Politician
| Bryan Magee | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament for Leyton |
|
| In office February 1974 – May 1983 |
|
| Preceded by | Patrick Gordon Walker |
| Succeeded by | Harry Cohen |
| Personal details | |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Labour Party (1958-1982) Social Democratic Party (1982-1983) |
He returned to Britain from Yale in 1958 with hopes of becoming a Labour Member of Parliament (MP). In this he was unsuccessful, and instead took up a job presenting the ITV current affairs television programme This Week. He made documentary programmes about subjects of social concern such as prostitution, sexually transmitted diseases, abortion and homosexuality (illegal in Britain at the time).
He was eventually elected MP for Leyton at the February 1974 general election, but found himself out of tune with the Labour Party's leftward tendencies under Michael Foot. On 22 January 1982 he resigned the Labour whip and he subsequently (in March 1982) joined the defection of moderate Labour MPs to the newly founded Social Democratic Party. He lost his seat at the 1983 general election and returned to writing and broadcasting which, indeed, he had continued during his parliamentary career.
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