Background
John Cummings was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, a fifth generation coal miner, he was educated at the Murton Council Infant and Junior schools on Watt Street and Secondary school.
John Cummings was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, a fifth generation coal miner, he was educated at the Murton Council Infant and Junior schools on Watt Street and Secondary school.
Murtón Council Infant, Junior and Senior Schools, 1948-1958. Easington and Durham Technical Colleges.
He began his career with the National Coal Board as a miner in 1958, becoming a pit electrician from 1967 until his election to parliament twenty years later. He was elected as councillor to the Easington District Council in 1970, was its chairman 1975-1976, and its leader from 1979 until he stepped down in 1987. He was a trade unionist with the National Union of Mineworkers and was a trustee for the union from 1986-2000.
He first entered the House of Commons after the 1987 General Election as the Labour Member of Parliament for Easington following the retirement of Jack Dormand, being elected with a majority of 24,639.
However, he was sacked after the 1997 General Election and did not serve in government. He again joined the environment select committee (in its various guises of Environment, Transport and the Regions and Transport, Local Government and the Regions.
On 9 October 2006, Cummings announced his intention to stand down at the next general election. In September 2007, the Easington Constituency Labour Party (CLP) selected local councillor and CLP secretary Grahame Morris as their candidate for the 2010 election.
Single and Roman Catholic, Cummings represented a parliamentary constituency which can boast both the former Prime Minister Ramsay Macdonald, and Manny Shinwell, one of the longest lived parliamentarians, as previous MPs.
He has campaigned for the protection of the badger. His bag was once stolen in a Soho public by a rentboy who used his travel documents. He used to share a flat with fellow northeastern Labour Member of Parliament Ronnie Campbell and he keeps Jack Russell terriers.
Christian
50th United Kingdom Parliament. 51st United Kingdom Parliament. 52nd United Kingdom Parliament.
53rd United Kingdom Parliament.
54th United Kingdom Parliament]
He was a member of the Northumbrian Water Authority and the Peterlee and Newton Aycliffe Development Corporation. In parliament he became a member of the Environment Select Committee from 1990 until he was promoted to become an Opposition Whip by Tony Blair in 1995.
He was a member of the Speaker"s Panel of Chairmen from 2000 and served on the select committee of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister from 2002.
