-wing positions, and frequently made snarky comments to the Queen's messenger during the state opening of Parliament.

Dennis Edward Skinner (born 11 February 1932) is a British Labour Party politician, who served as a Member of Parliament from 1970 until he lost his seat to Conservative challenger Mark Fletcher in 2019. He was one of dozens of Labour [=MPs=] who lost in once-safe Labour seats that had voted for Brexit in the 2016 referendum; the upstart Brexit Party, under the leadership of leading Eurosceptic Nigel Farage, possibly acting on the orders of US President UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump, focussed all its efforts on unseating non-Conservative [=MPs=] in 2019. (Skinner himself had supported Brexit, albeit overwhelmingly for opposite reasons to why Farage did.) He was the oldest member of the House of Commons and had the second longest record of continuous service at the time of his departure. He was one of just two remaining [=MPs=] at the time of the 2019 election who had been in office when the UK had joined the European Economic Community in 1973 (the pro-EU Conservative Ken Clarke -- who, like Skinner, he was first elected at the 1970 general election -- being the other). Nicknamed the "Beast of Bolsover" for his [[DeadpanSnarker acerbic style]] (see the page quotation) and the name of his constituency. He was born as the [[MassiveNumberedSiblings third of nine children]] in a coal-mining town, and he was a miner himself before he became an MP. He's often controversial, and was thrown out of the House of Commons several times for breaches of order (including the page quotation, once when he accused UsefulNotes/MargaretThatcher of being prepared to bribe judges, and when he called UsefulNotes/DavidCameron "Dodgy Dave" over his alleged involvement with companies named in the Panama Papers). He's also famously anti-monarchy, among his other left-wing positions, and frequently made snarky comments to the Queen's messenger during the state opening of Parliament.

In 2017 a documentary film, ''Nature of the Beast'', was released detailing his life with interviews from his surviving brothers.

Dennis Edward Skinner (born 11 February 1932) is a famously left-wing British Labour politician, who served as a Member of Parliament from 1970 until he lost his seat to Conservative challenger Mark Fletcher in 2019. He was one of dozens of Labour [=MPs=] who lost in once-safe Labour seats that had voted for Brexit in the 2016 referendum; the upstart Brexit Party, under the leadership of leading Eurosceptic Nigel Farage, acting possibly on the orders of US President Donald Trump, focussed all its efforts on unseating non-Conservative [=MPs=] in 2019. (Skinner himself had supported Brexit, albeit overwhelmingly for opposite reasons to why Farage did.) He was the oldest member of the House of Commons and had the second longest record of continuous service at the time of his departure. He was one of just two remaining [=MPs=] at the time of the 2019 election who had been in office when the UK had joined the EEC in 1973 (Ken Clarke being the other). Nicknamed the "Beast of Bolsover" for his [[DeadpanSnarker acerbic style]] (see the page quotation) and the name of his constituency. He was born as the [[MassiveNumberedSiblings third of nine children]] in a coal-mining town, and he was a miner himself before he became an MP. He's often controversial, and was thrown out of the House of Commons several times for breaches of order (including the page quotation, once when he accused UsefulNotes/MargaretThatcher of being prepared to bribe judges, and when he called UsefulNotes/DavidCameron "Dodgy Dave" over his alleged involvement with companies named in the Panama Papers). He's also famously anti-monarchy, and frequently made a snarky comment to the Queen's messenger during the state opening of Parliament.

Dennis Edward Skinner (born 11 February 1932) is a famously left-wing British Labour politician, who served as a Member of Parliament from 1970 until he lost his seat to Conservative challenger Mark Fletcher in 2019. He was one of dozens of Labour [=MPs=] who lost in once-safe Labour seats that had voted for Brexit in the 2016 referendum; the upstart Brexit Party, under the leadership of leading Eurosceptic Nigel Farage, acting possibly on the orders of US President Donald Trump, focussed all its efforts on unseating non-Conservative [=MPs=] in 2019. (Skinner himself had supported Brexit, albeit overwhelmingly for opposite reasons to why Farage did.) He was the oldest member of the House of Commons and had the second longest record of continuous service at the time of his departure. He was one of just two remaining MPs at the time of the 2019 election who had been in office when the UK had joined the EEC in 1973 (Ken Clarke being the other). Nicknamed the "Beast of Bolsover" for his [[DeadpanSnarker acerbic style]] (see the page quotation) and the name of his constituency. He was born as the [[MassiveNumberedSiblings third of nine children]] in a coal-mining town, and he was a miner himself before he became an MP. He's often controversial, and was thrown out of the House of Commons several times for breaches of order (including the page quotation, once when he accused UsefulNotes/MargaretThatcher of being prepared to bribe judges, and when he called UsefulNotes/DavidCameron "Dodgy Dave" over his alleged involvement with companies named in the Panama Papers). He's also famously anti-monarchy, and frequently made a snarky comment to the Queen's messenger during the state opening of Parliament.

Dennis Edward Skinner (born 11 February 1932) is a famously left-wing British Labour politician, who served as a Member of Parliament from 1970 until he lost his seat to Conservative challenger Mark Fletcher in 2019. He was one of dozens of Labour [=MPs=] who lost in once-safe Labour seats that had voted for Brexit in the 2016 referendum; the upstart Brexit Party, under the leadership of leading Eurosceptic Nigel Farage, acting possibly on the orders of US President Donald Trump, focussed all its efforts on unseating non-Conservative [=MPs=] in 2019. (Skinner himself had supported Brexit, albeit overwhelmingly for opposite reasons to why Farage did.) He was the oldest member of the House of Commons and had the second longest record of continuous service at the time of his departure. Nicknamed the "Beast of Bolsover" for his [[DeadpanSnarker acerbic style]] (see the page quotation) and the name of his constituency. He was born as the [[MassiveNumberedSiblings third of nine children]] in a coal-mining town, and he was a miner himself before he became an MP. He's often controversial, and was thrown out of the House of Commons several times for breaches of order (including the page quotation, once when he accused UsefulNotes/MargaretThatcher of being prepared to bribe judges, and when he called UsefulNotes/DavidCameron "Dodgy Dave" over his alleged involvement with companies named in the Panama Papers). He's also famously anti-monarchy, and frequently made a snarky comment to the Queen's messenger during the state opening of Parliament.

Dennis Edward Skinner (born 11 February 1932) is a famously left-wing British Labour politician, who served as a Member of Parliament from 1970 until he lost his seat to Conservative challenger Mark Fletcher in 2019. He was one of dozens of Labour [=MPs=] who lost in once-safe Labour seats that had voted for Brexit in the 2016 referendum; the upstart Brexit Party, on the orders of leading Eurosceptic Nigel Farage, focussed all its efforts on unseating non-Conservative [=MPs=] in 2019. (Skinner himself had supported Brexit, albeit overwhelmingly for opposite reasons to why Farage did.) He was the oldest member of the House of Commons and had the second longest record of continuous service at the time of his departure. Nicknamed the "Beast of Bolsover" for his [[DeadpanSnarker acerbic style]] (see the page quotation) and the name of his constituency. He was born as the [[MassiveNumberedSiblings third of nine children]] in a coal-mining town, and he was a miner himself before he became an MP. He's often controversial, and was thrown out of the House of Commons several times for breaches of order (including the page quotation, once when he accused UsefulNotes/MargaretThatcher of being prepared to bribe judges, and when he called UsefulNotes/DavidCameron "Dodgy Dave" over his alleged involvement with companies named in the Panama Papers). He's also famously anti-monarchy, and frequently made a snarky comment to the Queen's messenger during the state opening of Parliament.

Dennis Edward Skinner (born 11 February 1932) is a famously left-wing British Labour politician, who served as a Member of Parliament from 1970 until he lost his seat in 2019 to Conservative challenger Mark Fletcher. He was one of dozens of Labour [=MPs=] from once-safe Labour seats that had voted for Brexit in the 2016 referendum; the upstart Brexit Party, on the orders of leading Eurosceptic Nigel Farage, focussed all its efforts on unseating non-Conservative [=MPs=] in 2019. (Skinner's own support of Brexit, held overwhelmingly for opposite reasons to Farage's, did not guarantee him his seat three and a half years later.) He was the oldest member of the House of Commons, and had the second longest record of continuous service, at the time of his departure. Nicknamed the "Beast of Bolsover" for his [[DeadpanSnarker acerbic style]] (see the page quote) and the name of his constituency. He was born as the [[MassiveNumberedSiblings third of nine children]] in a coal-mining town, and he was a miner himself before he became an MP. He's often controversial, and was thrown out of the House of Commons several times for breaches of order (including the page quote, and once when he accused UsefulNotes/MargaretThatcher of being prepared to bribe judges). He's also famously anti-Monarchy, and frequently made a snarky comment to the Queen's messenger during the state opening of Parliament.

Dennis Edward Skinner (born 11 February 1932) is a famously left-wing British Labour politician, who served as a Member of Parliament from 1970 until he lost his seat in 2019 to the Conservatives, along with many other Red Wall [=MPs=] due to those people wishing for Brexit and the Brexit Party on the orders of Nigel Farage focusing all their efforts on unseating non-Conservative [=MPs=]. He was the oldest member of the House of Commons, and had the second longest record of continuous service, at the time of his departure. Nicknamed the "Beast of Bolsover" for his [[DeadpanSnarker acerbic style]] (see the page quote) and the name of his constituency. He was born as the [[MassiveNumberedSiblings third of nine children]] in a coal-mining town, and he was a miner himself before he became an MP. He's often controversial, and was thrown out of the House of Commons several times for breaches of order (including the page quote, and once when he accused UsefulNotes/MargaretThatcher of being prepared to bribe judges). He's also famously anti-Monarchy, and frequently made a snarky comment to the Queen's messenger during the state opening of Parliament.

Dennis Edward Skinner (born 11 February 1932) is a famously left-wing British Labour politician, who served as a Member of Parliament from 1970 until he lost his seat in 2019 to the Conservatives, along with many other Red Wall MPs due to those people wishing for Brexit and the Brexit Party on the orders of Donald Trump focusing all their efforts on unseating non-Conservative MPs. He was the oldest member of the House of Commons, and had the second longest record of continuous service, at the time of his departure. Nicknamed the "Beast of Bolsover" for his [[DeadpanSnarker acerbic style]] (see the page quote) and the name of his constituency. He was born as the [[MassiveNumberedSiblings third of nine children]] in a coal-mining town, and he was a miner himself before he became an MP. He's often controversial, and was thrown out of the House of Commons several times for breaches of order (including the page quote, and once when he accused UsefulNotes/MargaretThatcher of being prepared to bribe judges). He's also famously anti-Monarchy, and frequently made a snarky comment to the Queen's messenger during the state opening of Parliament.

Dennis Edward Skinner (born 11 February 1932) is a famously left-wing British Labour politician, who served as a Member of Parliament from 1970 until he lost his seat in 2019. He was the oldest member of the House of Commons, and had the second longest record of continuous service, at the time of his departure. Nicknamed the "Beast of Bolsover" for his [[DeadpanSnarker acerbic style]] (see the page quote) and the name of his constituency. He was born as the [[MassiveNumberedSiblings third of nine children]] in a coal-mining town, and he was a miner himself before he became an MP. He's often controversial, and was thrown out of the House of Commons several times for breaches of order (including the page quote, and once when he accused UsefulNotes/MargaretThatcher of being prepared to bribe judges). He's also famously anti-Monarchy, and frequently made a snarky comment to the Queen's messenger during the state opening of Parliament.

->''"Is my right hon. Friend aware that, in the 1970s and a lot of the 1980s, we would have thanked our lucky stars in the coalfield areas for growth of 1.75 per cent.? [[TakeThat The only thing growing then were the lines of coke in front of boy George [Osbourne] and the rest of them.]]"''

Dennis Edward Skinner (born 11 February 1932) is a famously left-wing British Labour Member of Parliament (MP), having served from 1970 until he lost his seat in 2019. Nicknamed the "Beast of Bolsover" for his [[DeadpanSnarker acerbic style]] (see the page quote) and the name of his constituency. He was born as the [[MassiveNumberedSiblings third of nine children]] in a mining town, and he was a miner himself before he became an MP. He's often controversial, and was thrown out of the House of Commons several times for breaches of order (including the page quote, and once when he accused UsefulNotes/MargaretThatcher of being prepared to bribe judges). He's also famously anti-Monarchy, and frequently made a snarky comment to the Queen's messenger during the state opening of Parliament.

Ironically given his frequent hammerings of Conservative [=MPs=] caught having affairs, he himself was caught having an affair during the "dirty Nineties" period where British politics lurched from one sex scandal to another every other week. This led some to call him "the Beast of [[UsefulNotes/BritishEnglish Legover]]."

In 2017 a documentary film, ''Nature of the Beast'', was released detailing his life with interviews from his brothers.

Dennis Edward Skinner (born 11 February 1932) is a famously left-wing British Labour MP, and has served since 1970. Nicknamed the "Beast of Bolsover" for his [[DeadpanSnarker acerbic style]] (see the page quote) and the name of his constituency. He was born as the [[MassiveNumberedSiblings third of nine children]] in a mining town, and he was a miner himself before he became an MP. He's often controversial, and has been thrown out of the House of Commons a number of times for breaches of order (including the page quote, and once when he accused UsefulNotes/MargaretThatcher of being prepared to bribe judges). He's also famously anti-Monarchy, and usually makes a snarky comment to the Queen's messenger during the state opening of Parliament.

Ironically given his frequent hammerings of Tory [=MPs=] caught having affairs, he himself was caught having an affair during the "dirty Nineties" period where British politics lurched from one sex scandal to another every other week. This led some to call him "the Beast of [[UsefulNotes/BritishEnglish Legover]]."

In 2017 a documentary film, ''Film/NatureOfTheBeast'', was released detailing his life with interviews from his brothers.

Dennis Edward Skinner (born 11 February 1932) is a famously left wing British Labour MP, and has been since 1970. Nicknamed the "Beast of Bolsover" for his acerbic style (see the page quote) and the name of his constituency. He was born as the third of nine children in a mining town, and he was a miner himself before he became an MP. He's often controversial, and has been thrown out of the House of Commons a number of times for breaches of order (including the page quote, and once when he accused UsefulNotes/MargaretThatcher of being prepared to bribe judges). He's also famously anti-Monarchy, and usually makes a snarky comment to the Queen's messenger during the state opening of parliament.

Ironically given his frequent hammerings of Tory [=MPs=] caught having affairs, he himself was caught having an affair during the "dirty Nineties" period where British politics lurched from one sex scandal to another every other week. This led some to call him "the Beat of [[UsefulNotes/BritishEnglish Legover]]."

In 2017 a documentary film, Film/NatureOfTheBeast, is scheduled to be released detailing his life with interviews from his brothers.

Dennis Skinner is a famously left wing British Labour MP, and has been since 1970. Nicknamed the "Beast of Bolsover" for his acerbic style (see the page quote) and the name of his constituency. He was born as the third of nine children in a mining town, and he was a miner himself before he became an MP. He's often controversial, and has been thrown out of the House of Commons a number of times for breaches of order (including the page quote, and once when he accused UsefulNotes/MargaretThatcher of being prepared to bribe judges). He's also famously anti-Monarchy, and usually makes a snarky comment to the Queen's messenger during the state opening of parliament.

----

!!Tropes associated with Dennis Skinner:

* BadassGrandpa: A political version. Even at the age of 85 he still asks pointed questions and knows how to rile the Conservative Party.
* {{Expy}}: A character with more than a few similarities him pops up in Series/HouseofCardsUK - he sits in the same place, with the same haircut, Derbyshire burr and irreverent remarks toward his opponents. The only difference is his surname has been changed to 'Badger', which is what Mr Skinner loves to do.
* TheHeckler: During Black Rod's appearance in the House of Commons, during the State Opening of Parliament.
** It's been going on so long now that it's considered a traditional part of the ceremony.
* HoldingTheFloor: Often. Most famously on January 20th 1989 when he and others spoke for several hours to avoid an anti-abortion bill being debated. Also [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] by the deputy speaker in a recent debate on funding for the monarchy:
-->'''Mr Deputy Speaker''': Order. This is going to come as a great disappointment to you, Mr Skinner, but you cannot talk this Bill out because at 6 o’clock, I am going to put the question. If you could now refer specifically to the Bill, we would be grateful.
* ScrewPolitenessImASenior
* WorthyOpponent: In the 70s, even while belonging to the same political party, he would often have charged debates with Dr. UsefulNotes/DavidOwen, a Labour "moderate". In the 80s when Owen left to co-found the SDP, the vitriol increased between the two tenfold. At various points they both threatened to punch each other out. (They both had similar short fuses although Skinner could definitely be described as the RedOni to Owen's BlueOni).

Ironically given his frequent hammerings of Tory [=MPs=] caught having affairs, he himself was caught having an affair during the "dirty Nineties" period where British politics lurched from one sex scandal to another every other week. This led some to call him "the Beat of [[BritishEnglish Legover]]."

* BadassGrandpa: A political version. Even at the age of 82 he still asks pointed questions and knows how to rile the Conservative Party.

Dennis Skinner is a famously left wing British Labour MP, and has been since 1970. Nicknamed the "Beast of Bolsover" for his acerbic style (see the page quote) and the name of his constituency. He was born as the third of nine children in a mining town, and he was a miner himself before he became an MP. He's often controversial, and has been thrown out of the House of Commons a number of times for breaches of order (including the page quote, and once when he accused MargaretThatcher of being prepared to bribe judges). He's also famously anti-Monarchy, and usually makes a snarky comment to the Queen's messenger during the state opening of parliament.

* Expy: A character with more than a few similarities him pops up in Series/HouseofCardsUK - he sits in the same place, with the same haircut, Derbyshire burr and irreverent remarks toward his opponents. The only difference is his surname has been changed to 'Badger', which is what Mr Skinner loves to do.

* BadassGrandpa: A political version. Even at the age of 79 he still asks pointed questions and knows how to rile the Conservative Party.

* WorthyOpponent: In the 70s, even while belonging to the same political party, he would often have charged debates with Dr. DavidOwen, a Labour "moderate". In the 80s when Owen left to co-found the SDP, the vitriol increased between the two tenfold. At various points they both threatened to punch each other out. (They both had similar short fuses although Skinner could definitely be described as the RedOni to Owen's BlueOni).