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Arthur Davidson (politician)

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Arthur Davidson
Shadow Attorney General
In office
24 November 1982 – 10 June 1983
LeaderMichael Foot
Preceded byPeter Archer
Succeeded byJohn Morris
Member of Parliament
for Accrington
In office
31 March 1966 – 13 May 1983
Preceded byHarry Hynd
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
Personal details
Born(1928-11-07)7 November 1928
Liverpool, England
Died16 January 2018(2018-01-16) (aged 89)
Political partyLabour
Alma materTrinity College, Cambridge

Arthur Davidson, QC (7 November 1928 – 16 January 2018) was a British Labour Party politician.

Early life

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Davidson was educated at Liverpool College, King George V School, Southport, and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was a member of the university athletics team and captained the college team. He served with the Merchant Navy and became a barrister, called to the bar by Middle Temple in 1953, and appointed a QC in 1978.

Political career

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Davidson contested Blackpool South in 1955 and Preston North in 1959. He was Member of Parliament for Accrington from 1966 to 1983, when the seat was abolished by boundary changes. He stood in the new seat of Hyndburn, but lost by just 21 votes to the Conservative Ken Hargreaves.

He was a minister in the Attorney General's Department between 1974 and 1979, under Harold Wilson and James Callaghan. From November 1982 to June 1983, he was Shadow Attorney General.

Outside parliament

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He was an expert in sports and media law, and acted for sportsmen including Robbie Fowler, Frank Bruno, Jimmy Hill and Kenny Dalglish. He was legal director of Associated Newspapers from 1985 to 1991 and Legal Director of Mirror Group Newspapers from 1991 to 1993,[1] and worked at Express Newspapers. His final job was as the lawyer for the magazine Time Out in London.

He enjoyed jazz, and was a passionate supporter of Liverpool Football Club.[2] Davidson died in January 2018, at the age of 89.[3]

Notes

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  1. ^ "Barrister Profile - Cloisters". Archived from the original on 29 April 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2010.
  2. ^ "Working Week: Gordon Thomson - Press Gazette". Archived from the original on 16 June 2011. Retrieved 16 February 2010.
  3. ^ Lawyer to great and good dies at 89

References

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Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Accrington
19661983
Constituency abolished