Paul Flynn (politician) - Political Career

Political Career

Flynn was elected as a councillor on the Newport Borough Council in 1972–1981 and to the Gwent County Council 1974–1982. He unsuccessfully contested Denbigh at the October 1974 General Election where he was defeated by the Conservative, Geraint Morgan, by 4,551 votes. He was elected to the House of Commons for Newport West at the 1987 general election, defeating the Conservative Mark Robinson, who had unexpectedly won the seat at the 1983 election. Flynn defeated Robinson by 2,708 votes and has remained the MP since.

Flynn joined the front bench under Neil Kinnock in 1988 when he became a spokesman on health and social security and for social security in 1989. He resigned from the front bench in 1990 and has remained on the back benches since. He joined the Transport Select Committee in 1990 until after the 1997 General Election when he joined the Welsh Affairs Select Committee for a year. He was a member of the Environmental Audit Select Committee in 2003 until the 2005 general election, since when he has been a member of the Public Administration Select Committee.

He was re-elected at the 2010 election, albeit with a reduced majority. In November 2011, he expressed concern about the appointment of Matthew Gould as the UK's ambassador to Israel, asserting that as a Jew, Gould had "divided loyalties" and that the position should be given to "someone with roots in the UK". Flynn claimed "there hasn't been a Jewish ambassador to Israel and I think that is a good decision – to avoid the accusation that they have gone native." These comments drew criticism from Middle East Minister Alistair Burt, who stated that "Paul Flynn should take some time to consider his comments, which could easily be misconstrued. There is absolutely no reason why our ambassador to Israel should not be Jewish. Any allegations about Matthew Gould's conduct are utterly unsubstantiated. He is a first-class ambassador." Douglas Alexander, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, also criticized Flynn, stating that "The faith of any British diplomat is irrelevant to their capability to their job. To make suggestions otherwise is wrong and offensive. Labour MP John Mann, who is chair of the All-party Parliamentary Group Against Antisemitism, stated that Flynn should start preparing for his "retirement" and that "I suggest he starts his retirement with a workers' education course on understanding racism."

Flynn later mitigated his comments days later, saying "There is no reason that anyone of any race or religion should be debarred from public office." On 18 September 2012, Flynn was suspended from the sittings of the House of Commons for the five days and docked a months wages, after he accused Defence Secretary Phillip Hammond of lying to Parliament.